The Maritime College baseball team concluded its 2019 season at Farmingdale St. on Friday night as they fell in the Skyline Conference playoffs to Farmingdale St. and Old Westbury. Maritime dropped the opening game to the top-seeded Rams 12-1 and then fell in their second game of the day to the Panthers 7-0.
Game 1 vs. Farmingdale St.
The Privateers got off to a hot start in the top of the first against top-seeded Farmingdale St. Third baseman
Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) came out swinging in the leadoff position as he took the first pitch of the game right back up the middle for a single.
Phil Russo (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) then followed it up by drawing a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out.
Two batters later, Diaz stole third base and then
Joe Scerra (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) fought off a pitch right down the third base line to score Diaz and reach first safely with a single. Unfortunately, the rally ended there for the Privateers and they took a 1-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
The Rams answered back right away though with some clutch hitting as they scored five runs in the first inning to take control of the game. The offensive momentum for Farmingdale St. continued throughout the game as they tacked on seven more runs to advance with a 12-1 win.
Game 2 vs. Old Westbury
Maritime struggled defensively early against Old Westbury as multiple errors gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Old Westbury followed it up in the top of the fourth inning with another run for a 2-0 advantage.
The Privateers offense continued to struggle until the bottom of the sixth inning when
Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) ripped a triple into the left-centerfield gap with one out. Unfortunately, Maritime wasn't able to bring their leadoff hitter across the plate and cut into Old Westbury's lead.
After a solid six-inning outing from
Travis Bruinsma (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot),
Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) took over on the mound just two days after a clutch four-inning performance against St. Joseph's Long Island. However, Paghidas and the Privateers defense couldn't keep the Panthers off the scoreboard and they another run to their lead. Maritime wasn't able together a comeback bid in their final two innings at the plate and ultimately fell 7-0.
The loss eliminated Maritime from championship contention and they concluded their season at 22-18 overall, their fourth consecutive 20-win season.
