Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Phil Russo (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph By The Sea) etched his name in the Maritime Baseball record books today as he recorded his 158th hit to pass Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and become the program's all-time hit leader. The Staten Island, NY native entered today's doubleheader against St. Joseph's Brooklyn three hits away from breaking the record and after going 2-4 in the opening game, he drove an RBI single up the middle in the first inning to break the record. Check out the record breaking hit below!

"It's an awesome feeling to finally accomplish this goal and see all the hard work pay off," said Russo. "I truly couldn't have done it without the support of my coaches, teammates, and parents throughout the years. Most importantly, it was good to come out with two more wins and keep the ball rolling on the season."

"Since the day Phil stepped on campus, he's been one of the most consistent and potent bats in our lineup," said head coach Charlie Barbieri. "He's put in countless hours of work to earn this record. It couldn't happen to a more deserving person."

The Privateers took the first game of the doubleheader in a close contest by a score of 7-5 and they improved their record to 7-2 in Skyline play, currently atop the conference in win percentage. Both teams got off to a hot start offensively as Maritime scored two in the top of the first and another in the second, while the Bears tallied three runs of their own in the bottom of the first. It was Russo who led the way in the first inning as he drove in Ryan Rockhill (Eastchester, NY/Tuckahoe) and Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY/Sachem North) with a double. In the second inning, freshman Vasilios Vafakos (Astoria, NY/Xavier) stepped up with the clutch RBI single.

With the game knotted at 3-3, the Privateers scored the crucial next run in the fourth inning behind another Vafakos RBI, this time a sacrifice fly scoring Shane Sullivan (Stewart Manor, NY/Chaminade) from third. However, St. Joseph's had the answer and tied the game back up in the bottom of the fifth. In the sixth inning, the Bears had the bases loaded, but Gatlin Hines (Elberta, AL/Foley) worked his way out of the jam and forced a ground ball to shortstop to get out of the inning unscathed. The defensive stand proved to be huge as in the eighth inning Danny Green (Belle Harbor, NY/Scholars Academy) drove in Russo, who reached base with a leadoff bunt single, and then Maritime tacked on two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Coach Barbieri turned to Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) in the bullpen, who then earned his third save of the season.

Russo went 2-4 with three RBIs in the win, while Adam Mosca (Massapequa Park, NY/Massapequa) chipped in a 3-5 performance at the leadoff spot with multi-hit performances from Forgione and Rockhill as well. Niko Conca got the start and threw five innings with four earned runs, while Hines, Sullivan, and Paghidas combined for the final four innings out of the bullpen and Sullivan earning his third win of the year.

The second, non-conference game of the doubleheader, saw a dominant performance from the Privateers both offensively and defensively. Maritime walked away with a 14-2 victory to make it a full weekend sweep of St. Joseph's Brooklyn, however, the game was highlighted by the record-breaking RBI single from Russo in first inning.

On the mound, Chris Simone (Bayside, NY/Holy Cross) got the start and the win with four innings pitched and one earned run allowed, while Ethan Peck (Manorville, NY/Eastport South Manor) and Nick Schepens (Severna Park, MD/Archbishop Spalding) combined to throw the final three innings to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.

Offensively, Jaden Shea (Severn, MD/Archbishop Spalding) led the way by going 3-4 with four RBIs, while Justin Lee (Tuckahoe, NY/Tuckahoe) went 2-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Additionally, Danny Green (Belle Harbor, NY/Scholars Academy) went 2-3 with three runs scored. Also adding RBIs were Jake Bernardi (Morris Park, NY/Fordham Prep), Xavier Cruz (Franklin Square, NY/Kellenberg ), Nick Pinggera (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park), and Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields).

Maritime will look to keep their momentum going with a doubleheader against Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday on Reinhart Field with a start time of 3:00 p.m. Please click here for our rules and policies regarding spectators attending home events.