THROGGS NECK, NY – After a one-day delay due to rain, the Maritime College baseball team took on Mount St. Vincent at Reinhart Baseball Field on Friday afternoon. The Privateers (18-8, 10-4 Skyline) scored four runs in the final two inning to earn a 5-2 victory in game one, while the Dolphins (17-12, 6-6 Skyline) took game two by a 5-3 count.
Despite playing on their home field, Maritime was considered the visiting team for both games. And the Privateers took advantage of batting first, as
Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY) crushed a homer to left in the first inning of game one. It would remain 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth, when an infield single and a bases-loaded walk led to a pair of Mount St. Vincent runs, giving the Dolphins the lead.
However, the Privateers responded with a two-spot of their own in the top of the sixth.
Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) started the inning with a walk, moved to second on an error, and took third on a wild pitch. He then came around on
Travis Zurita's (Ozone Park, NY) double, tying the game at 2-2. With Zurita on third,
Jake Bernardi (Bronx, NY) dropped down a beautifully-placed bunt, allowing the go-ahead run to come across.
Maritime added two insurance tallies in the seventh.
Austen Bishop (Millersville, MD) led off with a single, then
Adam Mosca (Massapequa Park, NY) doubled and
Danny Green (Belle Harbor, NY) walked to load the bases. With one out, Forgione lifted a deep fly ball to left that knocked in a run. The Privateers added another on a throwing error.
Matthew Demme (Carmel, NY) worked out a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh to finish off the victory. Demme (5-2), who entered in the fifth, held the Dolphins to just two singles and struck out four.
Shane Sullivan (Stewart Manor, NY) went the first 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Offensively, Mosca had a pair of hits and Forgione knocked in two runs.
Andrew Geiger (5-2) tossed a complete game for Mount St. Vincent. He surrendered five runs (three earned) on six hits, struck out six and walked two. Matt DiNorcia and Eric Zimmermann each notched two hits for the Dolphins.
Game two was scoreless until the fourth, when Mount St. Vincent went in front on Zimmermann's RBI single. The Dolphins then made it 4-0 with a three-spot in the bottom of the fifth. The big blow in the rally was a two-run single by Isidoros Bartziokis.
In the top of the sixth, Forgione belted a one-out double to left field before scoring on
Logan Martinson's (Sumner, WA) double to right. Forgione and Zurita then hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth, pulling Maritime within 4-3. After the Dolphins got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, Bishop led off the ninth with a single to right. However, he was erased on a game-ending double play, as Mount St. Vincent held on for the 5-3 win.
Sean Kennedy (3-1) went the distance for the Dolphins, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two. Tyler Paulino was 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored. Dom Porto also had two hits, and Bartziokas finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.
For the Privateers, Forgione was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The homer was his league-leading sixth of the season.
Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) (5-1) got the start on the mound and saw his streak of consecutive complete games end at four. He lasted 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks.
Nicholas Capone (Deer Park, NY),
Aiden Martin (Hillsdale, NJ) and
Niko Concha (Ballston Spa, NY) combined to surrender one run and two hits over 2.1 innings of relief.
On Tuesday, FDU-Florham (16-11) visits Reinhart Baseball Field at 7 p.m. for a single, nine-inning game. It will be the second meeting of the season between the Privateers and Devils. FDU-Florham earned a 5-3 win over Maritime in New Jersey on March 22.
