THROGGS NECK, NY – With a pair of wins over Yeshiva (2-19, 0-14 Skyline) on Friday, the Maritime College baseball team improved to 16-6 on the year, the best start in program history.  The Privateers (8-2 Skyline) scored 11 runs in the first inning of game one, a contest they eventually won 14-0, before taking game two at Reinhart Baseball Field by a 15-1 count.

The doubleheader was originally scheduled to take place at Overpeck Park in Ridgefield, NJ, but was moved to Maritime's home facility due to Thursday's heavy rains.  Batting first on their own field, the Privateers got right to work, putting 11 runs on the board in the top of the first.

Maritime sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning, with the first 12 all reaching base safely.  After Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) reached on an error and Travis Zurita (Ozone Park, NY) singled, four consecutive walks resulted in two runs.  Logan Martinson (Sumner, WA) and Nick Pinggera (Kings Park, NY) each followed with a two-run single, making the score 7-0.  With the bases loaded, Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY) stepped to the plate, and he unloaded a long grand slam to left field increased the Privateers' advantage to 11-0.

That was more than enough offense for Niko Concha (Ballston Spa, NY), who was brilliant on the mound.  He retired the first 12 Maccabees he faced and didn't give up a hit until a leadoff single by David Kreisberg in the bottom of the fifth.  After a double play, Cocha allowed a two-out single to Judan Blonder.  He would end up being Yeshiva's last baserunner, as Concha set the Maccabees down 1-2-3 in each of the final two innings.

In the top of the sixth, Maritime added two more runs on Adam Mosca's (Massapequa Park, NY) single to center.  Martinson then ripped an RBI single in the seventh to cap the scoring in the 14-0 triumph.

Concha (5-0) threw his second complete game shutout of the season.  He allowed just two hits, struck out six and didn't issue a walk.  Offensively, Maritime collected 16 hits, with 10 different Privateers scoring and seven driving in at least one run.  Forgione finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs, while Shea was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.  Martinson, meanwhile, went 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs.

Yeshiva's Rafi Jacobs also went the distance on the mound.  He was charged with 14 runs (13 earned) on 16 hits while walking eight and striking out three.

After the Privateers took a 2-0 lead on first-inning singles by Austen Bishop (Millersville, MD) and Justin Lee (Tuckahoe, NY) in game two, the Maccabees got on the board in their half of the inning when David Kresiberg singled home Max Leibowitz.  However, Maritime responded with a run in the second before erupting for seven in the third.

Bishop and Lee both walked to start inning, then Xavier Cruz (Franklin Square, NY) ripped an RBI single to left.  Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) followed with a double to left that knocked in one, and both of the runners scored when the throw to third went into the Yeshiva dugout.  Forgione just missed his second grand slam of the day later in the inning, instead banging one high off the wall in right for a two-run single.  The Privateers added an unearned run that made the score 10-1.

It would remain that way until the top of the seventh, when Maritime put up a five-spot.  Nate Revere (Seaford, NY) singled home a run, then Madigan and Danny Green (Belle Harbor, NY) were each hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Ryan Wood (Huntington Station, NY) was up next, and he sent one down the left field line that went for a two-run double, increasing the Privateers' advantage to 15-1.  James Paczkowski (Oceanside, NY) gave up two hits in the bottom half of the inning, but also struck out three to finish off the victory.

Ten different Privateers scored a run in game two, with Zurita, Lee, Cruz, Madigan and Green all crossing the plate twice. Forgione was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, giving him seven on the day.  Bishop, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. 

Matthew Demme (Carmel, NY) (4-2) started on the mound and earned the win.  He yielded one run on two hits and recorded a strikeout in two innings of work.  Haydn Strycharz (Pittstown, NJ), Ryan Ragone (Yonkers, NY), Jonathan Racanello (New Rochelle, NY) and Paczkowski combined for five innings of scoreless relief.  As a unit, Maritime's pitching struck out seven without walking anybody.

For the Maccabees, Leibowitz went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a stolen base and a run scored.  Kreisberg, meanwhile, was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Starting pitcher Joey Kalish (0-6) took the loss after surrendering 10 runs (seven earned) on six hits and eight walks over 2.1 innings.

Up next for Maritime is a 12 p.m. doubleheader with Merchant Marine (11-12, 4-2 Skyline) at Reinhart Baseball Field on Sunday.  The Privateers and Mariners are currently second and third in the Skyline Conference standings.