HACKETTSTOWN, NJ – The Maritime College baseball team was swept by Centenary (NJ) in a doubleheader at Our Diamond of Dreams on Sunday afternoon. After walking off with a 5-4 win in the opener, the Cyclones (7-4) notched a 4-1 victory over the Privateers (5-6) in game two.
Maritime struck for a pair of second-inning runs in game one. After
Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) lifted a one-out single to right,
Chris Felder (Wallingford, PA) walked and
Matt Milone (Farmingville, NY) singled to load the bases.
Vasilios Vafakos (Astoria, NY) then gave the Privateers a 2-0 lead with his base hit to center. The Cyclones tied the game with two in the bottom of the third, but Maritime immediately responded with another two-spot in the fourth.
Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) ripped an RBI single before Vafakos came across on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
Centenary (NJ) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, though.
Shane Sullivan (Stewart Manor, NY), who had retired nine straight Cyclones after a leadoff walk in the fourth, hit the first batter of the inning with a pitch, then gave up a single.
Joseph Sorge (Montgomery, NY) was called upon to replace Sullivan, and he allowed another single to load the bases. After the runners moved up on a sacrifice fly, Sorge intentionally walked Christopher Gass to set up the double play. However, Anthony Vassallo ended the game with a two-run walk-off single to left.
Vafakos had two of the Privateers' six hits in the game. He also scored a run and drove in two others. Felder, meanwhile, crossed the plate twice. Sullivan gave up four runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in six-plus innings. Sorge (0-1) took the loss after being charged with one run on two hits in 0.2 innings. He walked one (intentionally) and struck out one.
For the Cyclones, Nicholas Gattuso was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Paul Links finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Vassallo, meanwhile, went 1-for-3 with three RBIs. Starting pitcher Matt Oehrlein lasted 3.2 innings on the mound. He allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits, walked three and struck out two. Will Henderson (1-0) picked up the final out of the seventh to earn the win.
In game two, the Privateers put traffic on the base paths in each of the first three innings, but Centenary (NJ) starter Jacob Hirner was able to get out of trouble with a double play ground ball each time. The Cyclones then took the lead in the bottom of the third. Jake Keenan singled home two runs before stealing home to make it 3-0. Centenary (NJ) increased its advantage to 4-0 after Gattuso led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple and scored on a Christopher Gass sacrifice fly.
After Maritime had been held without a hit since the second inning,
Nick Pinggera (Kings Park, NY) started the sixth with a single to right. He moved to second on a balk before scoring on Felder's RBI single. The Privateers went down in order in the seventh, though, and Centenary (NJ) completed the doubleheader sweep with the 4-1 victory.
Andrew Heiderstadt (Farmingdale, NY) (0-1) lasted five innings on the mound. He surrendered four runs on six hits, struck out three and walked two.
Jack Kellner (Seaford, NY) pitched the sixth and issued one walk.
Six different Cyclones had hits in the game, with Gattuso's triple the only one going for extra bases. Keenan, meanwhile, was 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Hirner (1-0) tossed five shutout innings to earn the win. He allowed three hits and four walks while walking three. Jackson Ponzo gave up a run on two hits over the final two innings. He also recorded a strikeout.
Up next for the Privateers is a 12 p.m. twinbill against Baruch (0-4) on Saturday. The doubleheader will be played at Ohio Field on the campus of Bronx Community College.
