THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College baseball team entered Saturday's doubleheader in a virtual tie for second place in the Skyline Conference with Mount St. Vincent. After the two games, the teams remain essentially deadlocked. The Privateers (20-10, 7-3 Skyline) got 6.2 innings of one-run ball from
Matthew Demme (Carmel, NY) in the opener, a 5-1 win, before the Dolphins (17-12, 8-4 Skyline) took game two at Reinhart Baseball Field by a 23-4 count.
Demme gave up a solo homer to Drew Knight in the first inning of game one, but that would turn out to be the only run he allowed.
Rob Copozzi (Center Moriches, NY) then tied the contest with a solo shot to left field leading off the bottom of the fourth.
Matt Milone (Farmingville, NY) and
Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) followed with singles before
Vasilios Vafakos (Astoria, NY) put Maritime in front with a base hit up the middle. After
Chris Felder (Wallingford, PA) bunted the runners over to second and third,
Ian Wilson (Bayonne, NJ) dropped down a bunt of his own. Shea scored on the play, making it 3-1 Privateers. Maritime then increased its lead to 5-1 on Milone's two-run double in the bottom of the fifth.
With the score still 5-1 in the top of the seventh, Demme came back out looking to finish off the complete game. He got the first out before giving up a double. After a popup, Demme issued a walk, which prompted Maritime Head Coach
Charlie Barbieri to call on
Jack Kellner (Seaford, NY) out of the bullpen. He needed all of two pitches to induce a ground ball and wrap up the victory.
Four different Privateers went 2-for-3 in the game, with Milone notching a pair of RBIs and Copozzi scoring twice. Demme (6-1) was charged with one run on five hits, struck out one and walked four. Kellner, meanwhile, picked up his third save.
Johnny Brucato had two of Mount St. Vincent's five hits. Andrew Geiger (4-2) started on the mound for the Dolphins and took the loss. He surrendered five runs on 10 hits while recording 10 strikeouts and issuing one walk. Nicholas Rodriguez pitched a scoreless sixth, giving up one hit and notching one strikeout.
After Mount St. Vincent jumped out to a 9-0 lead in game two, Maritime put up a four-spot in the bottom of the third.
Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) started the rally with a single before scoring on
Nick Pinggera's (Kings Park, NY) double. Copozzi reached on a single that glanced of the pitcher's glove, then Milone belted a long three-run homer to left that brought the Privateers within 9-4.
However, the Dolphins responded with five runs in the fourth and nine more in the fifth to make it 23-4.
Jimmy Tighe (Mineola, NY) and
Nicholas Capone (Deer Park, NY) shut down Mount St. Vincent over the final two innings, combining to allow no runs and just one hit.
Nate Revere (Seaford, NY) then ripped a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh before Dolphins starter Aidan Rice finished the seven-inning complete game with his 11
th strikeout.
Milone's three-run homer was his team-leading ninth of the season. Pinggera also had an RBI and a run scored.
Andrew Heiderstadt (Farmingdale, NY) (2-2) took the loss after allowing eight runs on seven hits over two innings. He walked three and struck out one.
Every Mount St. Vincent starter scored at least one run, and the Dolphins recorded 17 hits as a team. Wil Granata finished 4-for-5 with two home runs, seven RBIs and three runs scored. Eric Zimmermann also went deep with twice, collecting four RBIs. Knight and Jake Pierre each added three RBIs, while Jason Albert walked and came around to score three times. Brucato, meanwhile, was 2-for-4 with four runs scored and an RBI. Rice (3-2) yielded four runs on six hits and a walk.
On Sunday, the Privateers visit Merchant Marine (16-11, 5-5 Skyline) for a 12 p.m. doubleheader. It will be the first meeting between the teams since last season's Skyline Tournament, when the Mariners eliminated Maritime with a 5-0 first-round win.
