THROGGS NECK, NY – On Saturday, the Maritime College baseball team won its season opener against Utica behind a dominant pitching performance. On Sunday, the Privateers and Pioneers concluded the three-game series with a doubleheader at Reinhart Baseball Field. Maritime (2-1) earned a 12-2 victory in the first game before Utica (1-2) rallied to take the second contest by a 9-4 count.
After each side went down in order to start Game 1, the Privateers erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the second.
Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) capped the rally with a two-run single to center before scoring on the back end of a double steal. In his next at-bat, Madigan crushed a solo homer to right in the fourth.
Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) also homered in the inning, belting a two-run shot to right center that made it 11-0.
Maritime pitcher
Brandon Stanley (Trinity, FL), meanwhile, retired the first 12 Pioneers he faced before Jason Story's leadoff double in the fifth. Two batters later, Andrew Salbinski homered to right, cutting the Privateers' lead to 11-2. Maritime got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, though, when
Alex Bardi (Wantagh, NY), who had reached on a leadoff double, scored on an error.
Madigan finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored (including a homer) and three RBIs. Shea was 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs, while Bardi and
Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) also scored twice. Stanley (1-0) gave up just three hits and two runs (all in the fifth inning) while not issuing a walk over six innings. He recorded nine strikeouts.
Jonathan Racanello (New Rochelle, NY) struck out the side in the seventh.
Micah Fiorello's fifth-inning single was the only other Utica hit. Pioneers starting pitcher Frederick Callo Jr. struggled with command and lasted just five hitters into the second. He walked three, hit a batter and threw four wild pitches. Callo (0-1), who also posted a strikeout, was charged with five runs. Justin Notargiacomo pitched three innings of relief and allowed six runs (five earned) on three hits, struck out three and walked three.
In Game 2, Utica jumped in front with a pair of runs in the top of the second. The Privateers responded in the bottom half of the inning, though, loading the bases before Bardi tied the game with a two-out double to left center.
The Pioneers then put up a five-spot in the top of the third. Joe Crossley's two-out, two-run double was the big blow in the inning. After
Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY) doubled leading off the bottom of the third,
Matt Milone (Farmingville, NY) and Shea both walked to load the bases with one out.
Rob Copozzi (Center Moriches, NY) drove in one run with a sacrifice fly to left, and another came across when Bardi was hit by a pitch.
Jacob Story increased Utica's advantage to 8-4 with a long home run to right in the fourth, then Peyton Newton worked out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning, getting a strikeout and a double play after Maritime put its first two hitters on. That would prove to be the Privateers' last threat, as the Utica bullpen held Maritime to just one hit over the final three innings. The Pioneers added an insurance tally in the top of the seventh when Tyler Jennings singled home Story, making the final score 9-4.
Bardi drove in three of Maritime's four runs in Game 2. Copozzi, meanwhile, finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Colin McKeon (Mullica Hill, NJ) started on the mound for the Privateers and took the loss. He yielded seven runs on eight hits, struck out three and walked one over 2.2 innings.
Andrew Heiderstadt (Farmingdale, NY) followed with 2.1 innings, allowing one run on three hits and picking up a strikeout.
William Chu (Port Washington, NY) went two innings and surrendered an unearned run on one hit. He also recorded a strikeout. Over the course of the three-game series, Maritime's pitching staff struck out 26 hitters and walked only four, including just one in 14 innings on Sunday.
Utica had 12 hits in the second game. Crossley was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Jennings went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. John Longeretta finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Story, meanwhile, had two hits, including a home run, and crossed the plate four times. Aidan McCue (1-0) earned the win after going three innings on the mound and giving up four runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Peyton Newton issued a walk and recorded a strikeout in the fourth before Connor Ford pitched the final three innings to get the save. The only baserunner he allowed was erased on a double play, and Ford was also credited with a strikeout.
Up next for Maritime is its first road doubleheader of the season. The Privateers make the short trip to Lehman (0-0) for a 12 p.m. twinbill on Saturday.
