THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College baseball team was originally scheduled to open its 2024 season at Montclair State on Feb. 21, but that game was postponed due to weather and field conditions. The Privateers and Red Hawks made up the contest under clear skies on Monday afternoon at Yogi Berra Stadium.
Matt Milone (Farmingville, NY) hit a three-run homer for Maritime (2-2), but it was not enough, as Montclair State (6-1) notched an 11-5 victory.
After the Privateers didn't score in the top of the first, Montclair State put four runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. The Red Hawks added a run in the fourth and another in the fifth before making it 7-0 in the bottom of the sixth.
Maritime finally broke through with a four-spot in the top of the seventh.
Vasilios Vafakos (Astoria, NY) reached on an error and
Ian Wilson (Bayonne, NJ) walked, then
Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY) put the Privateers on the board with an RBI single. Milone was up next, and he crushed a three-run shot to left center that pulled Maritime within 7-4. The next three Privateers all reached, as well, before Tyler Cirone struck out
Rob Copozzi (Center Moriches, NY) to end the threat.
Montclair State immediately responded with four runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh, however. The big blow in the inning was a two-run triple by Jason Moore. In the top of the ninth, Maritime added another run when Milone scored on
Jaden Shea's (Severn, MD) groundout, making it a score of 11-5.
Milone was 1-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) had two hits, while Forgione finished with a hit, a run and an RBI.
Brandon Stanley (Trinity, FL) (1-1) got the start on the mound and took the loss. He allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out two over four innings.
Matt Demme (Carmel, NY) surrendered two runs on two hits with two walks and a strikeout in two innings of work, and
Gavin McIntyre (Princess Anne, MD) and
Jack Kellner (Seaford, NY) each went an inning out of the bullpen.
For the Red Hawks, starting pitcher Patrick Cuccurullo (1-0) tossed six shutout innings, yielding four hits and two walks while notching four strikeouts. Offensively, Montclair State collected 13 hits, with Reece Malek finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Moore and Sam Angelo each drove in a pair of runs, while Ryan McKenna and Joe Gisonda both scored twice.
On Wednesday, the Privateers return to action with a 4:30 p.m. matchup against John Jay (2-5). The game will be played at Maimonides Park in Brooklyn.
