THROGGS NECK, NY – The Maritime College baseball team combined for seven home runs in a doubleheader sweep of The City College of New York (CCNY) on Saturday.  The Privateers (4-2) hit three long balls in the opener, a 5-1 victory, before going deep four consecutive times in the sixth inning of Game 2, an 8-2 triumph over the Beavers (0-7) at Reinhart Baseball Field.

After CCNY plated a first-inning run in Game 1, the Privateers took the lead with a three-spot in the third.  Rob Copozzi (Center Moriches, NY) started the rally with a bloop single to center, then he stole second before scoring on a double by Harry Leipold (Thornwood, NJ).  With two down, Freddy Forgione (Ronkonkoma, NY) crushed a two-run homer to right center that made it 3-1 Maritime.  Anthony Madigan (Greenlawn, NY) added a solo shot in the fifth, and Copozzi crushed one to right leading off the sixth, increasing the margin to 5-1.

That was more than enough offense for Matt Demme (Carmel, NY), who retired 16 of the next 17 batters he faced after Colin Souther's RBI single in the first.  Souther singled again leading off the seventh and Michael Chasanov followed with a walk.  However, Demme (2-0) induced a grounder back to the mound before striking out the final two hitters to finish of the complete game.  He finished with nine strikeouts while surrendering just one run on two hits and two walks.

Forgione and Copozzi both ended up 2-for-3 in the game.  Forgione drove in a pair on his first home run of the year, while Copozzi scored twice and stole a base.

CCNY's Brandon Paider (0-2) also went the distance on the mound.  He allowed five runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked two.

In Game 2, the Beavers again took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before the Privateers responded with three runs in the third.  After Logan Martinson (Sumner, WA) led off the inning with a single, Ian Wilson (Bayonne, NJ) reached on an error to put runners on first and second with no outs.  Madigan tied the game with an RBI single, then Forgione gave Maritime a 2-1 advantage with an RBI double to left.  Matt Milone (Farmingville, NY) followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center.

It remained 3-1 until the top of the sixth, when the Beavers put together a two-out rally.  Eric Rank reached on an infield single and scored on Souther's double off the wall in right center.  After Souther moved to third on Jake Brenner's single, Jack Kellner (Seaford, NY) was called upon out of the Privateers' bullpen, and he ended the threat by forcing a groundout.

Maritime then erupted for five runs in the bottom of the sixth.  Jaden Shea (Severn, MD) reached on an error to start the inning before Copozzi started the home run barrage with his second long ball of the day, a two-run shot to right.  Martinson and Wilson followed with blasts to almost the same spot in left center.  Madigan then went deep to right for the Privateers' fourth consecutive home run.  The four straight homers were one shy of matching the NCAA Division III record set by Wisconsin-Whitewater on April 5, 2008.

Five of the Privateers' nine hits in the game went for extra bases—the four homers and Forgione's double.  Madigan finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Copozzi was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.  Martinson ended up 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Forgione also had two hits.  Wilson, meanwhile, scored a pair of runs.

Brandon Stanley (Trinity, FL) (2-1) got the start on the mound and lasted four innings.  He gave up one run on three hits, struck out four and walked one.  Joe Sorge (Montgomery, NY) tossed 1.2 innings, yielding one run on three hits while tallying three strikeouts.  Kellner retired all four batters he faced to earn his second save this season.

Seven different CCNY batters had one hit apiece, including Souther's RBI double.  Rank and Tyler DiBlasi each recorded one hit and scored a run.  Starting pitcher Ishmael Jimenez (0-3) went the first 5.1 innings and took the loss.  He surrendered five runs (three earned) on six hits while walking two.  Jack Daly recorded one strikeout over the final 0.2 innings.

Up next for the Privateers is a 4 p.m. matchup with Baruch (0-3) on Friday.  The game will be played at Flowers Field in New Rochelle.