AUBURNDALE, FL – On Thursday, the Maritime College baseball team continued its stay at the RussMatt Invitational with a matchup against Keystone. The Privateers (0-2) rallied from a 12-0 deficit to pull within 14-11 after seven innings. However, the Giants (5-2) scored three in the ninth to notch a 17-11 victory at Lake Myrtle Park.
Keystone plated four runs in the first, then added eight more in the top of the second. Maritime began its comeback effort with a four-spot in the bottom of the second.
Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) belted a two-run homer, while
Chris Picarella (Levittown, NY) and
Alex Bardi (Wantagh, NY) each had an RBI double during the rally. After the Giants picked up another run in the top of the fourth, Picarella made it 13-6 with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.
Joey Goodman (Merrick, NY) crushed a two-run homer of his own in the fifth before roping a triple that brought home a pair in the seventh.
Dylan Payano (Flushing, NY) followed with a double, bringing the Privateers within 14-11. He was left stranded on second, though, and Bardi was erased on a double play after a one-out single in the eighth. Keystone then increased its advantage to 17-11 with a three-run top of the ninth. Cooper Ryan pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to close out the win for the Giants.
Picarella finished a triple short of the cycle. He was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Goodman, meanwhile, had four RBIs on a triple and a home run. He also crossed the plate twice. Bardi went 3-for-5, while
Dominick Viggiano (Miller Place, NY) and
Owen Weber (Kings Park, NY) both ended up 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) (0-1) got the start on the mound and took the loss. He allowed nine runs on five hits, walked five and struck out two. Three Privateers relievers followed, with
Joe Demos (South Hempstead, NY) tossing three shutout innings in his Maritime debut. Demos surrendered one hit and one walk while notching two strikeouts.
For Keystone, Dillion Bird was 3-for-6 with six RBIs. Emilio Portes had three RBIs and three runs scored, while Dante Ruby came around four times. Colson Bennett reached base five times, finishing 2-for-2 with three walks, two runs scored and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Luke Baker (2-0) lasted five innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits with three walks and a strikeout. After Jacob McTigue went 1.2 innings, Ryan tossed the final 2.1 innings to earn the save. He held the Privateers scoreless and yielded just one hit while striking out three and not issuing a walk.
In its next outing, Maritime faces RIT (2-4) for the first time in program history. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
