PURCHASE, NY – In a doubleheader that saw both games go into extra innings and took more than seven hours to complete, the Maritime College baseball team used a pair of late rallies to sweep Manhattanville on Saturday.  The Privateers (13-10, 10-0 Skyline) came back from a 4-1 deficit to notch a 5-4 win in the opener, then in Game 2, scored six in the 10^th before hanging on for an 18-14 victory over the Valiants (17-8, 5-3 Skyline) at Manhattanville Baseball Field.

An Alex Bardi (Wantagh, NY) got Maritime on the board in the third inning of Game 1, but Manhattanville responded with a four-spot in the bottom half of the inning.  It remained that way until the sixth, when the Privateers used a pair of unearned tallies to pull within 4-3.  Maritime then tied it in the top of the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Owen Weber (Kings Park, NY) and Chris Picarella (Levittown, NY).  The Valiants put runners on first and second with two out in the bottom half of the inning before Jackson Tucholski (Massapequa, NY) got a popout to send the contest into the eighth.

Bardi singled with one out in the top of the eighth, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.  Picarella was up next, and he delivered an RBI single thru the left side that gave the Privateers a 5-4 lead.  Manhattanville had the winning run on second with two out when Joe Sorge (Montgomery, NY) induced a popup to lock down the victory.

Maritime pounded out 15 hits in the game, with Bardi and Weber both finishing 3-for-4.  Picarella, meanwhile, was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Randy Ventura (Syosset, NY) and Dylan Payano (Flushing, NY) also had two hits.  Starting pitcher Joe Demos (South Hempstead, NY) went 5.1 innings on the mound, giving up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk.  Tucholski (1-1) earned the win after tossing 1.2 shutout innings.  He allowed one hit, walked two and struck out two.  Sorge yielded one hit in the eighth to notch his first save of the year.

For the Valiants, Dylan Roberts went 3-for-4 with a run scored, and Alex Exarchakis ended up 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Griffin White, meanwhile, drove in a pair.  Ryan McCann started on the mound and lasted six innings.  He was charged with four runs (two earned) and 13 hits while striking out five.  Aidan Tumbleson (1-2) took the loss after surrendering one run on two hits and two walks.

Game 2 was a back-and-forth affair throughout.  The Privateers jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Manhattanville scored one in the second and two in the third to pull within 4-3.  Maritime responded with a two-spot of its own in the top of the fourth, though, to extend its advantage to 6-3.

The Valiants cut the margin to 6-5 in the sixth, then took the lead with a three-run seventh.  After each team scored in the eighth, the Privateers put up a four-spot in the top of the ninth.  Maritime loaded the bases with one out before Guytano Kiesel (Bayport, NY) ripped a go-ahead two-run single.  Bardi then added insurance with a two-run single of his own that made it 12-9.

However, Manhattanville tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the ninth.  After Anthony Mezzaucella drew a bases loaded walk to level the score at 12-12, the Valiants had the winning run on third with two down.  Jack Kellner (Seaford, NY) retired Logan Alberto on a grounder back to the mound, though, and the teams headed to extra innings for the second time on the day.

With one out in the top of the 10^th, Joey Goodman (Merrick, NY) walked and stole second.  He then came around on Harry Leipold's (Thornwood, NY) RBI single.  That started a six-run rally for the Privateers, who took an 18-12 cushion into the bottom of the 10^th.    The first four Manhattanville hitters all reached base in the bottom half of the inning, allowing one run to come in.  After a Joe Kearney sacrifice fly made it 18-14, Frank Santeramo (Garden City, NY) retired Jack Moeller on a fly ball to center to secure the sweep.

Eight different Maritime players had a multi-hit game, and all nine starters either scored or drove in a run.  Bardi finished 4-for-6 with a run scored and four RBIs, while Ventura was 4-for-7 with four runs scored and an RBI.  Kiesel ended up 3-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBIs.  Goodman and Leipold, meanwhile, each went 2-for-5 with three runs scored.

Ryan Morash (Merrick, NY) started on the mound and pitched six innings.  He allowed seven runs on nine hits, struck out two and walked two.  Luke Martinez (Mineola, NY) followed and gave up two runs on a hit and two walks in one inning of work.  Kellner (1-0) was credited with the win after yielding three runs over two innings.  He surrendered four hits and issued five walks.

Chris Goohs reached base all six times for the Valiants, going 3-for-3 with three walks.  He scored three runs and knocked in another.  Jack Moeller also recorded three hits and crossed the plate twice, while Anthony Peterson was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.  Travis Szober added two runs and two RBIs.

Manhattanville starting pitcher Max Krom lasted two innings.  He yielded four runs (three earned) on five hits.  Four relievers followed, with Jack Lally (3-1) suffering the loss.  He was charged with four runs on three hits while walking two and striking out one in 0.2 innings.

On Sunday, the Privateers welcome Merchant Marine (13-6, 6-0 Skyline) to Reinhart Baseball Field for a 12 p.m. twinbill.  It will be a battle for first place between the only two teams that are unbeaten in conference play.