Though Long Island University (LIU) swept the Stony Brook baseball team in 2022, the Seawolves officially returned the favor on Tuesday.
It was a fun afternoon in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the Seawolves (7-11, 1-2 CAA), who dominated the LIU Sharks 14-7 to sweep the season series 2-0. What Stony Brook lacked on the mound, it made up for on offense, scoring 14 runs on 12 hits.
Center fielder Evan Fox started the game with a bang, leading things off with his fourth home run of the year. Just two batters later, third baseman Evan Giordano got a middle-in fastball and blasted it over the left field fence to put Stony Brook up 2-0.
Giordano’s home run was the 26th of his NCAA career, tying him for seventh all-time in program history.
Despite the hot start with the bats, Stony Brook’s pitching was not equal to the task. The Sharks went toe-to-toe with the Seawolves, answering their early scores with runs of their own. Though Stony Brook scored two more times in the top of the second inning, LIU rallied to tie the game 4-4 by the end of the third.
In the top of the fourth inning, Stony Brook played small ball to score four runs and take an 8-4 lead. The only run-scoring hit of the inning was an RBI single by right fielder Derek Yalon. Second baseman Anthony Gentile extended his team’s lead to five runs with an RBI fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth inning.
Now down 9-4, LIU spent the rest of the day playing catch up to Stony Brook. The best the Sharks could do was to cut the Seawolves’ lead down to three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
In the top of the eighth inning, four different Stony Brook bench players combined to drive in five runs and ice the game. The Seawolves took a 14-6 lead into the ninth inning and allowed a meaningless run before finishing LIU off.
During that big eighth inning, third baseman Joe DeLanzo, first baseman Jason Campo, catcher Chris Leone and left fielder Mike Anquillare all contributed to the scoreboard. None of them started the game, but they all entered as either pinch hitters or pinch runners.
Anquillare sparked the five-run frame by leading off with a double, which was the first hit of his NCAA career. Later in the inning, DeLanzo drove in Anquillare with the first hit of his NCAA career. After Stony Brook batted around, Anquillare capped off the scoring spree with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, earning him his first collegiate RBI.
Stony Brook did not get a good start from pitcher Kyle Johnson, who allowed three runs in 1 ⅔ innings. However, relievers Jerek Hobb, J.T. Raab and Quinlan Mongtomery combined to allow just two earned runs over the final 7 ⅓ innings.
Hobb earned the win after allowing only one run on two hits with six strikeouts and no walks in 3 ⅓ innings. Raab allowed two unearned runs in his two-inning stint. Montgomery allowed one earned run in his two innings of work and finished the game for Stony Brook.
Gentile had his best game with Stony Brook to date, going 1-for-3 with three RBIs, a sacrifice fly, a walk and a stolen base. Catcher Ryan Micheli had the first three-hit game of his career, going 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
Fox finished his day 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored. Giordano hit 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run. First baseman Brett Paulsen went 2-for-3 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and two runs scored.
Stony Brook will be back in action this Friday to kick off a three-game series with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks. UNCW is 13-8 and 5-1 in the CAA this season. The Seahawks lost their most recent game 11-8 at No. 24 NC State on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
