Though pitcher Nick DeGennaro made his first appearance in over three weeks, the Stony Brook baseball suffered its first midweek loss of the year.
In their trip out to West Point, N.Y. on Tuesday, the Seawolves (12-18, 4-8 CAA) blew a late lead to the Army Black Knights and lost 7-6 in extra innings. Stony Brook had three separate leads, but none of them were big enough to fend off the Black Knights’ hot bats.
Stony Brook hit the ground running by launching back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning. Designated hitter Shane Paradine started the scoring with a two-run bomb to left field and was followed with a solo shot from left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring.
After the home runs, right fielder Derek Yalon drew a walk and then advanced from first to third base on a single by first baseman Brett Paulsen. With runners on the corners, shortstop Matt Miceli dribbled one softly to the pitcher and beat it out for an RBI infield single.
Army cut into Stony Brook’s 4-0 lead by scoring an unearned run off of starting pitcher Brandon Lashley in the bottom of the first inning. The score remained 4-1 until the bottom of the fourth inning when Army took a page out of Stony Brook’s book.
With one out in the inning, Army right fielder William Parker lifted a two-run home run to left-center field and was followed with a game-tying homer from center fielder Braden Golinski. Both home runs came off of relief pitcher Brendan Pattermann, who has now allowed six home runs in as many innings pitched this season.
The ball continued to fly in the top of the fifth inning when third baseman Evan Giordano broke the tie with a solo home run. However, Army answered immediately with a sacrifice fly from second baseman Thomas Schreck.
The 5-5 tie held up until the top of the eighth inning when second baseman Anthony Gentile gave Stony Brook the lead with a pinch-hit RBI single.
After relief pitcher Eric Foster ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning, head coach Matt Senk turned to DeGennaro to put out the fire. Following the tit-for-tat theme of the game, Arm shortstop Kevin Dubrule welcomed DeGennaro rudely with a game-tying RBI single.
DeGennaro limited the damage and stranded a pair, keeping the game tied at six going into the ninth inning. Both teams traded zeros in the inning, sending the game to extras. Stony Brook went down in order in the top of the 10th inning, giving Army an opportunity to walk the game off.
DeGennaro ran into trouble, allowing two singles and a walk to load the bases with two outs. Needing to make a pitch to keep the game alive, Army left fielder Addison Ainsworth walked the game off with an RBI single into right field.
DeGennaro showed a lot of good and bad in his relief appearance. He hit a lot of bats, allowing five hits and two walks over just 2 ⅓ innings pitched. However, he got plenty of swings and misses as well, striking out five batters. He showed rust with a pair of wild pitches.
Stony Brook’s offense was good, racking up six runs on 10 hits. Paradine had a good day out of the cleanup spot, going 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Brown-Eiring was effective behind him, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, an RBI, a walk and two runs scored.
Senk went with a bullpen day, throwing seven total pitchers. Relief pitcher Cade Thompson was impressive, tossing 1 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out three. Lashley — who started — surrendered just an unearned run on two hits. He struck out two and walked none over two innings.
Left-handed relief pitcher Devin Sharkey pitched the third inning and allowed two hits and a walk. However, he got a double play on a fly-ball out and stranded the two hits, tossing a scoreless frame.
Of the seven arms that Stony Brook used, none of them could stop Dubrule. He went 5-for-5 out of the two-hole in Army’s lineup and reached base safely in all six plate appearances. He hit four singles, a double and drew a walk. He also scored one run.
Senk did not speak to the media after the game.
Stony Brook will return to Joe Nathan Field this weekend to host the Northeastern Huskies for a three-game series. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. The Huskies are 26-6 overall this year after blowing out UMass 18-11. They are 8-4 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) games.
