After scoring 33 runs in three games this past weekend, the Stony Brook baseball team saw its offense fall flat to sink back beneath .500.
The Seawolves (15-16, 4-5 CAA) took a trip to West Point, N.Y. to face off against the Army Black Knights (17-15, 7-4 Patriot) on Tuesday. After falling behind early, the bats did not pull their weight, leading to a 4-1 defeat.
Starting pitcher Ty Saunders struggled early, hitting Army shortstop Chris Barr with just his second pitch of the day. Barr took advantage of the opportunity by stealing second and third base before scoring on an infield single from left fielder William Parker. Just four pitches later, third baseman Sam Ruta blooped a ball into the right-center field gap to put runners on the corners with two outs for the Black Knights.
Following a meeting at the mound, Army catcher Coleson Titus tapped one up the middle that was mishandled by second baseman Johnny Pilla, allowing another run to score. The Black Knights held their 2-0 lead over the next three innings and doubled it in the bottom of the fourth when second baseman Derek Berg doubled home a pair into left-center field off relief pitcher Jerek Hobb.
Stony Brook had a chance to crawl their way back in the top of the sixth inning when it loaded the bases with two outs, but center fielder Chris Carson struck out looking to retire the side. The Seawolves gave themselves another chance in the top of the seventh when they reloaded the bases, setting up left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring to work a walk and drive in a run.
The rally ended with some bad luck, as designated hitter Erik Paulsen stung a comebacker at Army relief pitcher Andrew Berg, who snagged it and shoveled it to first base for the third out. Afterwards, relief pitchers Quinlan Montgomery and Ty Stout each tossed a scoreless inning to keep Stony Brook in it. However, Berg matched their efforts to complete a seven-out save and hand the Seawolves the loss.
Fox led Stony Brook’s offense by going 2-for-4 and drawing a walk. First baseman Brett Paulsen went 1-for-3 with a walk. Off the bench, center fielder Cam Santerre hit a single in his only at-bat. Brown-Eiring went 0-for-2, but he drew two walks and drove in the team’s only run. Right fielder Matty Wright went 1-for-4 and scored the lone run. Erik Paulsen added the only other hit, going 1-for-4.
On the mound, relief pitchers Ty Panariello and Colton Book each had scoreless outings. Panariello issued just a hit and struck out a batter in a scoreless inning of work while Book replaced him and retired all four hitters he faced and whiffed two. Montgomery stranded a hit and struck out one while Stout allowed a hit in a scoreless frame.
Head coach Matt Senk did not speak to the media after the game.
The Seawolves will return to conference play this weekend down in North Carolina to take on the Campbell Camels for a three-game set. The Camels are 22-9 on the season and 5-4 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. They enter on the heels of a series victory against North Carolina A&T this past weekend. First pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday.
