For the first time since 2012 — the year it reached the College World Series — the Stony Brook baseball team had a flawless opening weekend.

The Seawolves (3-0) made the trip to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (0-3). Stony Brook won a thriller on Friday night, winning 7-4 before winning a 3-2 pitcher’s duel on Saturday. In Sunday’s getaway game, the Seawolves fell behind 8-0 early but rallied to win 11-8 in a rain-shortened affair.  

Stony Brook kicked off the scoring on Friday in the second inning. Leading off the frame, designated hitter Nico Azpilcueta ripped a double inside the third-base line. Bethune-Cookman starting pitcher Tanner Boccabello then issued a walk to second baseman Johnny Pilla before left fielder Cam Santerre dropped down a sacrifice bunt to give Boccabello his first out of the frame. Boccabello then plunked right fielder Kincaid Bergthold to load the bases and center fielder Chris Carson came through with a bases-clearing double to put the Seawolves up 3-0. 

The two sides traded runs in the next two half innings. After striking out Bethune-Cookman third baseman Reinaldo Plascencia, starting pitcher Eddie Smink gave up a single, a walk and a hit batsman to load the bases. Smink then struck out Bethune-Cookman shortstop Jeter Polledo to move an out away from escaping the jam, but forced in a run by walking Bethune-Cookman center fielder Daniel Figueroa to put the Wildcats on the board.

However, Stony Brook promptly got that run right back in the top of the third inning when Pilla tripled home Azpilcueta after a two-out walk. 

Smink and Boccabello then settled in, turning in zeros in the fourth inning before Smink was pulled in favor of Erik Paulsen, who moved from first base to the mound.

In all, Smink lasted four innings, allowing a run on four hits while handing out two walks and striking out seven Wildcats. On the other side, Boccabello went 5 ⅔ frames while surrendering four runs (three earned) and walking four batters. He struck out four Seawolves.

The game started to sway in Bethune-Cookman’s favor in the top of the eighth. After Azpilcueta singled to lead off the inning and Pilla moved him to third with a double, Santerre reached on an error with nobody out. Unfazed by the traffic on the bases, Wildcats reliever Jean Carlos Zambrano struck out Bergthold, Carson and shortstop Matt Miceli to escape the jam and hold the deficit to three.

With Paulsen still on the mound to start the bottom of the eighth, Plascencia was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Bethune-Cookman left fielder Michael Rodriguez followed by pulling a Paulsen slider into the right-field corner, letting Plascencia score from first. With the Stony Brook lead now trimmed to 4-2, Bethune-Cookman right fielder Andrey Martinez then launched Paulsen’s 0-1 offering over the left-field wall to tie the ballgame.

Calming things down, relief pitcher Micah Worley put the inning to bed, registering a pair of punchouts in a scoreless bottom half of the eighth.

Having just blown the lead, Paulsen immediately reversed the narrative by working a full-count against Zambrano before hitting a go-ahead solo home run to start the ninth inning. The Seawolves then added on as Pilla doubled home catcher Nicholas Solorzano and center fielder Nick Zampieron — who came in to run for Azpilcueta — to stretch the Seawolves’ late lead to 7-4. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Worley put himself in trouble. He drilled Bethune-Cookman second baseman Jesus Vanegas with his first pitch and then walked third baseman Peter Vazquez after a strikeout. Worley then got Rodriguez to swing and miss before loading the bases with a passed ball and a walk. With the go-ahead run in the batter’s box, Worley got Wildcats’ catcher Irvin Escobar to fly out to the warning track, ending the season-opener. 

Following the thriller from the night prior, Saturday’s tilt was much quieter. Catcher Luke Szepek did club a home run in his first Stony Brook at bat with one out in the second, but both offenses stayed quiet until the fifth. 

Bethune-Cookman designated hitter Armani Newton started the inning by doubling up the gap in right-center field. He then advanced to third on a fly out, but was at risk of being stranded after Polledo failed to score him on a ground out. With the Wildcats down 1-0, Newton then took matters into his own hands, surprising starting pitcher Nicholas Rizzo dashing down the third-base line. With Rizzo’s back turned to third base, Newton was able to sneak in and successfully steal home to tie the ballgame at one apiece. 

Rizzo and Bethune-Cookman starting pitcher Joel Core matched each other through seven innings with the score still set at 1-1. The Seawolves got into the Wildcats’ bullpen in the eighth with Core at 100 pitches and immediately took the lead. Bethune-Cookman relief pitcher Julian Carrasquilla hit Miceli to start the inning before throwing a pickoff attempt into right field, moving Miceli up to second. Carrasquilla sent his next offering to the backstop which put Miceli 90 feet away with nobody out. Ultimately, Paulsen got the job done, lofting a fly ball to center field to put Stony Brook up 2-1. 

By the end of the day, Rizzo lasted seven innings and allowed a run on two hits while striking out four. Relief pitcher Jacob Pedersen was the next name called by head coach Matt Senk. After allowing a leadoff double to Escobar, Pedersen retired the next three, highlighted by a pair of strikeouts. 

The Seawolves added to their lead in the top of the ninth as Santerre walked to lead off. He then moved to third on a passed ball and wild pitch, respectively. With one out, left fielder Chanz Doughty chopped a ball to shortstop which was mishandled by Polledo, bringing home Santerre.

Pedersen found himself quickly in trouble again in the bottom of the ninth as Vanegas hit a ground-rule double with one away. Pedersen got Michael Rodriguez to swing through a fastball to move an out away from victory, but then surrendered a run-scoring single to pinch hitter Jose Fernandez. Newton then walked to put the potential tying run in scoring position but Pedersen induced a fly ball from Bethune-Cookman pinch hitter Jorge Rodriguez to wrap up a 3-2 Stony Brook win. 

The Wildcats pounced from the get-go in Sunday’s matinee, ambushing starting pitcher John Rizzo. With one out in the first, Vanegas lined a Rizzo fastball down the right-field line, sneaking it inside the foul pole for a home run. Before Rizzo got a chance to catch his breath, Newton belted his 1-1 pitch over the same right-field wall as Bethune-Cookman took an instant 2-0 advantage.

After the back-to-back homers, Rizzo walked Michael Rodriguez before Martinez looped a single to shallow right field. Bethune-Cookman first baseman Manny Souffrain then pulled a single into left field to load the bases, prompting Senk to come out of the dugout for a chat. The quick intermission proved to pay dividends for his starter in the short-term, as he struck out Fernandez. Bethune-Cookman right fielder Darryl Lee then delivered the key-note: a bases-clearing triple which put the Wildcats up 5-0 early.

Rizzo looked to turn the page in the second inning, getting two quick outs. However, Newton then sent him to the showers by clobbering a solo shot to right-center field — his second of the afternoon. 

In a disastrous first start for Stony Brook, Rizzo lasted just 1 ⅔ innings, surrendering six earned runs and three home runs. 

In relief, Senk called upon Matt Sgambati, who only put fuel on the fire in his first collegiate outing. Sgambati plunked Michael Rodriguez and allowed a double to Martinez, putting runners at second and third. Souffrain then added a pair with a single back past Sgambati to push the Bethune-Cookman lead to 8-0. 

However, the Wildcats would not score again and watched the Seawolves unleash 11 unanswered runs. 

The Stony Brook scoring began in the bottom of the third inning when Miceli led off with a single against Bethune-Cookman starter Edwin Sanchez. With two outs, Pilla lined a ball up the right-center field gap. Pilla was thrown out attempting to stretch it to a triple, but Miceli came across before the out was recorded. 

The following inning, the Seawolves loaded the bases with nobody out. Bergthold then seemingly aided the Wildcats by rolling a ball to shortstop, but Bethune-Cookman shortstop Jayme Villafane threw the would-be double play into right field, bringing in three runners. With a runner now at third, Doughty struck out on a ball in the dirt but, as Fernandez completed the out with a throw to first, Bergthold sprinted for the plate and slid in uncontested. 

After cutting the deficit to 8-5, Senk turned to Hunter Colagrande out of the bullpen in an attempt to keep the game close. Despite putting his first two batters aboard with a single and a walk, respectively, Colagrande struck out the next three to retire the side in the fourth inning, before using a double play to sidestep a pair of walks in the fifth.

In the top of the sixth inning, Bethune-Cookman turned to relief pitcher Isaias Duccasse. After Duccasse quickly got the first two outs, Doughty reached on an infield hit. Miceli followed with a single before Paulsen singled home Doughty with a knock up the middle. Third baseman Evan Goforth then ripped a fastball into center for a run-scoring hit, cutting the Wildcat lead to 8-7. 

Bethune-Cookman head coach Jonathan Hernandez then turned to Jeffrey Gonzalez out of his bullpen. Gonzalez escaped the jam with the lead intact, getting Pilla to ground out to second base. Relief pitcher George Adams kept the momentum in Stony Brook’s favor in the home half of the inning, striking out the side in his first career outing. 

With the red-hot Seawolves’ offense back at the plate, Szepek and Santerre drew consecutive one-out walks. Hernandez then once again went to his relief corps, calling on Marcos Gamboa. Gamboa was unable to replicate Gonzalez’s Houdini act from the previous inning as Bergthold ripped his second pitch into left-center for a single and a game-tying run batted in (RBI). Now tied, Doughty took Gamboa’s 0-1 pitch well over the center-field wall to give Stony Brook the lead at 11-8. 

Adams went back to the hill, getting Martinez to line out before striking out Souffrain and Hernandez. The latter proved to be the game’s final out, as inclement weather banged the final two frames resulting in an 11-8 Seawolves’ win, a series sweep and their first 3-0 start in over a decade.

Senk did not speak to the media after any of the three games.

Pilla was an extra-base hit machine for the Stony Brook offense, going 4-for-9 with three doubles and a triple. He also walked four times, stole a base and drove in four runs. Paulsen’s sophomore campaign got off to a good start with the bat as he had the most hits of any Seawolf, going 5-for-12 out of the leadoff spot. Of his three RBIs, two of them proved to be crucial as he delivered the go-ahead RBI in each of the first two games. 

Azpilcueta was on base practically all weekend, as he went 3-for-10 and drew a pair of walks. He scored three runs but also struck out a team-high six times. Doughty went 2-for-8 but scored twice and drove in three with the go-ahead longball on Sunday. Santerre also had two hits in eight official at bats, but walked three times and was hit by a pitch. Once on base, Santerre stole two bases in three tries and scored three runs. Miceli tallied three hits on the weekend in the nine-hole.

As a whole, the Stony Brook bullpen threw 12 ⅓ innings this weekend, allowing six runs. However, the group struck out 14 batters. 

Adams registered the win in his first collegiate game, going two perfect innings while striking out four batters. Worley and Colagrande each had scoreless outings, both throwing two innings in their respective games. 

Worley struck out three and earned the win on Friday while Colagrande struck out four batters and walked three on Sunday.

Pedersen got the save in his only appearance of the series. Sgambati allowed two runs in 1 ⅓ innings of work. 

The Seawolves will continue their tour of the Sunshine State next weekend when they travel to Fort Myers to take on Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in a three-game series. The Eagles are 1-2 on the young season after losing 2-of-3 to Fairfield. Before welcoming Stony Brook on Friday, FGCU will have a pair of midweek contests with Indiana State. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m.