After a promising start to its weekend series, the Stony Brook baseball team dropped a pair of games to stay under .500.
This weekend, the Seawolves (8-9) continued their homestand at Joe Nathan Field for a three-game series with the Seton Hall Pirates (6-11). On Friday, Stony Brook was opportunistic during a 7-3 win before falling 8-6 on Saturday. During the rubber match on Sunday, the Seawolves blew a late lead en route to a 13-10 loss.
In the series opener, the Pirates drew first blood. After walking a pair of runners with two outs in the top of the third inning, starting pitcher Eddie Smink induced a harmless-looking ground ball off designated hitter Jimmy Brennan’s bat. However, miscommunication between shortstop Matt Miceli and second baseman Johnny Pilla led to the ball going into center field for a run-scoring single.
Nevertheless, Stony Brook’s corner outfielders took over the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. With Seton Hall starting pitcher Ryan Reich on the mound and left fielder Matthew Jackson standing on second base, right fielder Chanz Doughty pulled a booming double off the left field wall to tie the game at 1-1.
“It’s really easy to produce when [Jackson]’s on the bases; it always feels like he’s on second or third,” Doughty said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “It’s nice to have him in front of me and I just try to take what the pitcher gives me.”
Two innings later, the Seawolves captured the lead. Following a leadoff walk by designated player Nico Azpilcueta, Jackson bunted him over, allowing Doughty to take a pitch from relief pitcher Mason Christoper the other way for his second run batted in (RBI) of the afternoon.
Doughty remained on his toes, as a steal and wild pitch combined to move him over to third base, allowing center fielder Cam Santerre to bring him home with a ground out.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Stony Brook brought the hammer down. Seton Hall reliever Connor Byrne was given little wiggle room, as he was yanked in favor of right-hander Anthony Ehly after hitting and walking a batter.
However, Ehly was unable to get his team out of the jam. With the bases loaded and one out, Jackson ripped an RBI single into right field following a tough take to stay alive in the at-bat, extending the Seawolves’ advantage to 4-1.
“I knew [Ehly] couldn’t beat me with any of his pitches,” Jackson said. “I was just trying to sit on his off-speed stuff, trying to really drive that and he just gave me his fastball and I drove it.”
Immediately after, Doughty drew a walk to force in a run and Santerre followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice to score another. Despite recording just one hit in the inning, Stony Brook was able to make it a four-run frame, with Jackson crossing the plate on a wild pitch to cap it off.
Leading off the top of the eighth inning, catcher Kevin Milewski crushed a home run off relief pitcher George Adams to bring the Pirates closer and set up an interesting top of the ninth.
During the final stanza, shortstop Tommy Manzo delivered another leadoff homer before Seton Hall loaded the bases with one out. Nevertheless, Adams got the job done, getting Milewski to fly out before first baseman Andrew Bianco watched strike three go by to end the game at 7-3.
Following the win, head coach Matt Senk applauded his lineup for finding ways to tilt the scoreboard despite notching just seven hits. Overall, his team drew nine walks, two hit-by-pitches and stole three bases.
“When you can rely on other things besides just grip-it-and-rip-it, you can manufacture some runs,” Senk said. “I thought our running game was good. It definitely put some pressure on them and took the attention away from their pitchers. Several good at bats, but a combination of things allowed us to score seven, which is a good number.”
Smink was not at his best on Friday, but still produced a strong outing nonetheless. The right-hander allowed one run on six hits, four walks and four strikeouts over 5 ⅔ innings.
Out of the bullpen, Adams earned the win and racked up seven strikeouts while surrendering two solo homers, four hits and two walks across 3 ⅓ frames.
On Saturday, things did not go nearly as well for Stony Brook despite a great start. After starting pitcher John Rizzo worked through trouble to end the top of the first inning, third baseman Evan Goforth ripped a leadoff homer run in the bottom of the frame to give his team an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second inning, Rizzo was forced to navigate through more muddy water. The right-hander allowed three straight singles to start the frame, including a long, RBI knock by first baseman Nick Ferri.
In spite of walking the next batter to fill the bases, Rizzo responded with three straight punchouts to limit the damage. With two outs in the bottom of the frame and runners in scoring position after a double steal, Seton Hall starting pitcher Cole Hansen slipped during his delivery to balk in the go-ahead run for the Seawolves.
The seesaw bout continued as Seton Hall right fielder Aiden Robbins drove an opposite-field home run over the right-field fence to leadoff the third inning. Two batters later, Milewski gave the Pirates their first lead of the day with a two-run shot to left center to make it 4-2.
Despite getting down, Stony Brook answered again. In the bottom of the inning, Azpilcueta notched a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run.
In the top of the fourth inning, a two-out single by Robbins chased Rizzo from the contest. Senk summoned reliever Ryan Dieguez from the bullpen, but he surrendered consecutive singles to Brennan and Milewski, allowing an inherited runner to score and make it 5-3.
Once again, the Seawolves crawled back in to close out the inning. With Santerre occupying third base and one out, catcher Nicholas Solorzano poked an RBI single into right field.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning from Dieguez, Pilla swatted an opposite-field long ball of his own to left field, deadlocking the score at 5-5.
Though Stony Brook’s bullpen initially held firm, it began to falter in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, Seton Hall left fielder Magnus Krieger bunted for a single, leading to a collision between reliever Micah Worley and Solorzano and forced Worley to leave the game with an ankle injury.
With Worley out of the game, relief pitcher Jacob Pedersen was called upon, and after hurling a wild pitch that moved Krieger to second base, third baseman Casey Cumiskey sent a single through the middle of the diamond to put the Pirates ahead 6-5.
Pedersen’s struggles persisted in the top of the eighth inning. With two on and two out, Krieger struck again, placing an RBI single into left field. On the relay, Goforth attempted to get Robbins out at third base, but his throw went awry, bringing home another run that stretched Stony Brook’s deficit to three runs.
The Seawolves’ best opportunity to knot things up came in the bottom of the eighth. With two runners on and one out, first baseman Erik Paulsen turned on reliever John Downing’s pitch and found a hole through the right side to bring Stony Brook within 8-6.
A two-out walk juiced the bases for pinch hitter Kincaid Bergthold, but Downing got him to strike out looking to end the threat.
Relief pitcher Matthew Canizares kept the Pirates at bay in the top of the ninth inning to give the Seawolves a chance in the bottom of the ninth, but Downing retired the side in order to seal the 8-6 victory.
“I’m disappointed,” Senk said. “Today, we were 2-for-13 in scoring position and that’s not very good. On the pitching side, pretty much everyone but one inherited runner ended up scoring. Anytime you do that, you’re really going to put yourself in a tough position to win the game.”
Over 3 ⅔ innings, Rizzo racked up seven strikeouts but was hit hard, surrendering five runs on eight hits, a walk and two hit-by-pitches.
Dieguez pitched to two hits, a walk and a strikeout over 1 ⅓ scoreless innings. Worley also went 1 ⅓ innings, allowing one run on one hit with a strikeout before being sent for X-rays.
Pedersen allowed two runs (one earned), three hits and two walks while punching out two Pirates over 1 ⅔ frames. Canizares gave up a hit in one scoreless inning of work.
In the final game of the series, Stony Brook suffered a crushing defeat, as it let a late lead slip away.
The Seawolves’ offense dictated the game in the early innings. Following a first-inning home run by Seton Hall second baseman Marco Ali off starting pitcher Nicholas Rizzo, Pilla responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run shot to put his team ahead 2-1.
After an RBI single from Cumiskey tied the game in the top of the second inning, Stony Brook answered immediately once again thanks to a two-out, two-RBI double by Paulsen.
The Seawolves’ lineup continued to jump Seton Hall starting pitcher Steven Svenson in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, center fielder Chris Carson delivered a single, driving home Azpilcueta and giving Stony Brook a 5-2 lead.
Despite the offense showing up early, Rizzo struggled on the mound. The top of the fourth inning saw six of Seton Hall’s first seven batters reach base, including two-RBI singles from both center fielder A.J. Soldra and Brennan, as well as a sacrifice fly by Milewski.
The five-run inning gave the Pirates a 7-5 advantage and promptly ended Rizzo’s afternoon with a final line of seven runs on nine hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
However, Stony Brook’s offense stayed resilient. Miceli greeted reliever Tomas Cestero in the bottom of the fourth by launching his first collegiate home run over the left-field fence. With two on and two out, Jackson hammered a run-scoring double into the right-field corner to knot the game up before Doughty drove in the go-ahead run with a swinging bunt toward third base.
After another two-out, RBI double by Paulsen to make it 9-7 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game settled down due to relief pitcher Vincent Mariella’s stellar performance. Mariella twirled four innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits and a walk with a strikeout.
“[Mariella] was tremendous,” Senk said. “To come in on a hitter’s day like this and to shut them down— he was terrific. Kudos to him.”
Holding their 9-7 lead into the eighth inning, the Seawolves watched the game unravel due to poor defense and pitching.
After getting the opening out of the frame, Mariella surrendered a single to third baseman Ryan Frontera, prompting Senk to move Paulsen from first base to the mound.
With the tying runs on base and two outs, Robbins hit an innocent-looking pop up to right field. However, Doughty misplayed the ball, allowing both runners to score and even the contest at 9-9.
Following a walk, the Pirates once again had two men aboard with two out. Milewski drove a 1-0 pitch from Paulsen that barely snuck over the left-field fence for a three-run homer, capping off Seton Hall’s second five-run frame of the day to take a 12-9 lead.
The Seawolves got a run back in the bottom of the inning from a sacrifice fly by Azpilcueta cutting the deficit to 12-10. However, it was as close as Stony Brook got to tying the game. A throwing error by catcher Luke Szepek brought a Pirates’ insurance run home in the top of the ninth before relief pitcher Daniel Frontera made quick work of the Seawolves to earn the save.
“We had to earn every single one of our 10 [runs]” Senk said. “Their last six runs were unearned. We really killed ourselves.”
Despite going 5-for-5 with three doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored and two steals on Sunday, Paulsen scuffled on the bump. The southpaw conceded five unearned runs, as his defense did him no favors, but gave up four hits and issued a free pass in 1 ⅔ innings.
The Seawolves received contributions from all over their lineup over the weekend. Goforth went 7-for-13 with two doubles, a home run, an RBI, five runs scored, two hit-by-pitches and two steals during the series. Aside from his five-hit performance, Paulsen went 2-for-5 with one run, an RBI and hit-by-pitch.
Jackson went 3-for-9 with a double, two RBIs, two runs, two walks and four steals. Doughty picked up four RBIs throughout the series, going 3-for-12 with a double, two runs, two walks and three stolen bases.
Szepek delivered three hits in five at-bats on Sunday after going 0-for-3 with a walk on Friday.
Pilla homered and added three RBIs while Miceli hit his first career bomb. Azpilcueta and Santerre both notched two RBIs. Solorzano and Carson tallied an RBI apiece.
For its next game, Stony Brook will hit the road and head to Lawrenceville, N.J. for a non-conference matchup with the Rider Broncos. The Broncos are 9-5 this season and 4-2 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. They dropped their series against Quinnipiac over the weekend and will take on Monmouth on Tuesday before meeting the Seawolves. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
