After its pitching faltered during a high-scoring weekend, the Stony Brook baseball team rode its arms and an eighth inning rally to a come-from-behind win.
The Seawolves (9-9) made the trip to the Garden State on Tuesday, taking on the Rider Broncs (10-6, 4-2 MAAC). Given Stony Brook’s lack of a true midweek starter, head coach Matt Senk relied on his bullpen as the unit gave up just two runs on the afternoon. The offense scored early but was blanked in the middle innings before rallying in the eighth for a 4-2 win.
The Seawolves started the scoring early, pushing a run across in the top of the first inning. With one out, second baseman Johnny Pilla drew a four-pitch walk before promptly stealing second and third base. With Pilla now 90 feet away, designated hitter Nico Azpilcueta lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Seawolves a 1-0 lead.
The run would be all that Rider starting pitcher Chris Montone would allow, as he twirled six innings of one-run baseball, allowing just two hits.
With relievers Jacob Pedersen — who started the game for Stony Brook — and Matt Sgambati combining to throw three hitless innings to start the game, Senk turned to relief pitcher Evan Kay in the bottom of the fourth. After Kay put away the first two with ease, Rider left fielder Richie Sica singled. Sica then moved to third on a wild pitch and a stolen base, respectively, before catcher Mike McGinley knocked a base hit off the glove of Pilla, driving in Sica as the ball rolled into right field.
The Broncs would grab the lead in the next inning, as right-hander Matthew Canizares came on in relief of Kay. Rider first baseman A.J. Labrusciano started the rally by bunting for a single before advancing to third on a passed ball and a fly out. Right fielder Erich Hartmann promptly drove him in, poking a two-out single to right field to give the Broncs a 2-1 advantage.
Relief pitchers Alex Jankowski and Ty Panariello quieted the Rider offense, throwing scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh innings.
The Seawolves stranded the tying run in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings, prolonging an issue that has plagued them all season. However, they broke through in the eighth.
First baseman Erik Paulsen got the inning started after being plunked and moved to second as Pilla singled to right, knocking Rider relief pitcher Jack Ruditzky out of the game. Head coach Lee Lipinski called on right-hander Jake Dorety, but he only threw fuel on the fire. On his third pitch, Dorety spiked a fastball to the backstop, putting both runners in scoring position. Azpilcueta immediately cashed in both, lining a single into the left-field corner to flip the scoreboard in Stony Brook’s favor. Two batters later, Azpilcueta was able to come home from third after center fielder Chris Carson grounded out to the shortstop, extending the lead to 4-2.
Panariello went back to work, but he allowed a leadoff hit in the home half of the eighth. That runner was quickly erased, as Hartmann bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. Now with two outs, Panariello put the inning to bed, getting a pop out in foul territory.
Three outs from victory, Senk turned to relief pitcher Ryan Dieguez, who retired the Broncs in order to earn the save.
Panariello picked up his first win of the season, notching two shutout innings while allowing no hits and one walk. Despite the effort of seven different arms, Seawolves pitchers struck out just a single batter over the course of the ballgame.
Pilla went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk while catcher Scott Gell also had two hits, including a double. Pilla’s two hits gave him his eighth multi-hit game of the season and his three stolen bases brought his season-total to a team-leading 11. Gell also swiped a pair of bases, as Stony Brook stole six bags as a team.
Azpilcueta was the Seawolves’ key run creator, driving in three of Stony Brook’s four runs. He went 1-for-2 with a run scored, a walk and a sacrifice fly.
The Seawolves are back in action on Friday as they began their Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) schedule on the road against the Delaware Blue Hens. Delaware has gone 10-9 on the season, getting above the .500 mark by beating the Saint Joseph’s 7-4 on Tuesday. First pitch on Friday is set for 5 p.m.
