In the annals of teams that have passed into Omaha, Neb., to play for the collegiate baseball’s crown, Stony Brook has now crashlanded for the first time, putting the Seawolves on the map around the nation and the worldwide web. In front of a crowd of 10,620, the largest in the history of the Louisiana State University (LSU) baseball, the Stony Brook University baseball upset the seventh-seeded Tigers in the third game of a three-game set in the Super Regionals to advance to its first ever NCAA College World Series.
The Seawolves took the game in convincing fashion, defeating LSU 7-2 after dropping the conclusion of the first game of the series and winning the second game on Saturday. They accumulated 15 hits through the game, and sophomore starting pitcher Frankie Vanderka threw a complete game and allowed three hits. He struck out five and allowed only four walks.
Also coming up strong for Stony Brook were junior outfielder Travis Jankowski, who had four hits and scored two runs, junior infielder Maxx Tissenbaum, who had two hits and three runs-batted-in (RBI), junior infielder William Carmona, who had three hits and scored two runs, and freshman outfielder Kevin Krause, who had two hits and an RBI.
Apart from its first trip as a school to the College World Series, Stony Brook’s victory is notable for other reasons as well. It is the second No. 4 seed in the tournament to reach that stage since it expanded to 64 teams in 1999. The first team was Fresno State University in 2008; that school went on to win the national championship. It is also the first team from the America East conference to have gotten this far.
Stony Brook struck early for the third game in a row when Carmona hit an RBI single to center field in the top of the first inning. However, LSU responded quickly when Mason Katz hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the inning.
The Seawolves then pounced in the fourth inning, scoring three runs. Tissenbaum, Krause and freshman Steven Golstein each had two-out, run-scoring hits, giving Stony Brook a 4-1 lead.
Tissenbaum added another two runs for Stony Brook when he hit a two RBI double in the fourth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Vanderka would strand two runners on base.
That was nearly all the scoring for the game. LSU had one more spark of life in the seventh when they tacked on an additional run, but the Seawolves responded in the next half-inning when Carmona lead off with a double and later came around to score. Carmona has performed well overall in the tournament, going 18-for-34 and scoring 12 RBI.
The College World Series takes place between June 14-26. Stony Brook’s upcoming opponent is the University of California, Los Angeles.
