Solid pitching performances carried the Seawolves (3-10) this weekend, as they won two of three games at Fordham.Junior Brandon McNitt earned his first win of the season on Saturday, as the Seawolves defeated the Rams 3-2.Frankie Vanderka, another junior, hurled his second career no-hitter on Sunday, blanking Fordham 2-0 in extra innings.
Originally scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday at Fordham and another on Sunday at Stony Brook, inclement weather forced the teams to play a three game series at Fordham this weekend instead (the fourth game will be played on Monday at SBU). Both games on Sunday were scheduled to be just seven innings, but Vanderka and Rams starter Chris Pike fought it out to take the game to extra innings.
McNitt threw eight innings on Saturday, allowing just one earned run – his only earned run in his last 15 innings pitched.
Leading 1-0 in the fourth, sophomore Steven Goldstein grounded into a fielder’s choice to score freshman Jack Parenty. After freshman Austin Shives hit a single to move Goldstein to third, sophomore Cole Peragine hit a single to left center to bring Goldstein home and give SBU the 3-0 lead.
The game was 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, but the Rams added a run and then loaded the bases in an attempt to take the victory. Luckily, freshman Tyler Honahan struck out Fordham’s Rob McCunney to get the save.
The Seawolves got 10 hits off the Rams, with Peragine and Shives each going 3-for-4. In his first game back after being injured against North Carolina, Peragine earned 2 RBI and a walk.
Vanderka shone on Sunday, throwing his second no-hitter as a Seawolf. He struck out six and walked three (one intentionally) in nine innings, making his record 1-2.
Things got dicey in the bottom of the seventh, when Vanderka loaded the bases after an error and two walks (one intentional). But the righty struck out Fordham’s Joseph Runco to send the game into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth, freshman Johnny Caputo and senior Tanner Nivins led off the ninth inning with back-to-back triples; Caputo scored the first run and Nivins scored after Goldstein got an RBI groundout.
Vanderka then closed the game with a 1-2-3 ninth for his second no-hitter. His first came against NJIT when he was a freshman.
The 2-0 win gave Stony Brook a seven-game winning streak against Fordham, which the Rams broke in the second game of the doubleheader, shutting out the Seawolves 3-0 in seven innings.
Fordham scored three runs in the first off freshman Dan Zamora, who threw a six-inning complete game to bring his record down to 0-3. Despite that being their only three runs, the Seawolves could not catch up, leaving five men on base and hitting into two double plays.
Peragine went 3-for-7 in the doubleheader, and Caputo went 3-for-6, extending his hitting streak to eight games.
Stony Brook and Fordham will finish their series with a game at Joe Nathan Field on Monday. First pitch is 3 p.m.