The Stony Brook Seawolves hosted the rival Hofstra Pride Apr. 1, with the home team looking to improve their 9-9 record. But four unearned runs in the first four innings dug a 4-0 hole for the Seawolves, as the Pride capitalized on errors and shaky pitching.
Stony Brook began to show signs of life in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore Nick Thode (Huntington Station, N.Y.) doubled to right center field to notch two RBI and slice the Pride’s lead to 4-2. Then, a sacrifice fly from senior Chad Rebecca (Mount Prospect, Il.) brought freshman Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.) home and trimmed the lead to 4-3.
But that would be as close as the Seawolves would get, failing to ride that momentum to victory. Sophomore right hander Evan Stecko-Haley (Coral Springs, Fla.) picked up the loss, dropping his record to 0-3, and the Seawolves fell a game below .500, with a record of 9-10.
Vermont (4 games)
The Seawolves looked to bounce back with a four game series against the visiting Vermont Catamounts, kicking off America East conference play. The games were divided into two doubleheaders.
The first doubleheader was a split, with the Seawolves winning the first game 5-4, then dropping the second 9-7.
Senior Steven Mazzurco (Selden N.Y.) gave the Seawolves an early 1-0 lead in the first game, on a homer to left field, in the bottom of the second inning. Then, a bunt from junior Michael Stephan (Patchogue, N.Y.) brought senior Brian Witkowski (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) home, and stretched the Seawolves’ lead to 2-0.
But the Catamounts bounced back nicely. After cutting the lead to 2-1 in the fourth, the visitors scored three runs in the fifth inning, building a 4-2 lead. But the Seawolves rallied to tie the score, heading into the sixth inning, capitalizing on a Vermont error to bring two runners home.
Then, junior Robert Dyer (Selden, N.Y.) led off the sixth inning with a homer to center field for the Seawolves, creating a 5-4 lead which proved to be the final margin. Senior right hander Jonathan Kalkau picked up the win, after relieving senior right hander Mike Errigo (Bayside, N.Y.), who pitched 5.1 innings.
The Seawolves got on the board early in the second game, with a Witkowski homer to right field in the bottom of the first. Then, the home team added two more runs in the next inning, stretching their lead to 3-0. But the visiting Catamounts battled back to tie the score at 3, after a solo homerun and a couple of run scoring singles.
In the fourth, the Seawolves regained the lead on sophomore Nick Thode’s (Huntington Station, N.Y.) double down the right field line, which earned him 2 RBI and gave the home team a 5-3 cushion. In the next inning, Keith Fier’s (Armonk, N.Y.) RBI double and a run scoring single from Wikowski gave the Seawolves a comfy 7-3 lead.
But the Catamounts rallied back in the seventh inning, scoring four runs and eliminating the deficit. Then a solo homerun to left field from the Catamounts’ Tom Jackson gave the visitors the lead, which was extended later in the inning to 9-7 on a RBI single. This was the final score, as the Seawolves threatened to tie the score on multiple occasions but failed to do so. Sophomore right hander Evan Stecko-Haley remained winless at 0-4, after pitching 2.0 innings of relief.
The Seawolves swept the second doubleheader against the Catamounts, winning the first game 6-3 and needing an extra inning to win the second game 21-20.
The visiting Catamounts built an early 2-0 lead in the first game, scoring on two singles in the second inning. In the fourth inning, the Seawolves halved the lead on a sacrifice fly that brought sophomore Nick Thode (Huntington Station, N.Y.) home.
In the sixth, the Catamounts added another run, but the Seawolves rallied to score five runs of their own in the same inning. Hits by senior Chad Rebecca and sophomores Chad Marshall (Paris, Ontario) and Nick Thode gave the home team a 6-3 lead that held as the final margin.
Senior right hander Jonathan Kalkau (Bellmore, N.Y.) picked up the win for the Seawolves, improving to an even 2-2 record.
The second game was suspenseful and needed an extra inning to determine a winner. The game lasted four hours and 13 minutes, resulting in 41 runs, 39 hits, and 14 pitchers.
The Seawolves built an early 5-1 lead, which included a Brian Witkowski (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) homer to center field. The Catamounts rallied back though, scoring five runs in the fourth inning to regain the lead at 6-5.
In the fifth, the Seawolves added two more runs. The sixth inning saw both teams unleash a flurry of runs. The visitors scored seven times in the inning, capped off by a grand slam from the Catamounts’ Matt Duffy. The Seawolves answered by scoring eight runs in the bottom of the inning, capped off by a Witkowski homer to right field that earned him two RBI.
In the seventh, the home team stretched its lead to 17-13 on hits from Michael Stephan (Patchogue, N.Y.) and senior Robert Dyer (Selden, N.Y.). But the Catamounts scored six runs in the eighth inning to create a 19-17 advantage, which was erased when the Seawolves tied the score on two run-scoring doubles.
After the visiting team once again regained the lead, Witkowski’s two-out RBI single to center field sent the game into a 10th inning. In the 10th, senior Keith Fier (Armonk, N.Y.) bunted down the third base line, bringing senior Michael Tansey (Valley Stream, N.Y.) home for the winning run.
Making his first pitching appearance, junior Chris Maier (Farmingdale, N.Y.) notched the victory, allowing one run in 2.0 innings, and Chad Marshall paced the Seawolves’ offense, scoring 3 runs and going 5-for-7 and adding an RBI.
The Seawolves won 3 of the 4 games in the series against the Catamounts, and left the series with a 12-11 overall record, 3-1 in America East play.
Virginia (2 games)
The Seawolves then traveled to Virginia to face off against the number 11-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in a two-game series. In the first game, the Seawolves were shut out, 8-0, and took the L. In the second, the Seawolves pulled off the upset and defeated the Cavaliers, 6-2.
In the first game, the visiting Seawolves managed to load the bases with two outs in the first inning. However, they were unable to capitalize as Michael Tansey struck out to end the inning.
An RBI double from the Cavaliers’ Phil Gosselin gave the home team a 1-0 lead, which was extended in the second inning on a two-run double from the Cavaliers’ Jarrett Parker. The Cavaliers added three more runs in the fourth, pushing their lead to 6-0. The Seawolves continued to struggle to score, despite getting on base multiple times.
The Cavaliers scored yet again, on Parker’s two-run homer to right center field. The 8-0 lead was the final margin, and senior right hander Jonathan Kalkau (Bellmore, N.Y.) picked up the loss for the Seawolves, dropping his record to 2-3.
The Seawolves got off to a hot start in the second game. A series of run scoring singles and a Robert Dyer two-run double to left center field, gave the Seawolves a 5-0 lead. The Cavaliers managed to trim the lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning.
A Nick Thode (Huntington Station, N.Y.) single to right field earned him an RBI, and extended the Seawolves’ lead to 6-2 in the fifth inning. That was the final gap, as the visiting Seawolves relied on stingy pitching to keep the Cavaliers scoreless for the rest of the game.
Freshman right hander Tyler Johnson picked up the win for the Seawolves, improving to 3-1, and the visitors improved their overall record to 13-12. The victory over a ranked opponent was the first for the Seawolves since joining Division I baseball in 2000.
UMBC (4 games)
The Seawolves then traveled to UMBC to kick start a 4-game conference series against the Retrievers, with the games split into two doubleheaders.
The first doubleheader was a split, with the Seawolves shutting out the Retrievers to win the f
irst game, 8-0, then unraveling late in the second game to lose 7-4.
In the first game, the Seawolves built a 3-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning, capped off by an RBI single from senior Chad Rebecca. The visiting team poured it on again in the fifth inning, tallying four runs in the inning and stretching their lead to 8-0, which was the final margin.
Freshman right hander Tyler Johnson secured the victory, pitching a three-hit shut-out and improving his record to a team-best 4-1.
The second game saw the Seawolves score three quick runs in the first, capped off by a Jeremy Nowak (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) RBI single. The Retrievers rallied back to trim the lead to 3-2 by scoring on a couple of singles. Then, the home team went ahead of the Seawolves, 4-3, in the third inning, off of a solo home-run and an RBI single.
In the sixth inning, senior Steven Mazzurco (Selden N.Y.) scored on a UMBC error to tie the game at four. The score remained even until the ninth inning, when the Seawolves pitching gave up clutch hits that gave the Retrievers the lead. After right hander Jeremy Nowak came in to relieve senior right hander Mike Errigo (Bayside, N.Y.), the Retrievers’ Tom Meaney hit a three run bomb to left, giving his team the 7-4 victory.
Errigo took the loss for the Seawolves and dropped to 1-3, after pitching 8.1 innings and allowing 4 earned runs.
The visiting Seawolves swept the second doubleheader against the UMBC Retrievers. The Seawolves won the first game 9-6 and the second game 11-5.
The Seawolves jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, capped off by an RBI double from senior Steven Mazzurco (Selden N.Y.). But the home team Retrievers bounced back nicely, to tie the game at three in the second inning. After the Retrievers went up 4-3 in the third, the Seawolves scored on a senior Rob Dyer’s (Selden, N.Y.) RBI in the fourth inning. Then, the road team stretched its lead to 7-4 in the fifth, with Keith Fier’s (Armonk, N.Y.) two-run single capping off a three-run scoring spurt in the period.
The Retrievers managed to trim the lead to 7-6 by scoring twice in the sixth inning, but that would be as close as the home team would get. Senior Michael Tansey (Valley Stream, N.Y.) blasted a two-run homer to left field, extending the lead to 9-6 and creating the final gap.
Freshman right hander Nick Tropeano (West Islip, N.Y.) picked up the win for the Seawolves, improving to a perfect 4-0 by striking out six and walking two.
In the second game, the Seawolves tallied six runs in the second inning, including hits from seniors Rob Dyer and Chad Rebecca (Mt. Prospect, Il.). After the Retrievers scored on a two-run double in the third, Rebecca sent a solo homer over the right center field fence and extended the Seawolves’ lead to 7-2. The Seawolves scored two more runs in the seventh inning, capped off by an RBI single from sophomore Nick Thode (Huntington Station, N.Y.).
The Retrievers showed signs of life in the eighth, trimming the Seawolves’ lead to 9-4 on a two-run homerun from Dustin Ferguson. But two solo homeruns in the ninth, from Michael Tansey and Rob Dyer, gave the Seawolves a 11-4 cushion that held as the final score.
Sophomore right hander Evan Stecko-Haley (Coral Springs, Fla.) notched his first win of the year, improving to 1-4 after pitching 3.1 innings of relief.
The Seawolves improved their overall record to 16-13 overall, and 6-3 in America East play. The next game is April 18, when the Seawolves head to Binghamton, to kick start a 4-game series against the Bearcats.