The Stony Brook baseball team won one of three games during a west-coast series against UC Santa Barbara over the weekend. The Seawolves now have a 5-12 record this season.
Game 1: UCSB 12, Stony Brook 4
In game one of its California road trip, the Stony Brook baseball team got roughed up early and was never able to recover after UC Santa Barbara scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning on sophomore righthander Brett Clarke.
With the Seawolves playing catch up for the entirety of the game, Clarke was left in the game to eat innings and avoid taxing the bullpen in the opening game of a series. After UCSB plated seven runs on five hits in the first inning, Clarke settled in and slogged through five innings and picked up a season-high five strikeouts on the day.
Stony Brook’s offense mustered up one solid inning, the top of the sixth, which was kicked off with a homerun off the bat of senior first baseman Casey Baker, his first of the season and one of his three hits on the afternoon. After Baker went yard, freshmen shortstop Nick Grande and right fielder Chris Hamilton reached base on a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. A two-run double down the right field line by sophomore catcher Sean Buckhout followed, putting the Seawolves within three runs.
At 7-4, the game was close, but in the bottom of the eighth, UCSB battered junior left hander Kevin Kernan to the tune of five more runs establishing a 12-4 score, one that would stand for the remainder of the game.
Game 2: UCSB 8, Stony Brook 5
The Seawolves fell behind big again in the first inning of series’ second game, but they were able to scrape back into the game, only to eventually fall by three runs.
Freshman left hander Sam Turcotte had a rough outing, giving up seven runs in total and only making it through two and a third innings. What kept the game manageable was the stellar work out of the bullpen by juniors Nick Montefusco and Teddy Rodliff, who in five and two-thirds innings only surrendered a combined one run.
At the plate, senior centerfielder Toby Handley, who reached base safely in all five at bats, including a triple that drove in a run in the seventh inning, led Stony Brook. Senior third baseman Jeremy Giles also had a solid offensive outing, going two for four and driving in a run.
Game 3: Stony Brook 7, UCSB 0
On Sunday, the Seawolves picked up a win, avoiding a sweep in California and securing head coach Matt Senk’s 750th win with the Stony Brook baseball program.
All weekend long, Stony Brook’s pitching had hindered its chances of winning, but freshman right hander Brian Herrmann took the mound and handed the team a solid performance on the hill. Hermann went 5 innings without surrendering a run, while the bullpen repetitive preserved the shutout.
Unlike the first two games of the series, the Seawolves’ bats were quite alive. Senior catcher David Real kicked off scoring with a double that scored Baker in the top of the third. A pair of two-run home runs via freshman designated hitter Michael Wilson and Handley effectively put the game out of reach.
With a score of 7-0 going into the bottom of the ninth, junior right hander Aaron Pinto was summoned to close out the game and did so after surrendering a single hit.
The Stony Brook baseball team stands at 5-12 and will resume action Tuesday against Manhattan College at Joe Nathan Field at 3:30 p.m..
