The Stony Brook University baseball team waited until nearly the last minute to overcome Iona College, defeating the Gaels 5-2 after a surge in the eighth inning.
The Seawolves are now 8-4 on the season after six straight wins, and freshman reliever Joshua Mason (Woodland Hills, Calif.) earned his first collegiate win. He allowed one run over Stony Brook’s crucial two inning stretch late in the game.
The teams were set to face each other on Wednesday in a doubleheader, but predicted inclement weather forced postponement until Thursday and further postponement of the second game.
The game was uneventful for the first four innings. Junior Evan Stecko-Haley (Coral Springs, Fla.) and sophomore James Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.) pitched three and two scoreless innings respectively to start the game.
Stony Brook struck the first blow in the fifth inning. Sophomore outfielder Travis Jankowski (Lancaster, Pa.) was on third with the bases loaded and no outs in the inning. Junior catcher Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.) grounded into a double-play that brought Jankowski home for Stony Brook’s first run.
Chris Burke of Iona tied the game in the top of the sixth inning, however. Burke was hit by a pitch, stole second, made it to third on single and scored on a subsequent error by senior shortstop Chad Marshall (Paris, Ontario).
The score would remain tied at one until the top of the eighth inning, when lead-off batter James Beck drove a solo home run to left-center field. It would be the only run that Mason would allow in his win. He retired the next three consecutive batters to end the half-inning.
Iona’s advantage was short-lived. Stony Brook finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth inning.
As they had done in the fifth, Stony Brook loaded the bases with no one out. Mason delivered a sac fly to left-center field, allowing senior infielder Steve Marino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) to score from third to tie the game at two.
During the next at bat, sophomore outfielder Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, Ontario) broke from second base to steal third. Iona pitcher Sean Darsee threw the ball to second base, from where Nick Rossetti threw an errant toss to third base. Nivins arrived safely on third while Jankowski stole second on the wild throw.
In the same at bat, freshman Michael Hubbard (Northridge, Calif.) popped a sac fly to center field. Nivins was able to reach home plate on the play to take the 3-2 lead for Stony Brook.
Then Cantwell drove a double down the left-field line, allowing Jankowski to score Stony Brook’s fourth run. Cantwell himself would score on a double from Marshall.
Freshman reliever Josh Barry (Seaford, N.Y.) entered the game to close Iona out. He walked pinch hitter Kyle Charron to start the inning, and Dean Dignelli gave Iona a ray of hope with a hit that appeared destined for center field.
However, destiny smiled on the Seawolves. Sophomore infielder Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ontario) dove to stop the ball in its tracks and flipped it to Marshall at second base for the first out. Marshall then swung the ball to first base to finish off the double play. Barry would force a fly out to end the game. It was Barry’s first career save.
Stony Brook will next play in the Seton Hall Strikeout Cancer Tournament against New Jersey Institute of Technology. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
