by Mike Merolle
On Saturday, a walk-off brings St. Johns a conference win closer to a Big East tournament appearance. Division-II and Division-III featured a few doubleheaders as the regular season nears the end.
Division-I
St. Johns vs. Creighton (DH)
Game 1: St. Johns 3 Creighton 2
The Red Storm clutched the game-one victory in their doubleheader against Creighton in walk-off fashion thanks to Ben Beauchamps solo home run in the 10th inning.
The pitchers controlled the early game. St. Johns Evan Chaffee struck out his first four batters faced. Chaffee finished with eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. St. Johns got the games first run with Garrett Scavelli hitting an RBI fielders choice in the sixth making it 1-0.
Creighton quickly surged with a two-run homer to make it 2-1 but late-game heroics changed that. Luke Orbon took a 1-1 offering into left-center to tie the game in the ninth. Beauchamps game-winning homer would come an inning later to give St. Johns game one of the doubleheader.
Game 2: St. Johns 7 Creighton 1
Game two showcased the effective hitting and strong pitching of the Red Storm. Mario Pesca was on the bump for St. Johns and he didnt disappoint as he retired the first 10 batters he faced, striking out three. He struck out seven in a career-high seven innings pitched.
St. Johns went up 1-0 in the first after Marty Higgins was walked with the bases loaded. In the third, Higgins hit a two-run shot to make it 3-0. Jackson Tucker added another run in the fourth with an RBI double and Jimmy Keenan blasted a solo shot to make it 5-0.
Creighton scored their first and only run of the game off a seventh-inning error. Tucker drove another run in on a single and Orbon took home on a wild pitch to make it 7-1.
St. Johns sweeps the doubleheader and their series versus Creighton. With one win against Seton Hall next week, they can clinch their first Big East Tournament appearance under head coach Mike Hampton.
Hofstra 4 Stony Brook 0
The Hofstra Pride go up 2-0 in their series against Stony Brook following their 4-0 win on Saturday.
Carlos Martinez and Russell Hunter combined for the shutout allowing six hits. Martinez had nine strikeouts in eight innings and Hunter closed the game in the ninth.
Will Kennedy opened the scoring in the fifth with his first home run of the season to make it 1-0 Hofstra. In the seventh, Kennedy hit a sacrifice fly to double the lead. Matt Pelcher supplied an RBI single and Steve Harrington hit an RBI double to make it 4-0.
Stony Brooks Brett Paulsen and Erik Paulsen each had two hits for the Seawolves offense. Hofstra will look for the sweep on Sunday at noon.
LIU 9 Merrimack 16
LIU allowed 16 runs in a loss to Merrimack on Saturday. Things got ugly quickly as LIU allowed five runs in the first including a grand slam. Jack Power hit a solo shot in the second to score LIUs first run but Merrimack tacked on four more in the bottom frame.
The Sharks began their rally with Benjamin Fierenzis RBI single in the third, JC Navarros solo shot in the fourth, and two runs in the sixth highlighted by Jacob Pipercics RBI single to make it 9-5.
However, Merrimack added seven more in the sixth to redig LIUs hole. Fierenzi, Jake Mastillo, and Power added home runs in the last few innings but it was not enough as the final score was 16-9. LIU will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday at 1 pm.
Fordham 1 St. Josephs 6
St. Josephs scored the first run of the game in the third off a sacrifice fly. Fordhams Madden Ocko tied it with an RBI single in the fourth. St. Josephs Owen Petrich slammed a two-run shot in the seventh making the score 3-1.
A St. Josephs sacrifice fly and a second Petrich two-run homer made it 6-1 tying the weekend series. The Rams will look for redemption in the final game of the series on Sunday at 10 am.
Division-II
Molloy vs. Queens College (DH)
Game 1: Molloy 5 Queens 4
Molloy got the early scoring in game one against the Queens College Knights. Matt Yip and Anthony Manisero both slapped RBI singles in the first and second inning to make it 2-0 Lions.
The Knights gained a 3-2 lead following Matt Filips three-run home run. Molloy tied it up with Chris Giardinos RBI double only for Filip to regain Queens lead with a sacrifice fly.
With the score 4-3 in the ninth, Yip hit a sacrifice fly to tie it. Gavin McAlonie ripped an RBI single to win game one for Molloy 5-4.
Game 2: Molloy 8 Queens 2
In game two, the Knights got an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run single by Marc Cisco. Molloy grounded into a fielders choice while scoring a run to cut the deficit.
In the third, McAlonie hit a three-run shot to give Molloy a 4-2 lead. Anthony Marsillo extended the lead to 5-2 with an RBI single. Two Molloy runs scored off an error and Patrick Sanchez drove in a run on a groundout to make the final score 8-2.
Ryan Hynes pitched a complete game striking out five and allowing two runs on four hits improving his record to 9-1.
Adelphi 16 The College of Saint Rose 3
Adelphi clinched a spot in the NE10 postseason with their 16-3 win on Saturday against the College of Saint Rose.
The Panthers got an early 4-0 lead through three innings highlighted by Greyson Pizzonias solo home run and Albert Ramos RBI single. Saint Rose responded with two but Adelphi kept piling on.
Jack Wishner and Anthony Rigogliosi had RBI singles and Joe Pellegrino launched a three-run homer in the sixth to make it 9-2. Alec Maag hit an RBI triple and scored on a passed ball making it 11-3. Saint Rose’s mistakes allowed more Adelphi runs to score making the final score 16-3.
Division-III
USMMA vs. Mount St. Mary (DH)
Game 1: USMMA 0 MSM 1
Game one was a classic pitchers duel between USMMAs Tyler Reistetter and MSMs Liam Horan. MSMs William Reese Kelly hit an RBI double in the sixth to score the only run of the game. Horan threw a seven-inning shutout and stole game one of the doubleheader.
Game 2: USMMA 10 MSM 0
Travis Leatherwood got USMMA on the board 1-0 in the first with an RBI groundout. Brice Garner added a two-run homer to make it 3-0.
In the fifth, USMMA had a seven-run fifth inning. Leatherwood had an RBI single, Charles Cahalan had a two-run single, Ben Bridges added an RBI double, and Jack Millen just missed a grand slam but settled for a two-run single making it 9-0. Tommy Chiappetti hit a sacrifice fly icing the game as the 10-run mercy rule was put into play.