DOLPHINS RUN TO EIGHT STRAIGHT WITH DOUBLEHEADER WINS OVER CCNY

The College of Staten Island men’s baseball team ran their win streak up to eight games this afternoon, taking a doubleheader from City college of New York in CUNYAC action at Randall’s Island. CSI won the opener, 10-1, before taking an 11-4 win in game two. CSI is now 20-9 overall and boast an 8-2 CUNYAC mark, while the Beavers fell to 3-21, 1-9, respectively.

After falling in a 1-0 hole after an inning, CSI responded with an offensive explosion behind senior pitcher Richard Anderson, who tossed six scoreless innings after surrendering the run. The Dolphins had to wait till the third inning to get to CCNY starter Felice Martino, plating four runs in the stanza. Bryan Moreno singled to start things off, and was moved to third after Joseph Palmeri did the same. Chris Ramanauskas delivered a sac fly to bring home Moreno and tie the score at 1-1, and after Palmeri moved to third on a wild pitch, DiFede delivered another sac fly to give CSI the lead. Later in the inning with two away, freshman David Carles stroked a two-RBI double to left-center, plating both Robert Bernardo and John Baggs.

Martino got out of the inning, but ran into another host of trouble in the fourth as CSI built their lead. Dan Lynch earned on via error and advanced to third when the throw went into the outfield, Lynch then took home when yet another throwing error from the outfield tried to get him out at third. Later in the inning, Ramanauskas plated Moreno (who walked) with an RBI-single, and when Bernardo was plunked for a second time, Baggs laced a two-RBI double to continue the assault, making it 9-1. Baggs then scored CSI’s final run on another Carles hit.

From there, Anderson closed the door on the Beavers, allowing only two more base runners over the next three innings to preserve the 10-1 win. Anderson upped his record to 5-2, tossing six innings, allowing a lone run on five hits, fanning six, before Kieran Monaghan pitched a scoreless seventh. CSI scattered 12 hits in the opener, powered by Carles 4-4 performance.

CSI left little to doubt in the second game as well, opening up a 7-0 lead before CCNY would score. The team started with a 1-0 lead after two innings against CCNY starter Brian Collado, scoring via a Phil Ciprello RBI single that drove in Baggs. After a scoreless third, CSI added a two-spot in the third via Robert Bernardo’s two-run homerun, his second of the season, that scored DiFede, who led the inning off with a bunt single.

The Dolphins then chased Collado in the fifth, when they earned another four runs. A Moreno single drove in Dan Lynch to start the damage. Then, two straight failed pick-off attempts allowed Moreno to score and Palmeri to get to second base. Palmeri then scored two batters later on an infield error off the bat of DiFede, part of five in the game for the Beavers. That lifted Collado in favor of Dauris Alvarez, who gave up a double to Bernardo, then walked Baggs, and threw a wild pitch that allowed DiFede to score to make it 7-0.

CCNY was able to get out of the inning and then scored two runs of their own in the bottom of the stanza against CSI starter Michael Fitzpatrick. Eric Quatrone did the damage with a two-RBI double down the left field line. From there, however, Fitzpatrick settled to retire the side, preserving the 7-2 advantage after five frames.

Insurance came in the form of four more runs for CSI in the sixth. Another CCNY error allowed Lynch on base, and after Moreno was hit by a pitch, Ramanauskas was intentionally passed to load the bases. DiFede was then walked, allowing Lynch to score to make it 8-2. Bernardo then placed a sac fly to left, and after Baggs posted an RBI-single, there were runners at the corners with CSI up 11-2. Then, the Dolphins executed a double-steal, with Bernardo scampering in, after Baggs drew a throw to second base.

The Beavers tried to rally, and plated another two runs off of CSI reliever Jonathan Aponte via a Kennedy Tavares two-RBI double. Aponte was able to get out of the inning with Tavares stranded at second base, and Chris Matusiewicz then tossed a scoreless seventh to seal the 11-4 win.

CSI was out-hit in the contest, 11-8, but made the most of five errors, five walks, a hit batter and a pair of CCNY wild pitches to the tune of five unearned runs. Bernardo and Baggs had two hits each for the Dolphins, who are on a season-long eight game skein and have now won 15 of their last 17. The Dolphins have now won 20+ games for the fourth year in a row.

“It’s nice to get to 20 wins,” said fifth-year Head Coach Michael Mauro. “As the season progresses, our players are developing confidence and we are playing good baseball. Getting to this plateau is a nice achievement, but we are staying focused to our goals of playing well and contending for a championship.”

CSI will continue their six game road trip when they take on Mount Saint Mary College for a single game in Newburgh, NY, on Tuesday, at 5pm.