The College of Staten Island men’s baseball squad improved their win streak to four games, winning their CUNYAC opening doubleheader on the road tonight against Lehman College, 4-1, and 18-5.  The wins lifted CSI to 15-9 overall and 2-0 within the CUNYAC, while Lehman fell to 7-18, 1-3, respectively.

In the opener, CSI rode the arm of Tom Musso on the hill, as he tossed a complete-game five hitter, yielding only a single run in the game’s fifth inning after CSI had built a 4-0 lead.  Musso fanned 11 batters next to just three walks.

Offensively CSI got on top early with a run off of Lehman starter Emanuel Castro, on an RBI-single by Frank Smith that score Joe Palmeri.  Three inning later, CSI scored some quality insurance runs when Palmeri stole third base and then came around to score via error.  Later in the inning a Booby Drake bases-loaded walk would bring home Smith.  Both teams scored a digit in the fifth to tidy up the scoring.

Lehman actually out-hit CSI in the opener, 5-3, but four Lehman errors cost the Lightning as three of the Dolphins runs crossed unearned.

In game two, CSI erupted for seven second-inning runs, setting the stage for an offensive explosion as CSI powered to the 18-5 win.  A Frank Muzzio RBI-single got things started, and Frank Sconzo added another RBI stroke.  In inning, however, was punctuated by a Palmeri three-run homer to right field, scoring Nick Delprete and Sconzo, making it a 5-0 game at the time.

While CSI pitcher Christian Capellan plugged away, CSI added another five runs in the fourth, in large part due to three Lehman errors, part of seven in the game two loss for Lehman.  Up by a large margin, CSI posted a huge punctuation mark in their turn of the seventh.  CSI loaded the bases, and up stepped Francis Munoz, and his first official at-bat, he launched a rocket into right field that resulted in a grand slam homerun to make it 18-5.

CSI out-hit Lehman, 15-6 in game two, with Delprete, Palmeri, and Glenn Glennerster adding two hits each.  Palmeri also added four RBI.  Capellan took the win, yielding five runs on six hits, fanning seven.  Six of the Dolphins’ 18 runs came unearned.

CSI is back in action on Saturday when they play another doubleheader against John Jay College at 12 Noon, again as part of CUNYAC play.