After almost two weeks of inactivity the College of Staten Island baseball quad returned to action today, and earned a split against SUNY Maritime as part of non-conference play at Baseball Heaven Sports Complex in Yarphank, NY. CSI came from way behind to give Head Coach Michael Mauro his 200th career win in game one, 8-6, before the Privateers got even with a 7-1 in the second contest. CSI is now 6-2 overall after the doubleheader, with Maritime now sitting at 5-6 overall.
GAME ONE
It was all Privateers in the early innings, as Maritime starter Tyler Stuart got out of a two runner jam in the top of the first inning and then allowed his offense to go to work. Matt Costleigh did the honors, as he would homer to right field in Maritime’s first at-bat of the game against CSI starter Tom Musso. After a walk, single, and wild pitch, Maritime scored again on a Aaron Schiavoni grounder and a Phil Russo single making it 3-zip after one inning.
Maritime added another run in the second frame, and then one more in the fourth, taking a 5-0 lead going into the sixth inning of play. That’s when CSI started to turn the tide.
With one out Frank Muzzio earned a four-pitch walk, prompting a pitching change, as Matthew Paghidas checked in. After registering a ground-ball out, John Pomerico laced in a single to score Muzzio, and after a walk to Ariel Paez, Bobby Drake came on and registered a two-RBI triple to left-center to make it 5-3. Drake then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-4.
The Privateers got one run back against CSI reliever Josh Bernstein, helped along by a Chris Deddo RBI-single, so CSI trailed, 6-4 going into their final three outs.
CSI started with a walk to Josh Mercado and after a fly out, Maritime’s defense failed them when an infield error allowed runners on first and second. Mercado and Nick Meola would then advance a base via wild pitch, and then Muzzio stroked an RBI-single scoring Mercado to make it 6-5. Again, Maritime went to the bullpen, this time to Luciano Besh. Anthony DiMarco then stepped up and popped in a RBI-single to plate Meola and make in 6-6, with Muzzio and DiMarco now on base.
CSI continued to stay aggressive, and after Sal Russo came in for Muzzio at second, both he and DiMarco stole bases to advance into scoring position. Pomerico then walked to load them, and then Besh got in huge trouble by walking both Paez and Drake on a total of eight pitches to give CSI the stunning, 8-6, lead. Sklylar Graff came in and stopped the bleeding, fanning Frank Sconzo and Jordan Wilson to get out of the inning.
In the bottom of the final inning, CSI closer Jason Failla came in and earned the save, as he would fan Schiavoni and induce two harmless pop-outs to give CSI the rousing win.
The win improved CSI to 6-1 for the second straight year, the best start under Head Coach Mauro, who also earned his 200th career win in thrilling fashion. Reliever Bernstein record the one inning win while Paghidas took the loss. CSI was out-hit, 9-4, but made the most of two Maritime errors and a heavy 13 walks, tied for the 7th-highest total in CSI single game history.
GAME TWO
Once again, Maritime got off to a big early lead, but this time, starter John Bruinsma left little to doubt. First, however, the home team would go up 3-0 after two frames, as they touched CSI starter James Taunton for three runs in the second, highlighted by a Connor Alwan two-RBI single.
Bruinsma then plugged along, allowing only two base runners before CSI was able to get on the board in the fourth. Muzzio earned on via a single, and after two walks that loaded the bases, he was plated by a Pomerico sac fly. CSI, however, would strand the two remaining runners, and were down 3-1 after four frames.
The deficit would become deeper, as Maritime plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to essentially seal the game. The runs were highlighted by a two-RBI single by Joe Scerra, helped along by a CSI error. That proved enough for Bruinsma, who yielded a walk in the sixth and a single in the seventh but that’s all, as this time, the Privateers were able to secure the win.
Bruinsma went the distance, posting six walks and four strikeouts in the win, yielding six hits. Taunton took the loss, allowing seven runs in five innings on 9 hits, fanning five. Maritime out-hit CSI in gae two, 10-6.
The Dolphins will next be in action on Tuesday, when they travel to William Paterson for a single, non-conference affair at 3:45pm on the road in Wayne, NJ.
