Myrtle Beach, SC | The College of Staten Island got off to a great start to open the 2018 campaign, scoring a pair of victories over Mount Aloysius College to intro play at the Cal Ripken Division III Experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The Dolphins outlasted the Mounties in the opener, 4-3, then proceeded to take an offensive, 9-1, winner in the second game.  CSI will start the season 2-0 for the second-straight year, while MAC fell to a season-opening 0-6.

In the opener, the Dolphins used an RBI-single by Anthony DiMarco in the game’s second inning to take an early lead, and then DiMarco doubled the lead thanks to a solo homerun to make a 2-0 game in the fourth.  Senior pitcher Derek Jentz was sterling on his turn on the mound, holding the Mounties to just a run after four frames, and then took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh after a two-RBI base hit by Frank Muzzio in CSI’s turn of the sixth.

Jentz hit a snag in the final frame, getting chased after surrendering a pair of walks and a base hit for a run, but James Taunton earned the save, steadying himself after surrendering a hit, recording the final two outs to preserve the 4-3 victory.

In game two, CSI exploded for six runs in the game’s fourth inning to break open a 2-1 game.  Starter Christian Capellan surrendered a run to start the game, as CSI fell behind, 1-0, but the Dolphins promptly got the run back in their turn of the second without the benefits of a hit as Sean Becker came in after getting walked and then moved around on a pair of wild pitches.  CSI then took the lead in the third on a Jett Nouvertne hit, scoring Jordan Wilson, who earned on via a hit and stolen base.  

That then set the stage for a big fourth frame.  Becker would score on a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-1, and then a Wilson base hit scored a run as well.  Later, Nicholas Meola scored the game’s biggest hit, launching a three-run homer to cap a six-run inning as CSI was able to win going away from there.  Capellan went the complete game for CSI, surrendering just five hits.

CSI will be right back to work tomorrow, when they face off against Penn State University – Berks for another doubleheader starting at 12 Noon.