Ryan Ekberg's Solid Effort on the Mound Propels Baseball to Doubleheader Split at St. Francis (NY)

(Game 1 boxscore) / (Game 2 boxscore)

4/13/05 -- Sophomore Ryan Ekberg (Carmel, N.Y.) pitched solidly in a complete-game victory for Long Island, which grabbed a 3-1 Northeast Conference win over St. Francis (NY) in the opener of a doubleheader before a 4-1 setback in the finale.

Ekberg (1-3) was sharp over seven innings, facing just six batters above the minimum. He permitted one run and eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks for his first complete game of the season.

The Blackbirds (6-12, 3-5 NEC) scored twice in the second inning of game one for a 2-1 lead. Junior Nathan Olson (Poland, Maine) singled, sophomore Robert Rowen (Rosendale, N.Y.) walked and both advanced on a sacrifice bunt by junior Matthew Martino (Staten Island, N.Y.). Senior Christopher Brescia (Nanuet, N.Y.) followed with an RBI single to right for a tie game and junior Tim Doherty (Newark, Del.) added a run-scoring groundout for the lead.

LIU added a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by sophomore Marcus Wynn (Plainfield, N.J.) and then got out of a jam in the bottom of the inning. The Terriers (3-17, 2-5) had the bases loaded with one out when Johnny Lluberes grounded to Olson, who stepped on third base and fired to Brescia at first for the inning-ending double play.

Brian Honeyman (0-3) allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings for St. Francis (NY). Greg Colonna went 3-for-3.

The Terriers in game two had a 3-0 lead after two innings, beginning with Tom Pento’s RBI single in the first. In the second, Lluberes reached on a fielder’s choice that plated Lucian Maldonado and on the play, Colonna broke up a double play that forced junior second baseman Trey Bell (Georgetown, Del.) to throw wildly and allow Dan Horal to score.

The Blackbirds used a two-out rally in the third to cut the deficit to 3-1. Wynn singled up the middle, stole second and scored on an single to left-center field by junior Sean Durkin (Damascus, Md.).

David Noble (3-3) gave St. Francis (NY) a strong performance over six innings, striking out five and allowing one run and four hits. Tommy Curry pitched a perfect seventh for his third save.

Staten Island, N.Y. sophomore Michael Maynard (2-3) surrendered three runs -- one earned -- and six hits over 3 1/3 innings with two strikeouts for the Blackbirds. Wynn and Brescia had a hit in each game, extending their hitting streak to seven games. Rowen also had a hit in each contest and owns a six-game hitting streak.

LIU hosts Wagner on Saturday in an NEC doubleheader, starting at 12:00 pm.