Baseball Drops a Pair against Wagner |
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4/16/05 -- Long Island suffered a pair of losses Saturday to Wagner, 16-4 and 2-1, in a Northeast Conference doubleheader at LIU Field. After allowing a run in the top of the first inning, the Blackbirds in game one tied it in the bottom of the frame. Reaching base after being hit by a pitch, senior Tim Doherty (Newark, Del.) scored the equalizer on a throwing error by second baseman Joseph Malfettano. That would be a close as the Blackbirds would come. Wagner, which scored in every inning, recorded three runs in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth to take a commanding 9-1 lead. In the fifth, Wagner’s designated hitter Troy Sogluizzo knocked a two-run single to extend the margin to 11-1. After Matt Mastrianni’s double to right, center fielder Nick Papa blew open the game with a three-run homer to right center. The Blackbirds fought back in the bottom of the frame as junior Sean Durkin (Damascus, Md.) doubled down the right-field line to open the inning. Freshman Bryan Burke (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) doubled to left-center to bring home Durkin and junior Trey Bell (Georgetown, Del.) singled to center field to score Burke for a 14-3 margin. Wagner added one more in the top of the sixth before sophomore Marcus Wynn (Plainfield, N.J.) smashed a two-out single to bring around Durkin for his second score of the game. The Seahawks closed the scoring with Malfettano’s RBI double in the seventh. Papa -- the Seahawks’ clean-up hitter -- closed with seven RBI and three hits, helping the top four hitters in their lineup bat 11-for-18 with 14 RBI. Malfettano, Mastrianni and Kane Furst had three hits of their team’s 19 hits. Mike McTamney (3-4) pitched solidly for Wagner, tossing five innings and allowing three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts. Belle Harbor, N.Y. junior Matthew Bunyan (0-5) gave up nine runs -- three earned -- and eight hits over 3 1/3 innings for the Blackbirds. Wynn finished with three hits for the Blackbirds, who committed five errors. In game two, Carmel, N.Y. sophomore Richard Moran (2-1) tossed seven innings, allowing just two runs on two hits. But LIU could not capitalize on his performance for the squad’s third straight setback. The Seahawks took advantage of two errors in the first for a 2-0 edge. Papa knocked in Malfettano and Sean Ferguson platted Sogluizzo, with both RBI coming on fielder’s choice grounders. LIU showed determination with a two-out rally in the third. Senior Christopher Brescia (Nanuet, N.Y.) walked and sophomore Robert Rowen (Rosendale, N.Y.) singled to right field. On the play, the ball scooted through the legs of right fielder Ed Sudol and allowed Brescia to score for a 2-1 contest. The Blackbirds had a chance to even the game in the sixth with Rowen standing on third following a sacrifice bunt from Bell and a groundout by junior Nathan Olson (Poland, Maine). But junior Matt Martino (Staten Island, N.Y.) grounded out to end the inning. Mike D’Angelis (2-3) faced the winning run in the bottom of the seventh for Wagner, but got Wynn to strike out. D’Angelis fanned nine, surrendering one unearned run and three hits. Wynn ended the doubleheader with four hits and is batting .378 (14-for-37) during a career-best nine-game hitting streak. The team will play the finale of the three-game series Sunday, beginning at noon. |
