When and Where:
April 28, 2024 - Patchogue, NY
Records:
St. Joseph's (L.I.), 26-8, 15-1; USMMA, 22-13, 12-4 Skyline
Results:
Head Coach Tom Caputo notched his 200th career-win as the St. Joseph's University (L.I.) baseball team completed a Skyline Conference doubleheader sweep of the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Eagles came away with a 7-1 win in game one before claiming a 7-2 victory in game two.
Game one: SJLI 7; USMMA 1 (7 inn.)
Key Players:
Junior Mike DiFillipo was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double finishing with three RBIs and a run scored
Senior John Lynch was 1-for-3 with a three-RBI double and a run
Senior Joe Sanguedolce and sophomore Dom Crema finished with two hits apiece each scoring a run
Senior Peter Manger earned his fifth straight complete-game win surrendering just one unearned run while scattering nine hits and striking out three
How it happened:
The Golden Eagles threatened in the bottom of the second with back-to-back base hits, but Crema was gunned down at the plate on a single to center by DiFillipo
USMMA's Brice Garner doubled in the left-center gap to start the top of the third but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple for the first out of the inning. Landon Troutt followed with a single to left and an SJLI defensive miscue put two runners on. A fielder's choices erased Troutt at third, but an RBI single right by Garrett Clappsaddle had the Mariners ahead 1-0
The lead was short-lived as the Golden Eagles responded with seven runs on four hits in the bottom half of the third. A pair of three-RBI doubles from Lynch and DiFillipo put the hosts ahead 6-1. A wild pitch later in the inning allowed DiFillipo to score for a 7-1 lead
Manger and his counterpart Tyler Reistetter continued to put up zeros for the remainder of the game for a 7-1 final
Game two: SJLI 7; USMMA 2
Key Players:
DiFillipo went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and a run
Crema and junior Anselmo Joya both recorded two hits with an RBI and a run each
Junior Joe Hackal was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored
SJLI starter Jack Kelly improved to 3-3 on the season allowing two runs on just four hits with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work
Junior Dante Morabito picked up his fourth save giving up two hits with three Ks in 1.2 innings out of the pen
How it happened:
Once again, it was the third that started the scoring this time in the bottom of the half of the inning. Back-back-back triples from Thatcher and DiFillipo started the inning bringing in the first run. DiFillipo wound come in to score on a wild pitch and a sac fly from Crema later in the inning would put the Golden Eagles ahead 3-0
Three straight singles started the bottom of the sixth adding to SJLI's lead, 4-0, before DiFillipo snuck a base hit down the left field line scoring two more runs and pushing the lead to 6-0
The Golden Eagles added a run on the bottom of the sixth, 7-0, before the Mariners managed to push two across on the top half of the eighth, 7-2
After St. Joseph's stranded a runner in the eighth, Morabito faced the bottom of the USMMA lineup forcing a couple of ground outs to third before sitting down Brice Garner for the final out
Next up, the Golden Eagles host the Stevens Institute of Technology for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 30th at 2:00pm.