FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Maritime baseball team finished off its spring trip to Florida on Saturday afternoon with a pair of games against the No. 24/RV Misericordia Cougars, and the Elizabethtown Blue Jays.
 
In a day that looked doubtful in the early stages of the day due to heavy rain showers in Florida, the team was able to get both games in. The contest against Misericordia was pushed back from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and moved to Vero Beach, Fla., a game the Cougars won 26-7. The night game came shortly after the last pitch against Misericordia, back in Fort Pierce, Fla., won by the Blue Jays, 12-0.
 
In the opener, freshman Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the team with three hits and four RBIs, senior Joe Longo (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) had the teams two other RBIs. Alwan was 3-for-4 at the plate, while junior Paul Woodburn (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) was the only other player to collect multiple hits with a single and double.
 
Other players who collected hits in the opening game were senior Albert Doerbecker (Point Lookout, N.Y./Long Beach), sophomore Chris Stewart (Bethpage, N.Y./Chaminade), and freshmen Joe DiLeo (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) and Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville).
 
The second game saw the Privateers collect just five hits, including two by senior Lenny Baldassare (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park). Seniors Matthew Sollin (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) and Pat Kirk (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), along with Deddo also chipped in with hits against the Blue Jays.
 
Against Misericordia, Maritime yielded two runs in each of the first three innings as rookie Eric Kwiecinski (Commack, N.Y./St. Dominic) was touched up for two runs in the first, while sophomore Ryan Heizman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) allowed four runs in his two innings of work.
 
Maritime bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the third as Doerbecker, DiLeo and Deddo all reached. Alwan then smacked a bases-clearing double down the left field line. Four batters later, Longo brought Alwan home on a sacrifice fly to trim the early deficit to two runs.
 
Juniors Chris Mott (Port Chester, N.Y./Port Chester) and Michael Oliva (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) each tossed three innings apiece as the duo needed 136 pitches to record the final 18 outs for the Maritime pitching staff. The Privateers also added two runs in the fifth and one more in the eighth to cap off their scoring at seven runs.
 
One highlight of the early game came as the Privateers knocked out defending Freedom Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-American Ryan Dorosh from the game after just 59 pitches in his first three innings of the year after touching him up for four runs in the contest.
 
In the second game, rookie Anthony D'Ancona (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) was called upon for his second start of the Florida trip and tossed 47 pitches in his two innings of work as he left the game trailing 4-0. Rookie Tim McQuail (Middle Village, N.Y./Cathedral Prep) was next on the hill, as he threw a game-high 52 pitches over his two innings of work, while matching D'Ancona with three strikeouts each.
 
DiLeo took to the mound next for Maritime and pitched well in his collegiate pitching debut as he allowed just one run on two hits and a walk over three innings of work. Woodburn made his collegiate pitching debut and was only able to retire one batter before making way for senior James Very (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), who recorded the final two outs.
 
Maritime (1-4, 0-0 Skyline) will return to New York, early on Sunday morning before their next scheduled home game on Wednesday, March 4 against Briarcliffe. The game is subject to change, so be sure to stay tuned in to MaritimeAthletics.com for the most up-to-date news on all things Privateer Baseball.
 
Misericordia (1-0, 0-0 Freedom) will take Elizabethtown (1-0, 0-0 Landmark) tomorrow afternoon, with both teams coming off of wins over the Privateers on Saturday evening.