YAPHANK, N.Y. – The Maritime Baseball Team opened up the 2016 season with a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon, as the Privateers swept past the City College of New York Beavers from Baseball Heaven in Yaphank on Long Island.
 
Maritime picked up the first win by the score of 8-2, before making it a sweep by a 4-2 score in the nightcap.
 
Senior Kevin Monahan (Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur) led Maritime from the leadoff spot racking up three hits, two RBIs and scoring one run. Sophomore Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) and sophomore Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) both added two hits and one RBI each in the opening win.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the Privateers took an early lead. Monahan led off the game with a single through the right side, followed by sophomore Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) reaching base after getting hit by a pitch. Monahan then stole third and scored on a wild throw from the catcher. Deddo scored on the next play as Semler grounded out to shortstop.

Senior Bruce Tyler (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) scored in the top of the second inning on groundout from Monahan to give the Privateers a 3-0 lead. City College answered back with two run-scoring hits to pull to within a run at 3-2 in the second inning.
 
Those two runs were the only runs allowed by the Maritime pitching staff in the contest. Sophomore Tyler Stuart (Palm Coast, Fla./Matanzas) started the game and pitched three innings while allowing two runs on three hits. Freshman A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) came out of the bullpen to pitch three scoreless innings, only giving up two hits. Ammirati earned his first career win in the relief effort. Sophomore Anthony D'Ancona (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) finished the game with one scoreless frame.
 
Maritime added on to their lead thanks to RBI singles from senior Paul Woodburn (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) and sophomore Joe DiLeo (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) in the 3rd and 5th innings respectively. Later in the fifth inning, Monahan followed with an RBI double for his third hit of the game.
 
The Privateers won the game 8-2 after two more run-scoring hits from Schiavoni and Tyler in the seventh inning.
 
In the second game, Maritime got two hits apiece from newcomers Sergio Delgado (Union City, N.J./Union City) and Anthony Vieto (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) each had multi-hit games, with Vieto driving in three runs on a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning.
 
Maritime took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Delgado reached on a one out single. He eventually stole second to move into scoring position, as he attempted to steal third the throw from the catcher went awry as he manufactured a run on the basepath.
 
The run gave sophomore Eric Kwiecinski (Commack, N.Y./St. Dominic) a lead to work with, as he hung up a pair of zeros in his first two innings of work. In the bottom of the third, Kwiecinski yielded one run on a triple, after allowing a one out single earlier in the inning.
 
Rookie Nick Fortunato (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) came on to pitch in the bottom of the fourth and surrendered the lead on two hits, with an error behind him as CCNY took a 2-1 lead with the game heading towards the fifth inning.
 
In the top of the fifth, Maritime was able to get two runners on base but was unable to tie the game or take the lead. The top of the sixth saw Semler reach on a one-out error, followed by a single from senior Justin Baierlein (Richmond Hill, N.Y./High School for CTEA), followed by a walk from Jimmy Guerriero (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park) to load the bases.
Vieto was up next as he drove a three-run double into the right centerfield gap to put Maritime ahead by a 4-2 advantage. Freshman Joe Scerra (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) was up next and singled, but Vieto was thrown out at the plate to end the scoring threat for the Privateers.
 
 
Freshman Alex Poliwoda (Southold, N.Y./Southold) was next on the mound and did not allow a hit over the final two innings of the game, to seal the season-opening split for the Privateers.
 
Earning the win in the second game was Fortunato after throwing two innings and yielding just one run. Through the game, Kwiecinski and Poliwoda both struck out a pair of batters during their stints on the hill.
 
Maritime (2-0) will get back to action on March 10, when the team travels to Fort Pierce, Florida to compete in Florida Coast Spring Training contests against Drew. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
 
City College of New York (0-6) will take on Wesley College in Delaware on Sunday, February 28 for their next two contests.