STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Maritime Baseball team played to a pair of one-run games on Sunday afternoon as the team took on the Staten Island Dolphins from the CSI Baseball Complex.
 
In game one, the Privateers held on for a 9-8 victory despite the Dolphins scoring all eight runs in the final three innings. In game two, the majority of the scoring was done early on, but a Privateer rally in the seventh fell just one run shy as Maritime fell by a 5-4 score.
 
On the day, sophomore Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) led Maritime in front of his hometown crowd with four hits, including two doubles, while driving in four runs on the day. Senior Kevin Monahan(Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur), junior Brian McLaughlin (Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist), and sophomore Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) all recorded three hits apiece, while scoring one run each.
 
Freshman Joe Scerra (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) also had another big day as the Staten Island-native reached base five times and scored four runs on the day. Scerra also stole three bases to lead the team, while Monahan was 2-for-2 on his steal attempts.

Sophomore Joe DiLeo (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) had a busy afternoon as he drove in two runs and reached base twice, while also throwing one inning on the mound. Sophomore Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) and freshman Anthony Vieto (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) also picked up RBIs on the afternoon.
 
On the mound, sophomore Tyler Stuart (Palm Coast, Fla./Matanzas) got the start in the opener and picked up his second win of the season after throwing dive innings and striking out three while yielding just two runs. Classmate Eric Kwiecinski (Commack, N.Y./St. Dominic) came on in relief and yielded two runs in his inning-plus of work.
 
Senior Michael Oliva (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) took to the hill in his homecoming to Staten Island, while DiLeo closed out the opener with his first inning of work on the season.
 
In game two, freshman Alex Poliwoda (Southold, N.Y./Southold) took to the hill for his second start of the year. Poliwoda tossed five innings of work and struck out a team-high four batters on the day, after yielding five runs in his first two innings of work. Vieto made his pitching debut as he closed out the second game on the hill for the Privateers.
 
To open the day, Stuart went to the hill for his third start of the year and stranded two runners on in the first inning, and stranded one in the second to send the game to the third with no score.
 
In the third, Monahan reached on a one-out walk the stole second. Scerra reached base after getting hit by a pitch, which was then followed by Monahan stealing third base. Scerra stole second, and as the throw went to the base, Monahan broke for home and scored the opening run on a swipe of the plate.
 
Deddo was up next and delivered a run-scoring double to put Maritime ahead by a 2-0 score. Staten Island threatened again in the third and with a two-out walk in the fourth but Stuart continued to keep the Dolphins at bay.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Staten Island tied the game at two, after a two-run double off the top of the left field wall.
 
Maritime answered right back with a crooked number on the scoreboard as Schiavoni reached on a one-out HBP. Vieto followed with a walk, and McLaughlin put the Privateers back up with a single. SeniorJustin Baierlein (Richmond Hill, N.Y./High School for CTEA) kept the line moving as he reached on a poor fielding play by the Dolphins allowing a run to score
 
DiLeo gave the Privateers a four-run advantage with a two-run single to cap off the inning and put Maritime ahead by a 6-2 score.
 
Kwiecinski came on for the Privateers in his first relief outing of the season and allowed one run on a hit, while striking out a pair in the bottom of the sixth.
 
The Privateer offense blew the game open with three more runs in the seventh inning as Semler collected an RBI on a base hit, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Schiavoni, and a Vieto base hit to make it 9-2 going to the bottom of the seventh.
 
Kwiecinski walked the first man he faced before being lifted for Oliva, who allowed all three batters he faced to reach. DiLeo came on to pitch for the first time this season and was greeted rudely with a two-run single.
 
DiLeo got the next batter to pop out, followed by a single, before allowing another run on a sacrifice fly to make the score 9-8. The final out was made as Schiavoni nailed a runner trying to put the go-ahead run into scoring position at second base.
 
In game two, the fireworks got started early as Monahan, Scerra, and Deddo all singled to put the Privateers up 1-0 in the first. As the inning continued, Semler connected on an RBI base hit to move Maritime ahead 2-0. Schiavoni walked to load the bases with no outs.
 
Up next was senior Bruce Tyler (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place), who hit a fly ball to left field. As Deddo tagged from third, he was thrown out at the plate, Semler attempted to move up to third on the play and was tagged out on the return throw to third base to short circuit Maritime's early chance to blow the game wide open.
 
The first two batters reached in the bottom of the first off Poliwoda followed by a two-run single to even the game. Two groundouts allowed the third Dolphin to score as Staten Island took a 3-2 advantage.
 
Staten Island added insurance runs with a pair of runs on three hits in the bottom of the second to take a 5-2 lead with the game moving to the third.
 
Poliwoda settled down and cruised through the remainder of his outing as he scatted two hits in his final three innings of work. The Maritime offense was just as quiet, going down in order in the second, third and fourth innings.
 
In the fifth inning, DiLeo led off with a walk followed by junior Thomas Galli (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) reaching on an error with nobody out. However, the Staten Island started got the next three batters to strand the pair. Maritime got two more hits in the sixth inning but again, the pair were left stranded on base.
 
Vieto came on for his collegiate pitching debut and allowed a leadoff single, who was then caught stealing. Vieto scattered two more hits between the three outs of the inning as he held the game at a three-run deficit for the Privateer offense in the seventh.
 
The first two batters were retired, before Monahan got another rally going with a single to center. Scerra was hit by a 3-0 pitch to bring up Deddo, who roped a double to left field to pull Maritime within one with the tying run on second. The Dolphin starter got Semler to fly out to end the ball game, as Maritime suffered its first loss in its last six games.
 
Maritime (9-2) will return home to Reinhart Baseball Field on Wednesday evening, as the Privateers will welcome the John Jay Bloodhounds back for their second straight Wednesday night showdown in the Bronx.
 
Staten Island (8-5) will face a tough task with the William Paterson Pioneers in their next game, which comes at 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon from the Staten Island Baseball Complex.