FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Maritime baseball team opened up their five-game Florida trip with an extra-inning loss to the Penn State-Behrend Lions on Wednesday evening at the Bob Gladwin Complex. The Privateer fell in the 11-inning affair by the score of 8-7.
Maritime was led by senior Matt Costleigh (West Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's), who was the only Privateer with a multi-hit game as he collected three singles on the afternoon. Costleigh also led the Privateers with a pair of stolen bases, while scoring two runs.
Senior Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) walked three times, including one intentionally as he had a double and drove in one. Senior Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) scored two runs and reached base on a single and two walks. Freshman Travis Zurita (Ozone Park, N.Y./Poly Prep) also had one hit and walked twice on the game with one RBI.
Deddo, Semler, Zurita, senior Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) and sophomore Antonio Diaz(Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) all had solo RBIs on the game.
On the hill junior A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) threw 71 pitches as he allowed two earned runs over six innings of work with three strikeouts. Sophomore Skylar Graff (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) tossed two innings and yielded one run before junior Matthew Buckshaw (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) threw a perfect ninth inning. Sophomore Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) pitched a scoreless 10th frame, but yielded four runs on four hits.
The Privateers took a 7-4 lead in the top of the 11th inning, but the Lions came back with a four-run bottom of the inning to seal the come-from-behind win.
The Lions scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first to take an early 1-0 lead before Ammirati settled down in his first start of the season and pitched a hitless second inning.
In the top of the third Maritime scratched a run across as Costleigh singled and stole second. Deddo singled home the game-tying run as the Privateers evened the score at one. Maritime took the lead in the top of the fifth as Deddo reached on a one-out walk before racing home on a two-base hit by Semler as the Privateers inched ahead.
Zurita walked to lead off the top of the sixth after Ammirati continued his way through the Penn State-Behrend lineup. Diaz attempted to bunt Zurita over but a fielding miscue allowed Zurita to sprint around the bases and score an unearned run.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Lions evened the score at three as the first batter was hit by a pitch, followed by a run-scoring double. Two batters later the Lions tied the score at three with an RBI groundout.
After Penn State-Behrend took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh, Maritime answered right back in the eighth as Russo doubled to centerfield. Two batters later, Diaz picked up an RBI on a groundout to knot the score at four.
Graff pitched a perfect eighth, followed by a hitless ninth inning by Buckshaw to send the game to extra innings.
Maritime had a chance with two outs in the top of the 10th as Diaz and senior Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) had back-to-back singles, but Maritime was unable to break the deadlock. Paghidas came on and set the side down in order in the bottom half of the 10th.
In the top of the 11th Maritime broke through as it was once again Costleigh to spark the offense with his third hit of the game. Costleigh stole second before Deddo walked, with a wild pitch moving Costleigh up to third. In order to set up the force on any base the Lions walked Semler intentionally to load the bases with nobody out.
Schiavoni reached on a ball that was booted by the Lions, allowing Costleigh to score and give Maritime a one-run edge. Russo grounded into a double play as Maritime's sixth run crossed the plate, before Zurita brought home Semler to give Maritime a 7-4 lead.
However the first three batters reached for Penn State-Behrend in the bottom of the inning before Paghidas got the first out via strikeout. A single by the Lions pulled them back within one before Paghidas got a pop up for the second out. The next batter then picked up a double to centerfield as the Lions walked off with the 8-7 victory.
Maritime (3-2) will be back in action tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., when the Privateers play a doubleheader against Lebanon Valley back at the Bob Gladwin Complex in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Penn State-Behrend (2-4) will face the Drew Rangers tomorrow afternoon in a single game beginning at 2 p.m. at the Bob Gladwin Complex.