THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime baseball team split its Saturday two-game series with the Farmingdale Rams, as the team won game one by a 3-2 score followed by a 5-3 loss in game two.
 
Prior to the start of the second game, the Maritime baseball team celebrated the careers of seniors Lenny Baldassare (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park), Ryan Heizman (Commack, N.Y./Commack), James Very (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon), Ryan Alsdorf (Bethel, N.Y./Sullivan West), Pat Kirk (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), Paul Pfundstein (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park), Albert Doerbecker (Point Lookout, N.Y./Long Beach), Matthew Sollin (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) and Joe Longo (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./St. John the Baptist).
 
Longo on the day led the team with three hits, while five other players had multi-hit afternoons. Freshman Aaron Schiavoni(Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) led the team with two RBIs, while launching his first career home run in the second game of the day.
 
On the hill, Stuart spun a gem with six strikeouts over his complete game with nine innings tossed and allowed just two hits and a pair of unearned runs. Freshman Eric Kwiecinski (Commack, N.Y./St. Dominic) pitched 6 2/3 innings in game two and allowed five runs while striking out a pair of batters. Pfundstein came on in the seventh to record the final out in the night cap.
 
After the conclusion of game two, the team waited anxiously as Mount St. Vincent had built up a 7-1 lead over Mount St. Mary. Once the final out was recorded in the bottom of the seventh, the team had officially clinched its fourth consecutive playoff berth and highest finish in Skyline history in the last decade as the team finished fourth in the standings.
 
The opener saw the initial Farmingdale batter lead off the inning on an error, but Stuart got out of the inning with a double play and fly out. Stuart allowed one base runner in each of the following three innings but did not allow a run as the game remained scoreless going to the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
In the frame, junior Paul Woodburn (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) collected a base hit, and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Kirk bunted Woodburn to third. Up next was freshman Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville)drove a ball deep enough to left field to bring home to game's first run.
 
The bottom of the fifth inning saw Maritime score an unearned run as junior Kevin Monahan (Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur) reached on a two-out error, and moved to second as the ball went out of play on the errant throw. Up next was Doerbecker, who drove a booming double to left centerfield on the first pitch he saw to plate Monahan.
 
Maritime added another run in the seventh inning as Longo reached on a throwing error, followed by sophomore Brian McLaughlin (Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) walking on a 3-2 pitch. Sollin singled to centerfield, but Longo was forced out at third base after initially retreating to second on the play. Doerbecker then reached on an error to load the bases, Woodburn was then plunked by a pitch, which forced a run home.
 
Farmingdale threatened to tie the game in the eighth as the Rams collected a pair of runs, as a pair of defensive miscues by the Privateers allowed two runs to cross the plate and allow the Rams to pull within one.
 
In the top of the ninth, Stuart went back out to the hill looking to finish what he had started and did so by retiring the first two batters. The next Farmingdale batter walked, but the left-hander got the final hitter to line out to left field to seal Maritime's first recorded win against Farmingdale since before the 2004 season.
 
At the plate in game two, Longo went 3-for-3, while Schiavoni went 2-for-3 with his first career round-tripper.
 
Maritime got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the opening inning as Longo reached on a one out single, but was erased as McLaughlin reached on a fielder's choice. Sollin collected an infield single to push McLaughlin into scoring position, ahead of Monahan's run-scoring single.
 
The Rams responded with three runs on a pair of hits and left one on base to take a 3-1 advantage, heading to bottom of the second. Both teams went down quietly as Kwiecinski set down five in a row over that span with the game crossing to the top of the fourth.
 
In the fourth inning, the Rams added one more run to take a 4-1 lead. A wild pitch in the top of the fifth inning allowed Farmingdale to take a four-run lead.
 
Still trailing by four, Maritime had its last chance at the plate in the seventh inning as Monahan led off the frame by getting hit with a pitch. Two batters later and Schiavoni was up, and launched a towering two-run home run over the left field wall to pull Maritime within two. Two pitchers for Farmingdale, and two outs later the Rams had salvaged the split with a 5-3 victory.
 
On the hill, Kwiecinski took the loss after going 6 2/3 innings and allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out two. Pfundstein needed just two pitches to retire the final batter of the top of the seventh frame.
 
Maritime finishes its regular season with a 12-16 overall record and a 7-7 mark in the Skyline Conference. The Privateers clinch the four seed over Mount St. Vincent (7-7 Skyline) as Maritime and Mount St. Vincent were both 0-2 against regular season champion St. Joseph's (LI), but the Privateer split with Old Westbury coupled with the Dolphins being swept by Old Westbury clinched the final berth in the playoffs for Maritime.
 
Maritime will play top-seeded St. Joseph's in the opening game of the Skyline Conference double-elimination tournament at 1 p.m. on Friday from Gregg Alfano Field in Patchogue on Long Island. The Rams finished the season as the third seed and will take on second seeded Old Westbury at 4 p.m. in Patchogue on Friday.