THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – On Sunday afternoon, the Maritime Baseball team took to the Reinhart Baseball Field against the St. Joseph's (LI) Golden Eagles. In game one, the Privateers fell by a 5-1 score, but bounced back in game two for a 6-5 victory.
 
At the plate, junior Brian McLaughlin (Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) led the Privateers with two RBIs, while sophomore Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) also drove in a run on his lone hit of the afternoon. McLaughlin along with senior Kevin Monahan(Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur), sophomore Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and Joe DiLeo(Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann), and freshman Joe Scerra (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) all had multi-hit days against the Golden Eagles.
 
Deddo led the Privateers with two runs scored, while senior Paul Woodburn (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown) walked three times. Sophomore Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington)along with Monahan and DiLeo also walked twice. Scerra and Woodburn logged the lone stolen bases on the afternoon for the Privateers, in their only two attempts of the day.
 
On the hill, freshman Alex Poliwoda (Southold, N.Y./Southold) got the start in the opener and yielded just three runs over eight innings of work with one strikeout. Sophomore Eric Kwiecinski (Commack, N.Y./St. Dominic) took to the hill for the final inning of work in the first game of the afternoon.
 
In game two, sophomore Tyler Stuart (Palm Coast, Fla./Matanzas) recorded the victory as he went the distance, striking out six batters over seven innings of work, while allowing five runs on the afternoon.
 
Stuart got his day off to a quick start in the night cap, as he needed just seven pitches to get out of the opening stanza.
 
In the bottom of the first, Maritime's offense came to life with five runs in the inning. Monahan led off with a walk on a 3-1 pitch, followed by Deddo singling to put two runners on. A wild pitch moved the pair into scoring position, followed by Semler walking to load the bases. McLaughlin reached on an infield single to plate the first run of the game.
 
A wild pitch scored Deddo to make it 2-0, followed by Woodburn walking. On ball four to Woodburn, Semler scored as the errant throw went to the backstop. McLaughlin then came in on another wild pitch to put the Privateers ahead by four. Woodburn moved up to third as senior Bruce Tyler (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) grounded out, followed by DiLeo walking to put runners on the corners.
 
Up next was Alwan, who drove a single down the left field line as the Privateers had their fifth and final run of the inning, as the Privateers chased the Golden Eagle starter in the process.
 
In the top of the second, St. Joseph's (LI) got one runner on with one out. The next batter then sent a long drive to right centerfield that was heading over the fence. Alwan tracked back to the fence in a full sprint, then at the apex of his leap pulled back a would-be home run to save the Privateers from damage in the inning.
 
In the top of the third, St. Joseph's attempted to chip away at the lead as the leadoff hitter walked but was erased on a swift comebacker to Stuart on the hill on a fielder's choice. The next three batters all collected singles, but Stuart held the Golden Eagles to two runs. Alwan helped end the inning with as he caught the second out, then fired a one-hopper to Semler for the third out of the inning as the baserunner attempted to score.
 
The Privateers got another run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third inning as Tyler walked with one out, then moved up to second on a Scerra single. Tyler moved up to third as DiLeo flew out deep into the right field corner. Scerra was running with Alwan at the plate, and as the ball glanced off the lunging catcher's glove, Tyler broke for the plate and made the score 6-2.
 
Stuart yielded another run in the top of the fourth, but held the Golden Eagles scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing just one single over that span. In the top of the sixth, Scerra made an acrobatic catch, as he caught a foul popup before crashing into the protective fence in front of the third base dugout.
 
Things got dicey for Stuart in the top of the seventh after he struck out the leadoff hitter. The next two batters walked, followed by an infield hit to load the bases. A wild pitch and an RBI groundout scored the fourth and fifth Golden Eagle runs, followed by a walk to put the go-ahead run on base. The last batter of the inning struck the ball hard, but right to a leaping DiLeo at shortstop, who grabbed the ball to secure the win for the Privateers.
 
The opening game of the afternoon saw Poliwoda work around a two-out single in the top of the first and a bases loaded situation in the top of the second. The freshman right-hander got out of both situations as he sent the game to the third inning with neither side scoring to that point.
 
In the top of the third, a bunt single was followed by a hard-struck triple down the right field line as St. Joseph's (LI) broke through first with a 1-0 score. Later in the inning, the Privateers got two outs on one play as a fly ball to Monahan resulted in a fly out, and a runner getting gunned down trying to score at the plate.
 
Maritime tried to get the bats going in the bottom of the third as DiLeo struck a two-out first-pitch single, followed by a Monahan walk, but the Privateers were unable to tie the game. As the game progressed to the sixth inning, St. Joseph's (LI) got their second run of the game on an RBI groundout to take a 2-0 advantage.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Deddo started the frame with a double, and then moved to third on a groundout by Semler. Deddo scored the first Privateer run of the day as McLaughlin also grounded out to trim the lead in half.
 
The Golden Eagles got a two-out home run in the top of the eighth inning, then later added two more runs in the top of the ninth as St. Joseph's (LI) opened up a 5-1 lead. Scerra reached on a one out single, and Monahan later singled in the bottom of the ninth inning but it was not enough as the Privateers dropped the opener by the 5-1 score.
 
Maritime (15-8, 4-2 Skyline) will take a quick break from Skyline Conference play after six-straight league games. The Privateers will return to the field on Wednesday afternoon, as the team takes on the NYU Violets from MCU Park in Brooklyn, with the doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
 
St. Joseph's (LI) (10-7, 3-3 Skyline) will play an exhibition game on Wednesday evening as the team takes on Suffolk Community College on April 13. The team returns to regular season action on Saturday, April 16, when the team takes on St. Joseph's (Bklyn) in a pair of road games taking place at their home field against the Bears.