FORT PIERCE, Fla. – The Maritime Baseball team picked up a victory on Thursday afternoon as the Privateers defeated the Drew Rangers by the score of 9-5 in 12 innings from the Bob Gladwin Complex in Central Florida.
 
The Privateers had built up a 5-0 lead behind timely hitting from freshman Anthony Vieto (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset), junior Brian McLaughlin (Massapequa, N.Y./St. John the Baptist), and sophomore Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson). Their clutch hits, along with the strong pitching of freshman A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) gave Maritime the lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
 
In their final attempt, the Rangers strung together several walks and took advantage of defensive miscues by the Privateers to even the game at five.
 
Junior Sergio Delgado (Union City, N.J./Union City) bridged the gap on the mound to the 12th inning as the Privateer bats came back to life. Senior Bruce Tyler (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) began the frame with a seeing-eye single up the middle, classmate Justin Baierlein (Richmond Hill, N.Y./High School for CTEA) reached on a fielder's choice, followed by senior Kevin Monahan (Seaford, N.Y./MacArthur) singling to load the bases.
 
Up next was sophomore Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville), who laced a tailing line drive down the right field line that rolled all the way to the wall. Deddo sprinted the entire trip around the bases, losing his helmet in the process, as he recorded the inside-the-park grand slam.
 
Maritime, serving as the road team, opened up the contest with Monahan driving a single into right field, followed by Deddo walking on a 3-0 pitch. A wild pitch then sent the pair into scoring position, followed by sophomore Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington) getting hit by a pitch to load the bases. Vieto singled to centerfield to plate a pair and give the Privateers a 2-0 advantage.
 
Ammirati took the mound looking for his second win of the season. After allowing the first batter to reach with a single, the rookie right-hander retired the next three batters on seven pitches. Ammirati walked the second batter in the second inning, but again got out of trouble as he stranded a runner in scoring position.
 
As the game advanced to the fifth inning, Maritime got the ball rolling once again with a Tyler leadoff single, followed by sophomore Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) sacrificing him over to second. A 1-0 pitch hit Monahan, ending the day for the Ranger starter. Semler was hit for the second time to load the bases.
 
Vieto was up once again with the bases loaded and walked on a 3-2 pitch for his third RBI of the game.
 
In the top of the seventh, it was Vieto to start things up with a one-out double into the leftfield corner. McLaughlin drove the ball up the middle to bring home Maritime's first run, and advanced to second on the throw from the outfield. Schiavoni then singled to bring home McLaughlin, as the Privateers opened up a 5-0 lead.
 
After bearing down in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff double, Ammirati was pulled in favor of sophomore Anthony D'Ancona (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman). The right-hander set down the side in order and worked around a walk and two errors in the eighth to bridge the game to the ninth.
 
D'Ancona got the first man out in the ninth on a high infield popup. Freshman Nick Fortunato (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) came on to face the lefthanded hitters in the Drew lineup and got the first man he faced to fly out to deep right centerfield. However, the Rangers scored five runs to even the game before Delgado got the last out in the inning.
 
Drew threatened Delgado in the 10th and 11th innings, but the righty avoided any damage as he sent the game to the 12th frame.
 
In the 12th, Tyler, Baierlein, and Monahan all reached base ahead of Deddo's inside-the-park adventure to put the Privateers ahead for good.
 
In the bottom of the inning, freshman Alex Poliwoda (Southold, N.Y./Southold) took to the mound and allowed the first two to reach on a single and walk. However, he took care of business and struck out the side to strand the pair and seal the victory for the Privateers.
 
Earning the win was Delgado after throwing 2 1/3 innings and striking out one batter after allowing one unearned run on one hit. Ammirati started and needed just 66 pitches to get through the sixth inning as he scattered five hits, and struck out two batters.
 
D'Ancona tossed 2 1/3 innings and allowed just one walk through his outing, while Fortunato was charged with three earned runs on one hit and a pair of walks as he recorded just one out. Poliwoda struck out all three of the outs he recorded after yielding one hit and one walk.
 
Maritime (3-0) is off to its best start since the 2012 season, when the Privateers won its first four contests, which are the two best recorded starts since the 1967 season. The team will play a pair of contests against the Westminster (Pa.) Titans tomorrow with first pitch slated for 9:30 a.m.
 
Drew (4-4) will look to bounce back after a pair of losses, as the team lost to La Roche prior to the marathon loss to the Privateers. The Rangers play a pair against the Delaware Valley Aggies beginning tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. before heading home to New Jersey.