THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime baseball team edged the Old Westbury Panthers in a pair of one-run wins on Saturday afternoon. The Privateers took game one by a score of 10-9, before walking-off in game two by a 7-6 margin.
 
With the pair of victories, Maritime moves into a three-way tie with both the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Old Westbury as all three teams finished with equal 11-7 records for the final three playoff spots as Purchase finished one game out of the postseason. The three-way tie is broke by records amongst the teams within the tie as the Privateers were 2-2 against Merchant Marine and Old Westbury, the Mariners were 3-1 against the Privateers and Panthers, while Old Westbury was 1-3 against the Privateers and Mariners.
 
Maritime was led by senior Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson), who had five hits in seven at bats and was tied for the team lead on the day with three RBIs. Senior Matt Costleigh (West Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's) was also tied with three RBIs, along with senior Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville), who also had three RBIs. Deddo homered in game one, while Costleigh added a round-tripper in the second game.
 
In game two, Deddo collected his third hit of the day to give him 157 for his career as he surpassed Brian McLaughlin '17, who held the modern-day hit record at 156 following his superb career a season ago.
 
Freshman Shane Sullivan (Stewart Manor, N.Y./Chaminade) had four hits on the day along with senior Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington), while sophomore Phil Russo (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) connected on a pair of singles on the day. Sophomore Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport), freshman Travis Zurita (Ozone Park, N.Y./Poly Prep), senior Connor Alwan (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) and sophomore Jake Vera (Plainview, N.Y./Bethpage) all had hits on the day, while freshman Nick McTighe (Merrick, N.Y./Holy Trinity) picked up his first career hit, going 1-for-3 on the day.
 
On the bump senior Anthony D'Ancona (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) got his final start on the Reinhart Baseball Field mound in game one and allowed four runs on 12 hits, while striking out four. Freshman Dylan Clausen (Southold, N.Y./Southold) pitched the next 2 2/3 innings and yielded four earned runs over his outing before sophomore Skylar Graff (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) closed the door and kept the Panthers at bay in his 2/3 of an inning.
 
In game two, junior A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) started and went five innings while allowing three earned runs with three strikeouts. Senior Matthew Buckshaw (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) pitched one inning and struck out one while allowing a solo home run. Sophomore Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) got the final three outs as he was the beneficiary of Maritime's walk-off win in game two.
 
Between games Maritime recognized the members of its senior class as Costleigh, Schiavoni, Buckshaw, D'Ancona, John Verwoert(Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet), Zach Parilla (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River), Semler, Tyler Stuart, Alwan, and Deddo were all recognized in a brief on-field ceremony.
 
Game 1 Recap
In the opener Old Westbury jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first before Maritime responded on run-scoring singles by both Semler and Schiavoni. In the bottom of the second the Privateers took advantage of three defensive miscues by the Panthers to plate three and give Maritime its first lead of the game at 5-2.
 
D'Ancona yielded one run in both the third and fourth innings as the Panthers closed the deficit to one. However, Maritime responded once again as Costleigh and Semler reached before Schiavoni drove in the pair with a single up the middle to give Maritime a 7-4 lead.
 
After a scoreless fifth inning Maritime added insurance runs as Russo and Schiavoni got on base before Deddo recorded a three-run home run to right field to give Maritime a six-run cushion. Old Westbury responded with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh off of Clausen, before Maritime's freshman lefty settled down and retired the side in order in the top of the eighth.
 
The game became a little too close for comfort again as the Panthers led off the top of the ninth with a solo home run, before Old Westbury cracked a two-run shot just three batters later. Graff came on and struck out the first man he faced before getting the final out two batters later.
 
Game 2 Recap
Ammirati coasted through the first three innings, as he faced the minimum, allowing just a double that was later erased on a pickoff.
 
In the bottom of the third Sullivan singled before freshman Zach Baber (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) reached on an error by the Panther defense. Three batters later Costleigh singled to bring home the game's first run before Russo walked to load the bases. Up next was Semler, who drove a ball through the left side to plate a pair and give Maritime a 3-0 lead.
 
The Panthers refused to go down with ease as Old Westbury faced Ammirati the second time through the lineup. Six of the first seven batters in the inning reached as Maritime's three-run lead turned into a two-run deficit as the Privateers trailed 5-3.
 
Maritime got one run back as McTighe singled up the middle on an 0-2 pitch before moving up to third on a pair of wild pitches. Costleigh reached on an infield single to pull Maritime back within one at 5-4 heading into the sixth. Buckshaw replaced Ammirati and allowed a solo home run as Old Westbury gained some breathing room with a two-run cushion.
 
Paghidas pitched his way through the top of the seventh, to send Maritime up to bat trailing by two in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Costleigh got things started with a one-out solo home run. Russo followed with a single before Semler reached on an opposite-field single. Freshman Matt Eng (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) ran for Russo carrying the tying run. Up next was Vera, who knocked a single into left field as Eng raced home to even the score at six. The Privateers loaded the bases with Deddo's record-breaking hit as Semler moved up to third carrying the game-winning run.
 
Sullivan was up next and swung at the first pitch and sent the ball down the left field line to bring Semler home and give the Privateers their fifth consecutive win over the Panthers dating back to the 2016 season.
 
Maritime (23-12, 11-7 Skyline) will await Sunday's results for official seeding, but at this juncture the Privateers look destined to be the fifth seed and head to fourth-seeded Merchant Marine on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Old Westbury (19-15-1, 11-7 Skyline) will be the sixth seed and will also be on the road on Wednesday. The top three seeds are still up for grabs as Mount St. Mary hosts Farmingdale on Sunday, while St. Joseph's (LI) hosts Yeshiva for a pair on Long Island.