NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Maritime baseball team dropped both ends of a Skyline Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon to the Mount St. Mary Knights at the Mount St. Mary Baseball Complex. The Privateers dropped both games by identical scores of 2-1.
 
It was Maritime's pitching staff that kept the team in both games as junior A.J. Ammirati (Queens, N.Y./Construction) got the start in the opener and allowed just a solo home run over the first seven innings of work in the opener. Freshman Kyle Peterson (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) got the next four outs but allowed the second Knight run as Mount St. Mary walked off in game one.
 
Sophomore Brady Dolan (York, Pa./Northeastern) got the start in the second game and yielded one earned run over three innings. Junior Alex Poliwoda (Southold, N.Y./Southold) threw three scoreless innings of relief in the second game to keep the Privateers in the game.

Maritime's offense was led by senior Stephen Semler (Kirkland, Wash./Lake Washington), who went 3-for-6 on the day with three singles; sophomore Phil Russo (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) also had three singles in seven at bats and scored a run.
 
Senior Matt Costleigh (West Islip, N.Y./St. Anthony's), sophomore Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) and freshman Travis Zurita (Ozone Park, N.Y./Poly Prep) all had multi-hit days with Zurita recording Maritime's lone RBI on the day. Senior Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson), and freshmen Shane Sullivan (Stewart Manor, N.Y./Chaminade) and Zach Baber (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) all had one hit apiece, with Sullivan crossing the plate for a run scored.
 
Game 1 Recap
After Maritime went down in order in the top of the first, Ammirati answered with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the bottom of the first against the Knights. The Privateers threatened in the top of the second but a double-play, was followed by Maritime stranding the bases full in the top of the second.
 
Ammirati put two runners on in the bottom of the second, but picked a runner off on second base to put an end to the threat. Both sides remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth as Ammirati allowed a solo home run with two outs as Maritime trailed 1-0.
 
The Privateers loaded the bases in the top of the sixth as senior Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) walked, Costleigh singled and Semler walked, but the Privateers were unable to convert and left the bases full.
 
In the next inning Sullivan singled up the middle to lead off the frame before Baber bunted him to second. Zurita was up next and came up with the clutch RBI single up the middle to tie the score at one.
 
Peterson came on after Ammirati closed out the seventh, with Peterson stranding the bases full in the eighth inning to keep the score tied. Zurita reached on a two out single in the bottom of the eighth before stealing second, however Maritime was unable to break through.
 
In the bottom of the ninth the leadoff man for the Knights walked on a 3-2 pitch, and was bunted into scoring position for the first out. A pinch runner was put on second base before the next batter jumped on the first pitch and singled down the right field line to give Mount St. Mary the walk-off win.
 
Game 2 Recap
Costleigh got the offense going with two outs in the top of the first with a single before swiping second, but was stranded there. Dolan allowed an unearned run in the first and a second run in the second inning to put the Privateers in a 2-0 hole heading into the third.
 
Baber led off the third with a single to centerfield before stealing second. After a pair of fly ball outs Baber stole third and Costleigh was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with two down but again the pair were stranded on base.
 
Semler led off the fourth by reaching on an error, and two batters later Diaz singled to put two on with one down. However Sullivan lined into a double play to thwart the Privateer rally.
 
Poliwoda took over for Dolan in the fourth and struck out the first batter he faced. He allowed a one-out double but retired the next two via groundout to end the fourth. He continued to pitch well with a 1-2-3 fifth inning to send the game to the sixth.
 
Russo got the offense going in the sixth with a one-out single on the first pitch he saw, while Semler followed with a single to advance Russo to second. Up next was Schiavoni, who grounded a ball to short, the throw went down the right field line allowing Russo to score. Semler also tried to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate.
 
Poliwoda allowed a two-out single in the bottom of the inning but kept the Knights in check to send the game to the seventh. The Knights retired the Privateers in order in the top of the seventh to secure the two-game sweep.
 
Maritime (21-12, 9-7 Skyline) will head into the final weekend of the season this coming Saturday, when the team hosts Old Westbury for a 12 p.m. start on the Reinhart Baseball Field.
 
With Maritime's 1-3 weekend against Farmingdale and Mount St. Mary, along with the other results from around the league, the Privateers can finish between fourth place and seventh place in the final regular season standings.
 
Mount St. Mary (21-8, 13-3 Skyline) can clinch the top seed in the Skyline Conference Championship, with just one win next weekend at home against Farmingdale. The Knights will play non-conference Manhattanville and New Jersey City on Tuesday and Wednesday before hosting the Rams at 12 p.m. on Saturday.