Farmingdale State - 9, Merchant Marine - 3
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State baseball team led 8-1 after four innings en route to the 9-3 win over Merchant Marine this evening in Farmingdale, N.Y.
With bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the second, the Rams (4-9) took a 3-0 lead on a 3 RBI single to right center by freshman catcher Joseph Roche (Westbury, N.Y.). After Roche stole second and advanced to third on an error, a Nick Attardi (Smithtown, N.Y.) bunt single scored Roche and put Farmingdale State ahead, 4-0.
The Mariners (4-13) plated one run in the third, before an Attardi RBI single through the left side in the bottom of the fourth gave the Rams a 5-1 edge. Two batters later, freshman third baseman Michael Ciullo (Valley Stream, N.Y.) walked with the bases loaded to score Christopher Reilly (Levittown, N.Y.) and increase the lead to 6-1. In FSC's next at-bat, freshman second baseman Joshua Shapiro (Melville, N.Y.) hit a 2 RBI single through the right side to put the Rams on top, 8-1.
In the top of the fifth, Merchant Marine used an RBI ground out from freshman designated hitter Tyler Mowry (Peachtree City, Ga.) to close within six, 8-2.
With one out and runners on second and third in the top of the sixth, a Reilly Cherry (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) sacrifice fly to center cut the Farmingdale State lead to 8-3. FSC Junior pitcher Matt Seelinger (Westbury, N.Y.) struck out the next batter to end the inning and keep a five run advantage for the Rams.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Rams added a run on a Cuillo RBI single to left field to increase the advantage to 9-3. Neither team scored the remainder of the game as FSC earned the 9-3 non-conference victory.
Attardi was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and 2 RBI, while Shapiro had two hits, a run scored and 2 RBI. Senior first baseman Dalton McCarthy (Manorville, N.Y.) was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored and Roche had one hit and a game-high three runs batted in.
Seelinger earned the win after throwing five innings and allowing one earned run on four hits, while sophomore Ryan O'Connor (Babylon, N.Y.) allowed one run over four innings of relief to record the save.
Merchant Marine starting pitcher Kyle Clausen (Southold, N.Y.) took the loss after giving up eight runs on six hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Farmingdale State next will play host to Ramapo in a non-conference game on Wednesday, March 30th at 4:00 p.m.
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