#4 St. Joseph's-LI - 6, #1 Farmingdale State - 3 (F/12)
Farmingdale, N.Y. - In the opening game of the 2016 Skyline Conference Baseball Championship, #1 Farmingdale State fell, 6-3, to #4 St. Joseph's-LI in 12 innings.
Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the second, FSC sophomore second baseman Domenic Palumbo (Plainview, N.Y.) walked with two outs and advanced to third on an Anthony Gigante (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) single down the right field line. In the Rams' next at-bat, an infield RBI single from senior catcher Kenneth Johntry (Yaphank, N.Y.) scored Palumbo and gave Farmingdale State a 2-1 lead. FSC increased the advantage to 3-1 on a double steal as Gigante came home to score.
In the top of the eighth, the Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 3-2 on an RBI double from senior left fielder Nick Girardi (Syosset, N.Y.). After Girardi advanced to third on a wild pitch, junior designated hitter Bob Keating (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) hit a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at 3-3.
St. Joe's senior shortstop James Nakashian (Massapequa, N.Y.) led off the 12th with a single to center field and moved to third on an Anthony Bonilla (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) single through the left side. With bases loaded and two outs, a walk to Keating gave the Golden Eagles a 4-3 lead. In SJC's next at-bat, senior left fielder Joseph Lynn (Kings Park, N.Y.) hit a 2 RBI single to right to put the Golden Eagles on top, 6-3.
In the bottom of the 12th, freshman center fielder Nick Attardi (Smithtown, N.Y.) led off with a single but the Rams were unable to score as they fell, 6-3.
Attardi finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a run scored, while Johntry had two hits and an RBI. Sophomore first baseman Christopher Reilly (Levittown, N.Y.) and freshman shortstop Brandon Snow (Owings, MD) each added two hits for Farmingdale State.
Junior pitcher Matt Seelinger (Westbury, N.Y.) earned a no decision after allowing one run on three hits, while striking out nine in 7.0 innings of work.
The Golden Eagles were led by Girardi who was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a game-high three runs scored.
The Rams will now face the loser of #2 Old Westbury/#6 St. Joseph's-Brooklyn later this afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
St. Joseph's-LI advances to Sunday's first game at 10:00 a.m.
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