Game 1: #2 St. Joseph's-Long Island - 7, #1 Farmingdale State - 1
Game 2: #4 Merchant Marine - 9, #1 Farmingdale State - 2
Farmingdale, N.Y. - On the second day of the Skyline Conference Baseball Championship, #1 Farmingdale State met #2 St. Joseph's-Long Island in the first game and fell, 7-1. FSC followed with an elimination game against #4 Merchant Marine and lost, 9-2. The Mariners advanced to the third and final day and will play St. Joe's-L.I. tomorrow, Sunday, May 6th, at 10:00 a.m., while the Rams have been eliminated and finished the 2018 season with a 24-14 record.
The Golden Eagles (24-14) got on the board early in the first game as junior right fielder Tyler Costa (Copiague, N.Y.) reached second base on an error and scored two batters later on an RBI triple by junior first baseman Paul Britt (Commack, N.Y.). Rams senior pitcher David Otero Jr. (Shelton, Conn.) would strike out the next batter before forcing a looping line drive to second to strand the runner at third and keep the game 1-0.
St. Joe's-LI extended their lead in the second as they used a pair of RBI singles from junior catcher Daniel Campanelli (Bayport, N.Y.) and junior second baseman Tyler Crafa (Levittown, N.Y.) and followed by adding a run on a hit by pitch to go up 4-0.
The Golden Eagles tallied an unearned run in the fifth and a run in the seventh on another Campanelli RBI single to take a 6-0 lead.
FSC scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the seventh as freshman third baseman Jake Jacobs (Commack, N.Y.) reached on an error to lead off the inning and was driven in on a single by senior shortstop Nicholas Soriano (Lindenhurst, N.Y.).
SJC-LI registered their final run in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Campenelli as the Golden Eagles went on to win the game 7-1.
Campanelli led the way with two hits, 3 RBI's and a run scored, while Britt finished with a hit and two runs batted in.
Golden Eagles junior pitcher Joseph Murphy (Farmingville, N.Y.) (5-1) earned the win, pitching a complete game, striking out six and only allowing one unearned run.
The Rams jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage in the elimination game versus Merchant Marine. Junior left fielder Anthony Gigante (Bedford Hills, N.Y.), sophomore first baseman Ernie Geraci (East Moriches, N.Y.) and sophomore designated hitter Vincent Rice (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) hit three straight singles to start the game to give the Rams the one-run lead.
In the bottom of the second inning, Merchant Marine loaded the bases with two away. Farmingdale State sophomore pitcher Joe Marino (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) entered the game and forced the next batter to ground out to third to end the threat.
Still down 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Mariners senior right fielder Jacob Sithong (Orlando, Fla.) led off with a triple to right center and scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to tie the game. After a walk and a single, a ground-rule double to center put USMMA up 2-1. The next batter, third baseman Kyle Cunningham (Panama City Beach, Fla.), hit an RBI single to right field to give Merchant Marine a 3-1 lead.
The Mariners extended the advantage to 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth on a two-run double from senior center fielder Michael Barnes (Alexandria, Va.) and an RBI single from senior designated hitter Bryson Campbell (Cool, Cali.).
Merchant Marine added a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth en route to the 9-2 victory.
Geraci finished 2-for-4 at the plate, while Rice tallied one hit and an RBI.
For USMMA, Campbell was 4-for-5 with 2 RBI's and a run scored, Sithong went 3-for-5 with a walk and two runs scored and Barnes finished with two hits, two runs and 2 RBI's.
Junior John Kelly Jr. (Apex, N.C.) (1-2) pitched a complete game and struck out three as he picked up his first win of the season.
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