When and Where:

April 28, 2024 - Patchogue, NY

Records:

St. Joseph's (L.I.), 26-8, 15-1; USMMA, 22-13, 12-4 Skyline

Results:

Head Coach Tom Caputo notched his 200th career-win as the St. Joseph's University (L.I.) baseball team completed a Skyline Conference doubleheader sweep of the United States Merchant Marine Academy on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Eagles came away with a 7-1 win in game one before claiming a 7-2 victory in game two.

Game one: SJLI 7; USMMA 1 (7 inn.)

Key Players:

• Junior Mike DiFillipo was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double finishing with three RBIs and a run scored

• Senior John Lynch was 1-for-3 with a three-RBI double and a run

• Senior Joe Sanguedolce and sophomore Dom Crema finished with two hits apiece each scoring a run

• Senior Peter Manger earned his fifth straight complete-game win surrendering just one unearned run while scattering nine hits and striking out three

How it happened:

• The Golden Eagles threatened in the bottom of the second with back-to-back base hits, but Crema was gunned down at the plate on a single to center by DiFillipo

• USMMA's Brice Garner doubled in the left-center gap to start the top of the third but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple for the first out of the inning. Landon Troutt followed with a single to left and an SJLI defensive miscue put two runners on. A fielder's choices erased Troutt at third, but an RBI single right by Garrett Clappsaddle had the Mariners ahead 1-0

• The lead was short-lived as the Golden Eagles responded with seven runs on four hits in the bottom half of the third. A pair of three-RBI doubles from Lynch and DiFillipo put the hosts ahead 6-1. A wild pitch later in the inning allowed DiFillipo to score for a 7-1 lead

• Manger and his counterpart Tyler Reistetter continued to put up zeros for the remainder of the game for a 7-1 final

Game two: SJLI 7; USMMA 2

Key Players:

• DiFillipo went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and a run

• Crema and junior Anselmo Joya both recorded two hits with an RBI and a run each

• Junior Joe Hackal was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored

• SJLI starter Jack Kelly improved to 3-3 on the season allowing two runs on just four hits with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work

• Junior Dante Morabito picked up his fourth save giving up two hits with three Ks in 1.2 innings out of the pen

How it happened:

• Once again, it was the third that started the scoring this time in the bottom of the half of the inning. Back-back-back triples from Thatcher and DiFillipo started the inning bringing in the first run. DiFillipo wound come in to score on a wild pitch and a sac fly from Crema later in the inning would put the Golden Eagles ahead 3-0

• Three straight singles started the bottom of the sixth adding to SJLI's lead, 4-0, before DiFillipo snuck a base hit down the left field line scoring two more runs and pushing the lead to 6-0

• The Golden Eagles added a run on the bottom of the sixth, 7-0, before the Mariners managed to push two across on the top half of the eighth, 7-2

• After St. Joseph's stranded a runner in the eighth, Morabito faced the bottom of the USMMA lineup forcing a couple of ground outs to third before sitting down Brice Garner for the final out

Next up, the Golden Eagles host the Stevens Institute of Technology for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 30th at 2:00pm.