When and Where:
April 24, 2026 - Patchogue, NY
Records:
St. Joseph's (L.I.), 17-16 (13-3) (Skyline); Merchant Marine, 17-11 (9-5) (Skyline)
Results:
The St. Joseph's University, New York (L.I.) baseball team swept a Skyline Conference doubleheader with the Merchant Marine Academy on Friday afternoon. The Golden Eagles held on for a 4-3 win in the opener before rallying late for a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.
Game One: SJLI 4; Merchant Marine 3 (7 innings)
Game Two: SJLI 7; Merchant Marine 6 (9 innings)
Key Players - Game One:
How it happened - Game One:
- Merchant Marine took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first following an RBI single from Landon Troutt.
- St. Joseph's (L.I.) answered in the bottom of the first with two runs as McNally hit an RBI double and Hackal followed with an RBI single.
- The Mariners tied the game in the second on a Thomas Byrne RBI double, and took a 3-2 lead in the third on a Charles Cahalan RBI groundout.
- The Golden Eagles reclaimed the lead for good in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on a Mariner error and a Hackal RBI groundout.
- Paul McNally (W, 4-3) earned the victory, throwing 6.0 innings with five strikeouts while allowing only two earned runs.
- Ryan Barlow (S, 3) tossed a scoreless seventh inning to shut the door and earn the save.
Key Players - Game Two:
- Andrew Amarando went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI
- Frankie Asaro finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base
- Marco Gullo posted 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI
- Joe Thatcher contributed 1-for-5 with two RBIs
- Dom Crema added 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI
How it happened - Game Two:
- St. Joseph's (L.I.) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning behind RBI singles from Gullo and Asaro.
- Merchant Marine surged ahead 4-2 in the third, highlighted by a grand slam from Luke Kruer.
- After the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth, the Mariners added two insurance runs in the sixth via a Ryan Melton RBI double and a Carter O'Neel RBI single.
- Trailing 6-3, SJLI fought back with two runs in the seventh as Thatcher and Crema both drove in runs on fielder's choices.
- The Golden Eagles completed the comeback in the eighth; Amarando tied the game with an RBI single before McNally drove in the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice to make it 7-6.
- Ryan Reynolds (W, 2-0) was dominant in relief, throwing 3.0 perfect innings with two strikeouts to earn the win.
Notes:
- St. Joseph's (L.I.) recorded 20 hits across both games (5 in Game One, 15 in Game Two)
- The Golden Eagles improved to 17-16 overall with the doubleheader sweep
- The bullpen was key to the sweep, with Barlow and Reynolds combining for 4.0 scoreless innings of relief.
Next Up:
The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday, April 26, when they travel to take on Maritime in a crucial Skyline Conference matchup starting at 12:00 pm.
