April 30, 2006
Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, NY - Wagner's ninth-inning rally fell short by a matter of inches as the Seahawks lost to Quinnipiac 6-4 in the series finale earlier today at Dr. Bill Willetts Field. With the loss the Green & White are now 9-30 and 8-7 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Bobcats improve to 17-18-1 and 10-4 in the NEC. Wagner won game one by a score of 4-2 while the Bobcats took game two 10-4.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Quinnipiac clinging to a 6-4 lead senior Joe Malfettano (Toms River, NJ / Toms River North) hit a deep fly ball to left field that was somehow caught by Ricky Coppola as he stumbled to the ground near the warning track.
The Seahawks never led in the game but kept hanging around as they answered the Bobcats three times, however it wasn't enough as Quinnipiac just did hang on for the victory.
Quinnipiac scored one run in the third and two more in the fourth to go up 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth. Junior Joseph DiGeronimo (Hawthorne, NJ / Hawthorne) led off the inning with a walk and classmate Matt Mastrianni (Ringoes, NJ / Hunterdon Central) followed with a his third home run in his last four games, a two-run shot to right field to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The score would stay that way until the top of the sixth with the Bobcats plated one to go up 4-2. Wagner got that run back in the bottom of the inning when senior Brian Scrocca (Somerville, NY / Somerville) hit a chopper up the middle, plating junior Ed Sudol (Wallington, NJ / Wallington).
Quinnipiac added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run home run by Tim Binkoski.
The scrappy Seahawks started the bottom of the ninth on senior Mike Picarello's (Clifton, NJ / Clifton) second hit of the game. After a couple of outs, Mastrianni singled up the middle to advance pinch runner junior Pat Rogers (Middletown, NJ / St. John's) to third. Sudol then blasted his second single of the game, a rocket to third, to drive home Rogers and advance Mastrianni to second. However, Malfettano's long drive to left field was hauled in to end the game.
Mastrianni and freshman Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) each had two hits on the day rounding out the list of Seahawks with multiple-hits.
Senior rhp Mike D'Angelis (Paramus, NJ / St. Joseph Regional) struck out four in 5.0 innings of work in falling to 1-8 on the season. Freshman rhp Andrew Huebner (Hatfield, PA / North Penn) pitched 3.0 solid innings of relief, striking out three.
Eric Weber improved to 2-2 on the season, yielding two runs in 4.2 innings of relief.
Wagner will next be in action next weekend when they head to St. Francis (NY) for a three-game set, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 6 at 12 pm.
