March 13, 2008
Box Score
Staten Island, NY - Senior LHP Joe Testa (Brick, NJ / Brick) struck out 10 over 6.0 scoreless innings while freshman Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) capped a five-run second with a grand slam to lead Wagner to an 8-3 win over Saint Peter's in non-conference baseball action. With their third-straight victory, the Seahawks improve to 4-3 while the Peacocks fall to 5-3.
Today's game also marked the beginning of a new era in Wagner baseball as the Seahawks played their first game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark (RCBB), the home of the Staten Island Yankees. RCBB replaces Dr. Bill Willetts Field as the home field for the Green & White.
Testa (2-1) dominated from the get-go striking out at least one batter in each of his six innings, including the side in the second, while fanning 10 and allowing just one hit and three walks over six full innings. The hard-throwing lefty also didn't allow a runner past second base while striking out 10 or more for the sixth time in his career.
Wagner's offense again turned in a complete effort as all nine starters reached base safely and nine different Seahawks recorded a hit.
With no score in the bottom of the second, the Seahawk offense got to work. Sophomore Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) led off with a line-drive single up the middle. Classmate Tom DiPietro (Staten Island, NY / Felician) followed with a single of his own to left field. Fellow sophomore Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) moved the pair to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Junior Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) got the Green & White on the board with an RBI single to center, plating Avella while moving DiPietro to third. Dan Morvay (Jackson, NJ / Jackson Memorial) then worked a walk to load the bases. This set the stage for Martutartus, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week, as he crushed a 1-1 pitch to deep left field for his first collegiate home run. The grand slam put Wagner up 5-0 and will go down in history as the Seahawks' first home run at RCBB.
In the fourth, sophomore Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold) led off with a double to right field. He then stole third with one out on a double-steal and was brought home when DiPietro walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-0 Wagner.
The Seahawks would add two more runs in the fifth. Freshman Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) laced a two-run two-out triple, extending the lead out to 8-0. Boyd has now hit safely in all seven games to start his collegiate career.
Csakai led Wagner offensively, going 3-5 with two doubles, two runs and a stolen base. Morvay reached base safely in all three trips to the plate (2 walks, 1 hit) while Martutartus went 1-2 with a grand slam and a walk. McDonnell, like Boyd, extended his season-opening hitting streak to seven while Avella has recorded a hit in each of his past six games.
Saint Peter's would get on the board with a run in the seven and two in the ninth before succumbing to Wagner 8-3.
The Green & White offense out-hit Saint Peter's 11-7 while the Seahawk pitching staff struck out 12 compared to just two for the Peacocks.
Joe Romano went 2-4 with two runs to lead Saint Peter's. Andrew Costello gave up five runs in 2.0 innings in falling to 0-1.
Wagner now heads south for their annual spring-break trip. First up will be #20 Central Florida, which is 13-1. The Golden Knights and the Seahawks will meet up for three games, starting on Monday, March 17 at 6:30 pm at Jay Bergman Field.
NOTES: With his dominating performance today, Testa moves into a tie for fifth place in Wagner history with former Seahawk and current Oakland farmhand Andrew Bailey with 14 career wins ... He is also first in Wagner annals with 248 strikeouts and fifth with 228 innings pitched ... Testa also holds a career 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings average and is 2-1 with a sparkling 1.42 ERA and 20 K's in 19.0 innings this season.
