March 2, 2008
Box Score
Miami, FL - Wagner (1-2) secured a split in today's doubleheader with Florida International (3-5) following a 13-11 come-from-behind win in the night-cap. Trailing 11-2 after three innings, the Seahawks offense scored 11 unanswered runs while Jack Rice (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) hurled 6.2 scoreless innings of relief in his collegiate pitching debut. The freshman lefty surrendered just two hits while striking out five, against just one walk. The Green & White dropped today's first game by a 22-4 count.
Wagner's win marks the second-straight season the Green & White have used a big ninth-inning rally to defeat FIU. Last year, the Seahawks scored four in the ninth to win 10-9.
Trailing 11-6 in the top of the ninth, sophomore Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) led off with a single. Following an out and a Matt Logan (Fr., Wall, NJ / Wall) walk, sophomore Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) clouted a three-run home run to cut the lead to 11-9. Junior Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) then walked to chase FIU reliever Brian Santana. Evan Ellison fared no better walking the next three batters, the last of which forced in Drechsel to make it 11-10. After another pitching change, freshman Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) welcomed James Lajiness with a two-run single up the middle to stake Wagner to a 12-11 lead. Avella padded the lead with his second hit of the inning, an RBI single to make it 13-11.
Rice capped the come-from-behind win by striking out the game's final batter. After entering in the bottom of the third, he faced the minimum 15 batters, including retiring 11 in a row at point, over the next five innings. Ellison fell to 0-1 on the year.
After sophomore Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold) singled and scored in the first, FIU scored nine runs over the next two innings and went up 9-1. Freshman Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) hit his first collegiate home run in the third before the Golden Panthers answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a commanding 11-2 lead.
Down but not out the Seahawks would continue to claw at the deficit. Wagner scored three unearned runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth to make it 11-6 and set the stage for their dramatic 13-11 win.
Lucas led the way for the Green & White, going 3-6 with three RBI while Csakai also collected three hits in five at bats with four runs. Boyd went 2-5 with a home run, three runs and three RBI. Avella and sophomore Tom DiPietro (Staten Island, NY / Felician) rounded out top Seahawk performers as each collected two hits.
Jorge Castillo went 3-4 with a home run and four RBI to lead the Golden Panthers. Raimy Fuentes went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI before leaving the game in the fifth inning with an injury.
Wagner scored their 13 runs on 13 hits while the FIU tallied 11 on nine hits.
In the first game, Wagner lost 22-4 and was led by Avella, who went 2-4 with a two-run home run.
FIU starter Corey Polizzano (1-1) went 5.2 innings and gave up four runs, five hits, eight strikeouts and two walks to earn the win. Carlos Martinez pitched the final 3.1 innings, giving up two hits and no runs to earn the save.
The two teams will wrap up their series tomorrow at 1 pm.
