May 3, 2008

Box Score

Staten Island, NY - Damian Csakai's (So., Freehold, NJ / Freehold) walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifted Wagner to a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac in the second game of today's doubleheader at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

Senior Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) singled to right-center to lead off the 11th. After moving over on a Kevin Payne (So., Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) sacrifice bunt, pinch-hitter Jon Lucas (Fr., Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) just missed a game-winning hit, lining out to the centerfielder. Classmate Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) was intentionally walked. Pinch-hitter Joe Conforti (So., Staten Island, NY / Farrell) delivered an infield single to load the bases up for Csakai, who singled through the right-side to make it 3-2 while ending the game.

With today's sweep, the Green & White improve to 21-22 and 12-7 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Bobcats fall to 11-30 and 5-14 in the NEC. Wagner also moves to 9-1 in the NEC in scheduled seven-inning games and a staggering 8-2 in game decided by three runs or less during league-play.

The Seahawks continued its solid first-inning play, scoring two runs in the opening frame. Freshman Joe Jamison (West Caldwell, NJ / James Caldwell) singled through the right side with one out. He then moved over to third on a successful two-out hit-and-run when sophomore Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) singled through the right-side. Drechsel followed with a single to right field, making it 1-0 Wagner while moving McDonnell to third. Drechsel then got hung up in a run-down on a designed play allowing McDonnell to steal home and stake Wagner to a 2-0 lead.

Quinnipiac tied the game up in the third with two runs. Ben Farina led off with a double. After sophomore Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) struck out the next batter, John Delaney walked. Pete Kummerfeldt then singled up the middle, scoring Farina. Following a fly out, Delaney scored on a fielding error by the third baseman as the Bobcats tied the score up at 2-2. Then on a wild pitch, Drechsel alertly saw Kummerfeldt make a wide turn at third and promptly threw him out while he was trying to scamper back to the bag.

In the fourth, Bryn Doyle led off with a single. After advancing to second on a passed ball, Jon Poletsky singled up the middle and Csakai threw a bullet to relay-man sophomore Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA), who gunned out Doyle at the plate.

Quinnipiac got a one-out runner in the sixth only to see Watson induce an inning-ending double play.

Jamison and Avella led off the bottom of the sixth with singles. McDonnell moved the pair over with a well-executed sacrifice-bunt. Quinnipiac LHP Chris Gloor then intentionally walked Drechsel to load the bases. The strategy paid off as Gloor struck out the next batter before inducing a fly out to end the inning.

Doyle singled up the middle to lead off the seventh but was picked off by Drechsel for the second time on the day.

Csakai roped a two-out double in the bottom of the seventh but was stranded. After junior Kevin Rush (Metuchen, NJ / Metuchen) worked a 1-2-3 top of the eighth, the Green & White left a pair on the bases in the bottom of the frame.

Wagner worked around a lead-off single in the top of the ninth before Quinnipiac reliever Eric Bretscher induced an inning-ending double-play in the bottom of the ninth.

Both teams went in order in the 10th. In the 11th, John Delaney singled with one out but was thrown out trying to steal to end the threat. Wagner then loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th for Csakai, who delivered the game-winning hit.

Freshman RHP Ian Karlsson (Brooklyn, NY / Xaverian) (3-0) pitched a scoreless 11th to earn the win. Watson struck out three while yielding two runs, one earned, on six hits over 7.0 innings of work. Bretscher (1-5) gave up one run over 2.1 innings of work in taking the loss. Gloor fanned six in 8.1 innings of work while taking the no-decision.

Csakai, Drechsel, Jamison, Martutartus and McDonnell all had two hits to lead the way for Wagner, which had 12 hits in the game. Kummerfeldt and Doyle each hit safely twice to lead Quinnipiac.