Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Bill Murphy Postgame Interview / Miller Program Graphic
Staten Island, NY - Graduate student
Bill Murphy (Cranford, NJ / Roselle Catholic / Rutgers) completed Wagner's come-from-behind 5-4 victory over LIU Brooklyn with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, plating sophomore
Chris Smith (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth (IA) CC) while giving the Seahawks their third one-run victory of the weekend at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
Murphy's hit with the bases loaded and no outs in the last half of the ninth inning erased what was a three-run deficit while setting off a wild celebration that was exacerbated with a dogpile between first and second base.
With the win, Wagner takes the series by a 3-1 count while improving to 15-23 and 11-9 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the visitors fall to 14-23 and 6-10 in the league.
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Seahawks finally broke through with their first run of the game. Junior
Nick Alfano (Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) chopped a double down the left field line, before moving to third on a single by sophomore
Cliff Brantley (Staten Island, NY / Port Richmond). Senior
Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) brought home Alfano with a sacrifice fly to center field, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
The Blackbirds immediately got that run back in the top of the eighth inning. Albert Faz opened up the frame with a single, before advancing to second on a wild pitch and third on a sacrifice bunt. Derek Stupski then chased Faz home with a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead out to 4-1.
In the bottom of the inning, sophomore
Ian Miller (Downingtown, PA / Bishop Shanahan) gretted LIU Brooklyn reliever RHP Evan Zerff with a triple to right center. Murphy followed with a ground-rule double, scoring Miller to make it 4-2. Following a line out, freshman
Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) legged out an infield single while pushing Murphy to third. Junior
Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) cut the lead to 4-3 with a RBI fielder's choice that scored Murphy. On the play, the relay throw got past the first baseman and Keel moved to second. Alfano followed with his second double in as many innings, a shot to center field that scored Keel while tying the game up at 4-4.
After reliever RHP Kyle Pomeroy induced the final out of the frame, Seahawk RHP
Anthony Battaglia (Staten Island, NY / St. Joseph By The Sea) quickly set the top of the Blackbird line-up down in order.
Higgins led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk, before Smith moved all the way to third when Pomeroy made a throwing error on senior
Hayden Hunter's (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) bunt. After Miller was intentionally walked, Murphy singled against the drawn-in infield to complete the win.
Seven different members of the Green & White hit safely while helping fuel an 11-hit attack. Leading the way as Murphy, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double and Alfano, who was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a RBI. Miller, like Alfano, registered a pair of extra-base hits, finishing up 2-for-4 with a double, triple, run and walk. Rounding out the multi-hit performers was Dini, who was 2-for-4.
Battaglia picked up his second win in as many days with a 1-2-3 ninth inning while improving to 3-1 on the year with a 1.91 ERA over 21.2 innings. Fellow freshman RHP
Dan Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) was solid in earning a no-decision, striking out four while scattering four runs on seven hits over a career-best matching 8.0 innings.
LIU Brooklyn which jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first and one in the fourth were denied additional opportunities to score by the outstanding pitching of Watson. The freshman hurler stranded three runners at third base over the course of his eight frames while coaxing the Blackbirds into a 2-for-10 stat line (.200) with runners in scoring position.
Faz and Walsh each recorded two of the visitor's seven hits while Stupski went 1-for-3 with two RBI. Pomeroy (0-3) suffered the loss, allowing one unearned run over a third of an inning.
Wagner, which was 6-for-12 (.500) with runners in scoring position, returns to action on Tuesday, April 17 against Saint Peter's with first pitch slated for 7:00 pm at the Stadium.