Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Paul Mammino Postgame Interview

Staten Island, NY - Freshman LHP Paul Mammino (Hillsborough, NJ / Hillsborough) fired a one-hitter to lift Wagner to an 8-1 victory over Central Connecticut in the teams' series finale.

After Ryan Beal reached via an error in the top of the second inning, Mammino buckled down and retired the next 22 batters in a row before Dylan DelaCruz singled down the left field line with one out in the ninth to break up the Garden State native's no-hit bid. After receiving a huge ovation from the 410 fans in attendance, Mammino calmly struck out pinch hitter Dominic Severino and got JP Sportman on a soft line out to second base for the final out.

The rookie southpaw also recorded seven 1-2-3 innings and struck out five while allowing just one walk in moving to a perfect 5-0 on the season.

The Seahawk offense gave Mammino plenty to work with, scoring eight runs, highlighted by a four-run sixth inning that saw the Green & White bat around.

Central Connecticut opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with an unearned run. Tyler McIntyre walked, before moving to third when Beal reached via an error. After Josh Ingham struck out, Anthony Turgeon plated McIntyre with a RBI ground out.

Wagner immediately answered with a tally in the bottom part of the frame. Graduate student Chase Gray (Toms River, NJ / Toms River South / Seton Hall) led off with a single while extending his hitting streak to 12 games, before senior Jayson Keel followed suit with a single of his own. Gray then moved to third on a ground out and would come around to score on sophomore Tommy Mazurkiewicz's (Neshanic Station, NJ / Somerville) sacrifice fly to deep center.

The Seahawks then assumed the lead with a run in the bottom of the third. Junior Ian Miller (Downingtown, PA / Bishop Shanahan) led off with a single, before stealing second on a failed pickoff attempt. After a strikeout, sophomore Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) advanced Miller to third with a sharp single to right field. Then following a meeting at the mound, Miller scored on a Gray safety squeeze to the pitcher to make it a 2-1 game.

Wagner would then put the game away with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning while batting around. Keel drew a four-pitch walk with one out, before moving to third on a fielding error with sophomore Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ / West-Windsor Plainsboro South) reaching safely. Junior Shaun Flynn (Tabernacle, NJ / Seneca / Burlington CC) then extended the lead out to 3-1 with a single through the right side, scoring Keel.  Mazurkiewcicz followed with a walk to load the bases while forcing the Blue Devils to the bullpen. Senior Nick Alfano (Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) then greeted reliever Brendyn Karinchak with a safety squeeze to score Ruta and make it a 4-1 game. After Miller was intentionally walked, junior Chris Smith (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth CC (IA)) made the visitors pay with a two-run single through the left side to extend the lead to 6-1.

The Seahawks would add to the lead with two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Flynn RBI single and Mazurkiewicz's second sacrifice fly of the game to provide the final 8-1 tally.

Keel went 2-for-3 with two runs, a stolen base and a walk while Flynn was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk to pace the Green & White's nine-hit attack. Ruta also scored a pair of runs while Mazurkiewicz and Smith each notched two RBI.

Casey Brown fell to 1-4 with the loss, allowing six runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work.

With the win, Wagner improve to 15-22 and 8-8 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while CCSU falls to 17-18 and 10-10 in the league.

The Seahawks are next in action at Rutgers on Wednesday, April 24 at 3:00 pm.

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Photography by Dave Saffran