Box Score / Box Score (PDF)

Brooklyn, NY - LIU Brooklyn held off a late-charging Wagner squad by a 9-6 count in the first game of a doubleheader at the LIU Field.

In defeat, the Seahawks fall to 23-25 and 15-10 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Blackbirds improve to 17-29 and 13-12 in the league.

LIU Brooklyn opened the scoring with a single run in the bottom of the second inning, but the damage could have been worse as junior RHP Ryan Casey (Paramus, NJ / St. Joseph Regional) stranded a pair of runners at the corners.

Wagner then answered with three runs on three hits in the top of the third. Sophomore Jason Gordon (Baltimore, MD / Archbishop Curley) and senior Nick Alfano (Coral Springs, FL / North Broward Prep) led off with back-to-back singles. Junior Ian Miller (Downingtown, PA / Bishop Shanahan) then plated Gordon with a RBI fielder's choice, tying up the score at 1-1. Miller then swiped his school-record  42nd base while tying the conference record. On the very next pitch, Miller broke Kyle Messineo's NEC-record with his 43rd swipe of the season and scored when the throw went into left field. Junior Chris Smith (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth CC (IA)) was then plunked. After stealing second, sophomore Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) plated Smith with a RBI double down the left field line while extending the lead out to 3-1.

The Blackbirds immediately responded in the bottom part of the frame as Mike Garcia and John Ziznewski led off with back-to-back home runs. LIU Brooklyn would reclaim the lead at 4-3 with a sacrifice fly, but the damage could have again been worse as Casey escaped a bases loaded, one-out situation by inducing another inning-ending double play.

The LIU Brooklyn advantage would grow to 7-3 in the fifth inning as the Blackbirds added three runs while chasing Casey from the game.

After Pete Leonello staked the Blackbirds to what appeared to be a comfortable 9-3 lead with a two-run home run in the seventh, the Seahawks rallied for three runs in the eighth.

Smith led off with his team-leading third home run to left field, before Dini, Chase Gray (Toms River, NJ / Toms River South / Seton Hall) and senior Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) followed with singles to load up the bases with no outs. Junior Shaun Flynn (Tabernacle, NJ / Seneca / Burlington CC) followed with a RBI fielder's choice and sophomore Tommy Mazurkiewicz (Neshanic Station, NJ / Somerville)  a RBI ground out to trim the deficit to 9-6.  After Gordon was plunked, pinch-hitter Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ / West-Windsor Plainsboro South) reached via a fielding error while again loading up the bases. Unfortunately, Topa evaded further damage by getting the next batter to ground out for the final out of the frame.

Unfortunately, the Green & White would get no closer in falling 9-6.

Dini, Gordon, Gray and Keel all recorded two hits to pace Wagner's 10-hit attack.

Leonello went 3-for-4 with three RBI while falling a double short of the cycle to pace a LIU Brooklyn offense that recorded 14 hits.

Casey (5-5) yielded seven runs, six earned, over 4.1 innings of work in suffering the loss. Bloodworth was outstanding in relief, striking out two while allowing two runs on just one hit in 3.2 innings of action.

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Photography by Dave Saffran