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Staten Island Advance Recap (Jim Waggoner)
Pictured Above: Senior catcher Nick Dini (Photo by: Katie Carlson) Staten Island, NY – Senior
Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Wagner baseball team its seventh straight win, a 3-2 victory over LIU Brooklyn in game one of Thursday's Northeast Conference opener at Richmond County Ballpark.
Sophomore RHP
Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford [South Kent Prep]) tossed six innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts in the no-decision. Senior RHP
Steven Bloodworth (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon) earned the win in relief, giving up just one hit in 1 2/3 innings.
Wagner scored the first run of the contest in the bottom of the third as Dini sent a deep fly ball to centerfield which allowed sophomore SS
Nick Mascelli (Clifton, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) to tag up from third and cross the plate on the sacrifice fly. The Blackbirds answered in the top of the fourth as Dom Paiotti singled through the right side, bringing Tommy Jakubowski home for the visitors' first run of the afternoon.
The Seahawks took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh when senior CF
Trey Nicosia (State College, PA/State College Area) reached on a fielder's choice, allowing freshman 3B
Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]) to come around from second base.
LIU Brooklyn tied the score at 2-2 in the top half of the eighth. Wagner's senior right-hander reliever
Anthony Battaglia (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph By The Sea) issued two Blackbird singles before being replaced by Bloodworth. On the first pitch from Bloodworth, Bobby Webb flied out to right field for the second out of the inning but not before Jon McAllister tagged up on the play and scored the tying run on the sac fly.
In Wagner's half of the ninth, freshman 2B
Phil Dickinson (Wenonah, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) reached on an error by LIU Brooklyn's shortstop, Charles Misiano. Wagner head coach
Jim Carone sent senior
Dan Wasilick (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) in to run for Dickinson. Following a well-executing sacrifice bunt by Mascelli, which moved Wasilick into scoring position, Evan Flood came into the ballgame replacing Dustin Carlson on the hill for the Blackbirds.
Nicosia laced a double off Flood on the first pitch, allowing Wasilick to go to third on the play. After issuing an intentional walk to junior OF
Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) to load the bases, Dini cranked a 1-0 fastball up the middle, scoring Wasilick and sending Wagner to its seventh straight win.
Notes:- Ben Ruta had his 21-game hit streak snapped in the contest after the third-year Seahawk was walked four times on the afternoon
- Nick Dini played in his 180th consecutive game.
- Head Coach Jim Carone picked up career victory No. 72 in the 3-2 walk-off win.
For more information, log on to WagnerAthletics.com. Follow us on Twitter (@WagnerAthletics) and follow @WagBaseball for information on the Wagner College baseball team.
