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Staten Island, NY – The Wagner baseball team dropped the first game of a pivotal four-game Northeast Conference (NEC) series against the Bryant University Bulldogs, 4-1, on Thursday afternoon from Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
 

With the loss, the Seahawks (25-20-1; 13-8 NEC) now trail Bryant (25-21; 16-5 NEC) by three games with three contests left in the regular season.  The Bulldogs, with the victory, have claimed at least a share of the league's title. 

Thursday's series opener highlighted two of the top NEC pitching prospects in sophomore Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford [South Kent Prep]) and Bryant's Kyle Wilcox.  Long suffered his second defeat on the season as he falls to 4-2 after tossing 5.1 innings, two hits, four runs (two earned) while walking a season-high five batters and striking out four.  Fifth-year senior Nick Pavia (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph By The Sea) pitched efficiently in relief of Long, hurling 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball while allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four Bulldogs.

Freshman 3B Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]) and senior C/2B Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) each went 2-for-4 on the afternoon with Mazzio driving in the only run for Wagner.  Freshman DH Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville) recorded the only other hit while drawing the lone base-on-balls. 

Both teams were held scoreless in the first, but the Bulldogs changed that in their half of the second inning.  Facing a 2-1 count, Bryant's Buck McCarthy untied the game as he sent a solo home run over the left field fence as the Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead.  

Wagner answered with a run in the bottom of the frame as Dini sent a single to left field, his 239th career hit, to start the comeback.  A walk to Godino and a throwing error by Wilcox loaded the bases for Wagner. Mazzio stepped in against Wilcox and sent his 1-1 pitch deep to short as Dini crossed the plate to even the game at one.  

The Bulldogs capitalized on two Wagner errors as Bryant scored three runs in the sixth inning.  Cole Fabio bunted back to Long, but the towering 6'10" right-hander threw the ball away.  After an errant pitch struck John Mullen, AJ Zarozny advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt up the third base line.  

Long issued an intentional walk to McCarthy loading the bases for the Bulldogs.  The Waterford, CT native was able to induce a grounder to short but the throw from sophomore SS Nick Mascelli (Clifton, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) was wide at second, allowing two runs to score.  An RBI ground out from Dan Cellucii capped off the three-run inning for Bryant.  

The two teams continue their series on Friday with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

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