Picture Above: Sophomore Joe Silvestrone, who went 3-for-5 with his first career home run against Southern University this afternoon (Photo Credit: Jamie Bustos, Nicholls State Athletics)
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Thibodaux, LA – The Wagner College baseball kicked off the 2017 campaign with an 11-4 loss to the Southern University Jaguars in the opening game of the Mardi Gras Invitational: Beads and Baseball on the Bayou presented by Bayou Lafourche Area and Visitors Bureau, hosted by Nicholls State University.
While today's game was the season opener for the Seahawks, who banged out 13 base hits, the Tigers, coming off a 6-5 loss to Alcorn State on Sunday, were playing their fourth game of the season and improve to 1-3.
The Green & White plated single runs in each of the first, third, seventh and eighth innings in going on top 4-1 before the Jaguars erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the eighth.
The Seahawks (0-1) sent six batters to the plate in the opening inning. Sophomore CF
Joe Silvestrone (Manalapan, NJ/ Freehold Township) opened the year with a single to left center. After advancing to second, classmate
Anthony Pecora (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) laced a single up the middle as Silvestrone came around to score.
Southern evened the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second. John Pope singled to center and advanced to second when Johnathan Crain reached on a fielding error by Wagner's 3B
Nick D'Amore (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti). After starter
Austin Goeke (Bordentown, NJ/The Hun School) struck out Robinson Mateo, Bobby Johnson ripped a single to center, bringing in Pope as the Seahawks' backstop, sophomore
Phil Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem), misplayed the ball at the plate. Goeke settled down to end the Jaguars' threat, striking out Phillip Williams and Ashanti Wheatley.
In the top of the third, Silvestrone connected for his first collegiate round tripper as he crushed one over the left field wall, giving the Green & White a 2-1 lead. Wagner was looking for more runs in the frame as Capra singled through the right side, advancing freshman DH
Freddy Sabido (Staten Island, NY/Susan E. Wagner [Saint Louis]), who had reached on an infield hit, to second base. The rally was halted when junior LF
Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville) grounded to the second baseman who went to the base for the final out.
Goeke was dominant over the next 3.2 innings, striking out four batters and allowing no hits. His afternoon was done after allowing a two-out walk to Jacob Juge. Sophomore left-hander
Neil Abbatiello (North Salem, NY/Dobbs Ferry) came on and struck out Pope to end the inning.
Wagner made it a 3-1 game in the seventh when Silvestrone reached on an infield single, stole second, and came around to score on a single to right center by Capra.
In the top of the eighth, the Seahawks extended their lead to 4-1. Pinch hitter Lauk started things off with a single to center and advanced to second on a sacrifice by senior 1B Brad Curraro (Howell, NJ / St. Rose). D'Amore then laced a double to center, scoring Lauk.
In the bottom of the eighth, however, Southern recorded seven base hits en route to their big 10-run inning in recording the 11-4 win.
John Guinte (1-0), who scattered nine hits while allowing just two earned runs with six strikeouts in 6.2 innings, got the win while Goeke absorbed the loss for Wagner (0-1).
Silvestrone went 3-for-5 with one RBI, Pecora was 2-for-5 with two RBI while Capra and junior Kyle Cala (Brick, NJ / Brick Memorial) also supplied two hits apiece. The Seahawks had 13 hits and committed four errors on the afternoon while Southern had nine base hits and two errors.
Wagner is back in action on Friday, February 24 when the Seahawks take on the Grambling State Tigers in a 3:30 p.m. start before concluding the three-game tournament vs. host Nicholls State on Saturday, February 25 at 4:00 p.m.
After returning to Staten Island, the Seahawks next play on Tuesday, February 28 when they make the short trip to central New Jersey to meet the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights of the Big 10 Conference in a 3:00 p.m. start.
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