Pictured Above: Senior outfielder Kyle Cala (Credit: Robert M. Pimpsner, PinstripedProspects.com)
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Teaneck, NJ – Senior RF
Kyle Cala belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Wagner baseball team a 7-6 victory over Mount St. Mary's in game one of Friday's Northeast Conference (NEC) doubleheader at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University on Friday.
Cala's blast, his first of the season, came off the Mount's Michael Kuypers on a 2-0 pitch leading off the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at 6-6.
With the win, the Seahawks improve to 17-10 and 6-1 in NEC play while extending their win streak to five straight. Game one's triumph was a milestone victory for seventh-year head coach,
Jim Carone, who moved into sole possession of second place on the Wagner all-time wins.
Carone entered today's play tied with former Seahawk bench boss, Herb Sutter, who amassed 149 wins over a 16-year career in the Wagner dugout. Next on the list is Joe Litterio, who compiled a program-record 240 victories during his 12 seasons on Grymes Hill.
Five Seahawks had multi-hit games, led by Cala. Sophomore designated hitter
Freddy Sabido, junior CF
Joe Silvestrone, sophomore 1B
Tyler Sanfillippo and senior 2B
Kyle Brey all had two hits while Sabido and Sanfillippo each scored two runs in the victory.
Junior RHP
Eric Ligda did not factor in today's decision after last 6.1 innings, while giving up eight hits and being charged with all five runs. The West Grove, PA native struck out five and issued three walks. The five strikeouts mark the fourth time this season in eight starts that he has fanned five or more batters.
Freshman RHP
Nick LePre worked 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one. Sophomore RHP
Nick Robino, who gave up the tying run in the top half of the ninth, earned his fourth win of the season.
Mount's Trey McGough, the NEC's Co-Pitcher of the Week, gave up seven hits over 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs while walking two and striking out six as he, like Ligda, took a no decision. Kuypers suffered his first loss of the season (2-1).
Myles Nicholson led the Mountaineers with three hits and two runs while Vaughn Parker II drove in two runs, which included the game-tying solo home run in the ninth off Robino. Patrick Causa also had two hits in the contest while driving in a run.
Nicholson kicked off the scoring for the Mount in the top of the first as he beat out an infield single to short and moved to second on a balk. Ligda settled in and got Alex Kriss to foul out to first and struck out Causa swinging. Parker II ripped a 0-2 Ligda pitch deep in the hole at second, allowing Nicholson to score the first run of the contest. The visitors added another score in second on bases loaded walk to Kriss, which scored Andrew Malone, who led off with a base hit back up the middle.
Wagner got on the board in the bottom of the third, cutting the Mount lead in half, 2-1, on a RBI ground out from Cala. Mount St. Mary's responded with a run in the fourth in taking a 3-1 lead as Nicholson drove in Zack Costello on a run-scoring ground out to second base.
The Seahawks responded in the bottom of the frame, trimming the lead back down to one at 3-2. Sabido sent a one-out single back up the middle and moved into scoring position when Silvestrone found space through the left side. Following a strikeout of
Anthony Pecora for the second out of the inning, Sanfillippo took McGough's 2-2 pitch to right field, which brought in Sabido on a sacrifice fly.
Following back-to-back scoreless innings, the Mountaineers added a pair of runs, upping their lead to 5-2 in the top of the seventh. Nicholson doubled down the left field line to start the stanza and moved to third on a grounder to second from Kriss.
Causa ripped a 2-1 double to center field, bringing home Nicholson and concluding Ligda's afternoon. LePre came on and got Parker to fly out to left for the second out but gave up a RBI single to Thomas Savastio that made it a three-run advantage for the visitors.
Wagner continued to chip away at the lead as Sanfillippo roped a double to the deepest part of left field. The sophomore 1B moved to third after Brey flied out to right. Senior SS
Sean Mazzio reached on an error by Parker II that allowed Sanfillippo to cross the plate in bringing Wagner to within two, 5-3.
The Green & White took its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the eighth, scoring thrice in leading 6-5. Junior catcher
Phil Capra clubbed his team-leading eighth home run over the right-center field wall in scoring the Seahawks' fourth run of the game.
Sabdio followed up with a double to left field. Freshman
Ben Montenegro came on as a pinch-hitter and moved Sabido into scoring position on a groundout to second. Junior
Will Johnson came on to replace Pecora and was hit with an errant pitch from Kuypers.
Brey then poked a 3-1 pitch down the left field line that gave Wagner its first lead of the contest at 6-5. In the ninth, Carone brought in Robino and the second-year Seahawk was able to get Causa to fly out to right.
On a 2-2 pitch, Parker II evened the contest with a high-soaring solo home run that cleared the right field wall in tying the game at 6-6. Robino was able to bounce back, not allowing another run by retiring Savastio on a fly out to center and striking out Malone to end the threat.
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