Pictured Above: Senior SS
Anthony Pecora (Credit: Gerry Nelson Wall, Class of '81)
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Bronx, NY – Wagner scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie, Fordham closed the gap in the bottom of the eighth but it was Wagner that was able to hold on for the 3-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon at Houlihan Park.
With the win, the Seahawks snapped their three-game losing streak and moved to 2-10 on the season while the Rams, who now stand at 10-7 on the year, saw its season-high seven game win streak halted. In addition, Wagner is the first team this season to defeat Fordham in the Bronx, as the Rams now stand at 5-1 in home tilts.
Senior SS
Anthony Pecora led the way at the plate for Wagner, going 3-for-5 with a run scored. The Mamaroneck, NY native was a home run away from the cycle, as he led off with double, a single in the seventh and a triple in the eighth. He was one of three Seahawks to score a run in the victory, joining senior CF
Joe Silvestrone and junior 1B
Tyler Sanfillippo.
Senior 3B
Will Johnson, who went 1-for-2, was one of three players to drive in an RBI in the contest, along with junior
Dario Anderson and sophomore LF
Ben Montenegro. Freshman reliever
John LaPointe earned his first career win, allowing two hits over his two innings of work while striking out three batters. Junior reliever
Nick Robino picked up his first save of the season, pitching a scoreless 1.1 frames to go along with two strikeouts.
Seahawk starter,
McCae Allen, went three innings, striking out two and walking one on two hits before LaPointe came on in relief. In total, LaPointe, sophomore
Nick LePre, junior
Ryan Lauk and Robino, combined for the final six innings, giving up one unearned run, on three hits while walking three and striking out six.
Alvin Melendez had two hits for the Rams to go along with a runs scored and a RBI. Justin Bardwell went 1-for-3 while delivering the second RBI of the contest for Fordham. Brian Weissert started the contest for the home, lasting four innings while giving up an earned run on three hits while walking two and striking out six.
Wagner got on the board first in the top of the first. Senior SS
Anthony Pecora led off with a double to center field before moving to third on a wild pitch. Now with two outs, Senior 3B
Will Johnson ripped an RBI single to center that plated home Pecora to give the Seahawks a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Rams evened the score as Melendez connected on a leadoff, solo home run on a 2-1 pitch from Allen, tying the game at 1-1.
The score remained that way over the next five frames until the Seahawks broke the stalemate in the top of the sixth. Silvestrone led off the stanza with an infield single to short. After the Rams, Marc Bisogno (0-2) retired Johnson via a strikeout, Sanfillippo reached on a fielder' choice to short as both runners were safe due to a fielding error by the Fordham second baseman.
Sophomore
Brandon Hall drew a walk to load the bases. Anderson came on as a pinch-hitter for newcomer
Griffin Schneider and drew a four-pitch walk that broke the tie, putting Wagner ahead 2-1. The next batter, Montenegro, also reached on a fielder's choice to short, which plated home Sanfillippo and increasing the lead to 3-1.
The Seahawks were poised for another potential big inning in the top of the seventh as Pecora recorded his second hit of the day and moved to second on a wild pitch. Junior DH
Freddy Sabido drew a walk to give the Green & White a pair of runners with no one out. Silvestrone ripped a liner that was tracked down by the Rams' CF for the first out of the inning and Fordham's reliever, Anthony Zimmerman was able to get the final two outs of the inning, halting the big rally.
In the bottom of the inning, Machado singled to right. LePre was able to get the next two hitters out before Jake Guercio sent a single to right field and promptly moved to second on a stolen base that gave the Rams the tying runs. The second-year right-hander got Melendez to pop up to second ending the scoring chance.
Fordham cut the Seahawk lead to one, 3-2, in the bottom of the eighth as Justin Bardwell sent a sacrifice fly to right, which plated home Jake MacKenzie, who reached on a walk. Robino came on for junior
Ryan Lauk and was able to strike out Machado. In the bottom of the ninth, Robino was able to retire the Rams in order in preserving the victory for the Seahawks.
Wagner will open Northeast Conference (NEC) play this weekend when the Seahawks square off against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers, beginning on Friday, March 15, 2019 with first-pitch set for 3:00 p.m.
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