Pictured Above: Sophomore outfielder, Emil Matti (Credit: David Cohen)
 
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Piscataway, NJ – The Wagner College baseball team picked up its first Northeast Conference (NEC) victory of the season on Saturday, defeating the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers, 9-8, at Bainton Field on the campus of Rutgers University.
 
Both teams stand at 1-1 in league contests with the series finale set for tomorrow afternoon with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.
 
Wagner (3-11) sophomore LF Emi Matti enjoyed a career afternoon, as the Parsippany, NJ native was one of three Seahawks to record a multi-hit game in today's victory as the second-year Seahawk went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Matti also drove in four of the nine RBIs in the contest, highlighted by his first collegiate home run, a three-run shot coming in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Senior SS Anthony Pecora went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs while junior Griffin Schneider also had two hits and scored twice. Eight of the nine starters recorded at least  one hit in today's game, with freshman catcher, Johnny Kampes notching his first collegiate hit.
 
Senior RHP Eric Ligda started the contest for the Green & White but did not factor in the decision, as he went five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits while issuing five walks and striking out three batters. Freshman southpaw reliever, John LaPointe, registered his second win in a relief role, tossing three innings of no-hit ball, allowing a run while walking three and striking out one. Junior closer, Nick Robino, notched his second save of the season, giving up one hit and two unearned runs while walking two and striking out one.
 
MSM (6-7) Pat Daly led the way for the visitors, going 2-for-4 at the plate while Patrick Causa and Ryan Fisher each scored twice and drove in a RBI in defeat. Mount's starter, Jordan Geber, also went five innings, giving up three runs on six hits while walking three and striking out three in taking a no-decision. Brenden Kennedy, who took the loss, lasted a third of an inning and allowed three earned runs, in what turned out to be the go-ahead tallies for the Seahawks.
 
Wagner got on the board in the bottom of the second, scoring twice in grabbing the early lead. Junior 1B Tyler Sanfillippo led off with a single and stole second. Matti brought him on a RBI single to make it 1-0. With two outs, Kampes connected on a single to center that scored Matti and gave Kampes his first career RBI while upping the Seahawks lead to 2-0.
 
The Mount answered back with five consecutive runs, highlighted by a three-run top of the third in taking a 5-2 lead. In the third, Alex Kriss and Causa each doubled, with the later bringing in Kriss for the visitors' first run. Thomas Savastio singled to left, bringing home Causa to tie the game at 2-2, before Fisher flew out to right field that scored Savastio for the Mountaineers first lead, 3-2.
 
The visitors tacked on a run in the fourth and fifth to make it 5-2 before Wagner chipped away. In the bottom of the fifth, Pecora sent a frozen rope back up-the-middle to start the frame. Junior DH Freddy Sabido belted a double to right, giving the Seahawks a pair of runners with no one out. Senior CF Joe Silvestrone sent a sacrifice fly to left, which allowed Pecora to tag up and score, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Wagner almost got its second run of the frame but Sabido was called out at the plate.
 
LaPointe came in for Ligda after a walk to Kriss started the top of the sixth. LaPointe got Causa to fly out to Matti in left. Following a hit-by-pitch to Daly, Savastio ripped a liner to center field that Silvestrone was able to make a sliding snag before alertly firing the ball to second to double-off Kriss, ending the threat.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Wagner regained the lead by scoring thrice in taking a 6-5 lead. Schneider doubled, Matti walked and sophomore 2B Mike Ruggiero beat out an infield bunt that loaded the bases. Sophomore Brandon Hall came on for Kampes, and sent a sac-fly to left, scoring Schneider. The next batter, Pecora, who was behind in the count (1-2), cleared the bases with a two-run triple to the deepest part of center field as the Seahawks regained the lead.
 
The Seahawks added three more scores to make it 9-5, with the big blast coming off the bat of Matti, who took Dennis Snyder's 1-1 pitch over the left center field wall for his first round-tripper of the season.
 
The Mountaineers strung together a late rally, scoring once in the top of the eighth and twice in the ninth. Down by four, Owen Wosleger came on as pinch-hitter and worked out a walk. Myles Nicholson reached on a fielder's choice before stealing second and third, scoring on an overthrow by Hall to third.
 
In the ninth, facing Robino, Mount had one out when Zack Costello walked. Fisher reached on a fielding error by Sanfillippo at first. Trevor Leamer came on for Bryant Shives and doubled to right center, scoring Costello. Robino was able to record a strikeout of Wosleger, but reached first as the balll trickled away from Hall on the wild pitch to score Fisher.
 
Nicholson walked but Robino was able to get back-to-back ground outs in preserving the win for the Seahawks.