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MikeRuggiero
Ross Pirrotta
9
Winner Wagner WAGNER 11-23, 8-20 NEC
7
Sacred Heart SHU 20-23, 15-10 NEC
Winner
Wagner WAGNER
11-23, 8-20 NEC
9
Final
7
Sacred Heart SHU
20-23, 15-10 NEC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 R H E
Wagner WAGNER 0 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 19 1
Sacred Heart SHU 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 13 3

W: Wiseman, Kevin (3-7) L: Jake McDowel (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Wagner Outlasts Sacred Heart, 9-7, In 17 Innings For Series Opening Victory

Bridgeport, CT – ­Resuming their suspended game from Thursday, the Wagner baseball team came away with a 9-7 victory Friday afternoon over the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a 17-inning marathon that lasted five hours and 30 minutes.

With the win, the Seahawks improve to 11-23 and 8-20 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Pioneers move to 20-23; 15-10 in league contests. 
 
Mike Ruggiero, Jared Gillen, Tyler Sanfilippo, and Griffin Schneider each had three hits for the visitors in the win while Ruggiero and Sanfilippo drove in three RBIs apiece. Sanfilippo scored three of Wagner's nine runs.
 
Kevin Wiseman (3-7) worked two innings in relief to earn the victory while Jake McDowell was tagged with the loss. 
 
Two Seahawks reached milestones in the opener on Thursday. At the plate, Sanfilippo became the 63rd member of the 100 career hit club, after collecting three hits in seven at-bats while also driving in three runs. 
 

On the mound, Ryan Lauk etched his name in the Wagner record books as well. Needing seven strikeouts to move into a tie for second place on the single-season strikeout list, the Mullica Hill, NJ native struck out nine over seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits with three walks.
 
Lauk, who has recorded at least four strikeouts in each outing this season, surpassed Andrew Bailey, the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and two-time American League All-Star with his 86th strikeout of the season. 

Lauk wasn't finished rewriting the Seahawk record books. After his performance Thursday, he cracked the top-15 and finished the day in a tie for 14th all-time with Matt Morris at 151 career strikeouts.
 
Entering Thursday's contest, Lauk trailed Bryant's Tyler Mattison by one strikeout for the league lead. At the suspension of play Thursday night, both pitchers were deadlocked with 86 strikeouts after Mattison fanned eight against Mount St. Mary's. 


Mike Pirrotta worked 3.2 innings in relief of Lauk, giving up two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out a career-high eight batters. John LaPointe allowed just two hits in 4.1 scoreless frames in which he walked three but recorded a career-best seven strikeouts. 
 
Justin Jordan notched a team-leading three hits and drove in three RBI to pace the Pioneers' offense. Austin Markmann and Danny Glendon each had two hits for the home team. 
 
Chase Jeter started the game, lasting only four innings, giving up six runs on seven hits. David Aufiero, Brendan Coffey, and Michael Attonito didn't allow a run in eight combined innings of relief work, as the trio struck out eight batters and allowed five hits. 
 
The Pioneers plated across two runs in the bottom of the first to get things going. Justin Jordan led off the inning with a walk. Elijah Brown singled to right-center, putting the first two men on for the Pios. 
 
Austin Markmann reached on a fielding error by Ruggiero at short, allowing Jordan to score the game's first run. Ruggiero was able to redeem himself, as Isiah Daubon grounded into the 6-4-3 double play for the first two outs, but Brown crossed the plate giving Sacred Heart a 2-0 lead. 
 
The visitors didn't waste time responding, putting four on the board in the second. David Melfi led off the frame with a walk before moving to second on the single by Griffin Schneider. Sanfilippo cleared the bases with a triple down the right-field line, knotting the game up at 2-2. Henry Martinez stepped in and sent a grounder to the right side that scored Sanfilippo as Wagner took the lead, 3-2. Wyatt Duncan walked and moved into scoring position before scoring on a hard-hit double off the bat of Ruggiero to deep left-center that increased the Seahawks lead to 4-2. 
 
The Pioneers got one run back in their half of the third inning. Skarad led off with a double down the left-field line. Jordan brought him on a single to right before he was caught stealing. Lauk was able to settle down on the bump, getting Brown to fly out to right and Markmann to ground out to Ruggiero, ending the inning. 
 
Wagner added two more scores in the fourth in building a 6-3 advantage. Sanfilippo notched his second hit of the game, reaching on an infield single back to the pitcher. He moved into scoring position on a failed pick-off attempt. 
 
With one out, Duncan ripped a double to center field, scoring Sanfilippo. Ethan Valdez reached first safely on a bunt single, giving the Seahawks runners on the corners with only one out. Ruggiero recorded his second RBI of the contest, sending a sacrifice fly that the SHU second baseman fielded in right, with Duncan beating the throw home for the second run of the frame. 
 
Sacred Heart narrowed the gap with runs in the fifth and sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-5. In the bottom of the fifth, Jordan continued his hot hitting, delivering an RBI single back up the middle. In the bottom of the sixth, Daubon connected on a one-out double to center before coming into score on the RBI single by Danny Glendon. 
 
The Green & White went back ahead by two, 7-5, in the seventh. Cody Bey drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a two-out single by Schneider. Sanfilippo posted his 100th career hit by delivering a single to left field, scoring Bey. 
 
Pirrotta came on for Lauk in the bottom of the eight and promptly struck out the side. In the Wagner half of the ninth, the Seahawks were able to get two men on base, but, were left stranded. 
 
The Pioneers staged a game-tying rally in the last of the ninth. Glendon led off with a single to center. Joe Emerson got hit by a pitch, putting the first two batters on. Anthony Porrino reached on a single to third base that loaded the bases for the home team. 
 
Trevor Fagan was summoned as the pinch-hitter and drew a walk, cutting the deficit to one, 7-6. Jordan scored the tying run with a single to right field as Emerson scored but Porrino was thrown out at the plate trying to win it for Sacred Heart. Pirrotta struck out the next two batters to send the game into extras. 
 
In the tenth, Freddy Sabido pinch-hit for Martinez and ripped a double to center. Caleb Ward came on to run for Sabido, but was stranded at second as Brendan Coffey retired the next three Seahawks via the strikeout. 
 
Sacred Heart had a chance to walk it off in the 11th. Emerson kicked off the stanza with a double down the left-field line. Pirrotta was able to strike out pinch-hitter Mark Smith before Fagan grounded out to Melfi for the second out. 
 
With the winning run ninety feet away, John LaPointe was brought in. Jordan was intentionally walked as LaPointe faced the left-handed Brown. LaPointe struck Brown out, as the game moved to the 12th inning. 
 
Schneider opened the Wagner 12th with a single to short, but the visitors couldn't get him around to score. In the bottom half, Markmann doubled to left-center and Daubon walked before LaPointe settled things down on the mound, getting Robert Farruggio to fly out to left and back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. 
 
Both teams couldn't get much done until the top of the 15th. Jake Lutz was the go-ahead run after reaching base on the infield single to short, but was left there after Ruggiero sent a grounder back to the pitcher. 
 
Farruggio singled to left-center in the bottom of the inning. Emerson worked a one-out walk, moving Farruggio into scoring position before being lifted for pinch-runner Julian Pedrouzo. LaPointe once again came through the Seahawks, striking out Ryan Trieste and Fagan to end the inning before the umpires suspended the game roughly four hours after the first pitch.
 
When play resumed on Friday, Gillen started the 16th inning with a single back up the middle and moved to second after Bey walked. Both runners were stranded as McDowell was able to get Schneider to hit into the inning-ending 4-3 double-play. 
 
Wiseman came on in the bottom of the inning and set down the first two batters. Markmann was able to send a double down the right-field line to put the potential winning run on. Daubon was intentionally walked to set up the force out. Pedrouzo followed with a ground out to third to end the inning.
 
In the top of the 17th, Sanfilippo led the Wagner rally with a leadoff walk. Ward singled to center, giving the visitors runners on the corners with no one out. McDowell retired DiMaggio Cazares and Lutz as Ruggiero stepped in with two on and two out.
 
The Smithtown, NY native was able to send a single to right-center as Sanfilippo scored the go-ahead run, giving Wagner an 8-7 lead. The next batter, Gillen, followed suit with a single that scored Ward as the Seahawks increased the lead by two, 9-7. 
 
Wiseman was unscathed in the bottom of the frame, retiring the Pioneers in order as Wagner came away with an unbelievably hard-fought, series-opening win. 
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