Wappingers Falls, NY - The Wagner baseball team fell to 2-seed LIU, 6-3, in the winner's bracket semifinals of the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament on Thursday at Heritage Financial Park.
It was a pitchers duel early on as sophomore Ryan Bilka battled with Garrett Yawn, but the Sharks cracked Bilka first in the third inning, scoring three runs to take the early lead.
Wagner found itself in a hole, but didn't quit behind a two-run sixth. Redshirt senior Xavier Ulrich, fresh off of a four-hit performance in the opening round, singled in junior Albert Serrano after the Bronx native tripled to open the frame.
Senior Chris Conniff aided the mini-rally with an RBI groundout.
However, LIU launched back-to-back home runs to take back control of the momentum. The Seahawks made some headway in the eighth, cutting the deficit to three on an RBI groundout from junior Bryce Phelps, but the rally ended on a quiet note.
Junior Jake Toporek let up zero runs in his two innings of work to close out the contest. Ulrich and graduate student David Melfi collected two hits a piece.
The Green & White will play tomorrow in an elimination game at 4:00 pm. They will await the winner of 3-seed Merrimack and 6-seed FDU.
