BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — The Seahawks won their first NEC series of 2026 with a sweep of their Sunday doubleheader at LIU, taking an 11-1, seven-inning victory in game one then closing out with a 9-5 win in the series finale.
Redshirt sophomore Joseph Steventon threw a complete game to secure the win in the opener, then a massive eight-run inning in game two allowed Wagner's three pitchers to cruise to a win with a solid run cushion behind them.
Game 1
It was a quick start to the day to kick off the doubleheader, with Steventon taking the start and ultimately finishing the seven-inning contest with just 70 pitches thrown and 28 batters faced. He allowed just six hits in 7.0 innings pitched, giving up one hit and striking out three Sharks.
The top eight hitters in the Wagner order recorded a hit, finishing with the 11 runs scored on 15 hits, with 11 RBIs. Five of those players had a multi-hit performance. Three had multiple RBIs.
A pair of one-out singles from sophomore Matt Sutera and junior Diego Tavarez put runners on in the first, then an RBI single from junior Joseph Mennella scored Sutera from second for the first run of the day. Tavarez was sitting on third for a sacrifice fly, which gave the Seahawks a 2-0 lead when Steventon took the mound.
He threw just seven pitches in the bottom of the frame, inducing a ground out and two fly outs. In the second, an RBI single from graduate Lukas Torres scored redshirt junior Evan McRae, who had led off the inning with a 1-0 single. Back out in the second, Steventon sat down his batters in order in just eight more pitches. Wagner added two more runs in the third to take a 5-0 lead.
The LIU batters finally started to battle in the third, with Steventon dealing with a nine-pitch at-bat to open the inning, recording the out before managing to record outs on the next two Sharks in ten more pitches. A leadoff double in the fourth put an LIU runner in scoring position, then an RBI single scored what was ultimately the only run for the Sharks in the game. Wagner tacked on two more runs on three hits in the fifth, with Mennella, Immel and McRae each recording a hit.
Steventon allowed a pair of hits in the fifth but continued to battle, leaving three Sharks stranded.
It was another big inning for Wagner in the sixth, with Torres leading off with a single and advancing on a wild pitch to be in scoring position for Sutera, who hit an RBI double to push Wagner's lead to 8-1. A fly out put Sutera on third, then Mennella added an RBI single to score Sutera. He moved to second on an error that put Immel on first, then Mazzotta scored both Immel and Mennella with a two-RBI double on a 2-1 count.
That four-run blast put Wagner ahead, which meant the ten-run mercy rule was called into effect. In the bottom of the sixth, Steventon worked a pop up and two fly outs to sit down three Sharks on the first pitch they saw then two one-out singles had the run-rule a bit dicey in the seventh, but a fly out and fielder's choice play had Steveneton ending his day with a complete game performance.
With the series evened, the Seahawks went into game two looking to sweep the doubleheader.
Game 2
It was a steady effort across the board from the Seahawks in game two of the day, with the offense taking off early and handing the game off to the pitching staff to hold things down. Wagner finished with nine runs on 11 hits, holding the Sharks to just five runs on their 10 hits.
Seven different Wagner batters recorded a hit, with Mennella and Torres logging three apiece. The LIU pitching staff held Wagner to just three walks and the Seahawks only left six runners stranded across nine innings. LIU finished with its 10 hits, but left 13 runners stranded.
Starting pitcher Justin Roitman gets the win for game two. The senior went 3.2 innings and allowed just four runs. Junior Keith Davis, in just his second outing this season, went a massive 4.1 innings where he allowed just one run and struck out four. Mazzotta closed the game out, pitching the final inning and striking out two but was a run short of being able to record a save.
LIU starter James Lordi was ambushed out the gate, allowing seven runs to score on seven hits and a pair of walks in eight batters faced. Graduate Lukas Torres led off with a single on the first pitch of the game, then sophomore Matt Sutera hit the first pitch he saw for another single. A walk to junior Diego Tavarez loaded the bases, then junior Joseph Mennella added a two-RBI single for the third hit of the day.
Tavarez moved to third on a passed ball, then a four-pitch walk to junior Omar Carreras loaded the bases again for junior Dylan Immel, who singled to score Tavarez. A sacrifice fly from senior Nicholas Mazzotta scored Mennella for the fourth run of the day, then freshman Brendan McLoughlin doubled to push Carreras across. That hit marked the end of the day for Lordi, who threw 19 pitches in his 0.1 inning of work after seeing all but one Wagner batter. Only two of his eight batters saw more than three pitches.
With Isaac Beebe entering for the Sharks, he gave up an 0-2, RBI single to junior Josiah Ross who stole second with Torres back up to the plate. Rounding out the eight-run blast, Torres added an RBI single before Beebe was able to record the final two outs of the frame.
After that scoring onslaught in the top of the first, things settled down for the remainder of the game. Senior Justin Roitman entered to pitch in his second start for the Seahawks, sitting down his first three batters in order. Wagner did no damage in the second, then a three-run home run put the Sharks on the board. They added another run in the third, but the Seahawks answered quickly.
After recording the first out, a single, hit batter and walk loaded the bases for Mazzotta, whose RBI single scored Wagner's ninth run of the game. JDavis entered to pitch for the Seahawks with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, striking out his batter to end the inning.
LIU added another run in the fifth with situational hitting that allowed a sacrifice fly to push another run across, then Davis was able to strike out another Shark to get out of the inning. Back out in the sixth, Davis encountered some traffic but again was able to shut the door, ending another inning by striking out an LIU batter. A pair of hits for the Sharks in both the seventh and eighth made the four-run lead feel small, but the Seahawks were able to keep LIU off the board.
In the bottom of the ninth, Mazzotta entered the game to pitch, striking out his first batter and inducing a groundout with his second, walking a pair with another reaching via error to load the bases with two outs, but the senior was able to strike out LIU catcher Joseph Durso to end the game and secure the win.
Next up, the Seahawks head to Seton Hall for what was supposed to be a pair of home-and-home games that had to be moved around due to inclement weather across the northeast. Now, Wagner will play Tuesday, March 17 at Seton Hall's Mark Sheppard, Sr. Stadium for a 4 p.m. EDT midweek game.
