Skyhawks score 20 total runs on 24 combined hits in doubleheader split

Junior shortstop Michael Zeiner went 4-for-5 in game two with three runs batted in to pace the Skyhawks offense.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (March 25, 2012) – Stonehill College, ranked sixth overall in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Regional Poll, salvaged a split with Adelphi University in a Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) inter-divisional doubleheader action on Sunday afternoon. The Skyhawks fell 9-8 in game one but rebounded in game two with a 12-1 win.

Adelphi 9, Stonehill 8

The Panthers rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning to take game one scoring four runs on three hits while being aided by two fielding errors.

Senior right-hander Chris Murphy (New Hyde Park, N.Y./Chaminade) notched the win on one inning pitched, one hit, one run (earned), one walk and two strikeouts. Sophomore starter Stephen Bove (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Ford) lasted just one inning, yielding four hits, five runs (four earned), one walk and one punchout.

Michael Von Stein (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull) took the loss recording just one out, giving up two hits, two runs (both unearned) to go along with one strikeout. Senior left-handed starter Michael White (Lisbon, N.H./Lisbon Regional) completed four innings, struck out three batters, walked four and gave up five runs (two earned) on five hits. Freshman Armand Rugel (Middletown, R.I./Middletown) threw four-and-one-thirds innings, allowing three hits, two runs (all unearned) and three strikeouts.

Stonehill jumped out to an early 7-2 lead with five runs in the first and two more in the second. Senior first baseman Steven Popp (Unionville, Conn./Farmington), classmate Michael Magnussen (Carver, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) and sophomore Colin Shepard (Boxford, Mass./Masconomet) all collected RBI's in the five-run first inning as the Skyhawks compiled four hits to highlight the frame.

Adelphi cut into the gap at 7-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning on a bases clearing double from junior first baseman Anthony Zarella (Holbrook, N.Y./St. John The Baptist).

Magnussen added a run for Stonehill in the ninth plating sophomore right fielder Billy Karalis (Pawtucket, R.I./Bishop Feehan) with a single through the right side of the infield. Karalis walked and stole second base, all with two outs, to set up the scoring.

In the bottom half of the, senior left fielder Jamie Liebowitz (Queens, N.Y./Cardoza) made it 8-6 with a RBI single through the right side before sophomore Richard Mejia (Jackson, N.J./ Perkiomen School) evened up the contest with a two-run double. The Panthers went on to score the game-winning run on a fielding error.

Stonehill compiled ten hits total in the loss receiving multi-hit games from junior centerfielder James DeAlto (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff), shortstop Michael Zeiner (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury), White, sophomore second baseman Dan Fratus (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) and Magnussen.

Senior Michael White scored three runs and drove in two runs combined between both games.

Stonehill 12, Adelphi 1

Stonehill scored 12 runs on 14 hits in game two to earn a split with Adelphi University as Zeiner paced the offense with a 4-for-5 showing at the plate to go along with two runs scored and three runs batted in. DeAlto, Fratus and Karalis also knocked in two runs apiece for the Skyhawks.

Senior left-handed pitcher Eric Haughn (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) stymied the Panthers offense allowing just three hits and one run (unearned) over eight innings of work. Haughn fanned a game-high eight batters and issued three walks. Classmate Brendan Wright (Easton, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) pitched a clean ninth inning to secure the game two victory.

Junior Jeff Andersen (Valley Stream, N.Y./Nassau Community College) suffered the loss on four-and-two-thirds innings pitched, four hits, three runs (all earned) three walks and six strikeouts.

Scoreless through the first three full innings of play, Stonehill went on to score at least one run in every inning but the sixth. The Skyhawks plated two runs in the fourth, one run in the fifth and nine runs over the final three innings of the game.

In the fourth, White and Zeiner perfectly executed a double steal as White swiped second base and Zeiner stole home on the backend for a 1-0 lead. Fratus followed and ripped a single up the middle driving in White from second base to take a 2-0 advantage.

Zeiner pushed the gap to 3-0 in the fifth with a RBI single down the right field line bringing home freshman catcher Matt Anziano (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) who singled and advanced to second on a sac bunt earlier in the frame.

The Skyhawks four-run seventh inning was highlighted by a run-producing single from Zeiner and a two-run single through the right side by Karalis.

Adelphi broke up the shutout bid in the seventh inning as Liebowitz scored on a throwing error.

DeAlto went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI's, Fratus was 2-for-5 with one run scored and two runs driven in and Karalis had a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with one run scored and two runs batted in.

Stonehill (14-8, 2-2 NE-10, 0-0 Northeast Division) returns to action on the road against UMass Lowell on Wednesday, March 28 at 3:30 p.m. Adelphi (9-8, 1-3 NE-10, 0-0 Southwest Division) hosts Southern Connecticut State University on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

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