April 18, 2004

Box Score

Albany, N.Y. - Designated hitter Derek DeGrazio went 2-for-4, including the go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning, as Albany posted a 7-2 victory over Stony Brook in America East Conference baseball action on Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field. The Great Danes, who have won 16 of their last 17 contests, swept all three games from Stony Brook during the weekend series.

Stony Brook (12-18, AE 1-5), who swept Albany in the four-game league series last year, grabbed the lead in the third on Stephen Didbury's RBI single that plated Nick Theoharis. Shortstop Matt Devins followed with a sacrifice fly, which drove in Andrew Larsen, to give the Seawolves a two-run advantage.

Albany (22-4, AE 5-1), who set a school single-season win total surpassing the 1999 squad, put up three runs in the fourth to take the lead for good. Second baseman Kirt Zimniewicz doubled to leadoff the frame and Brendan Chiavaro drove him in with a single to left center. DeGrazio, a junior, then stepped to the plate and blasted his third home run of the year over the left-field fence to give the Great Danes a 3-2 lead. Zimniewicz belted a two-run homer, his seventh of the season, in the eighth, as his team scored three times in the frame.

Senior right-hander Adam Kroft went eight innings on the hill by allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out a season-high 10 batters to improve to 4-1 on the year. Reliever Shawn Ryan pitched a scoreless ninth. Stony Brook's Ryan Claypool went three innings and gave up three runs on three hits in the loss.