STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Senior 1B
Casey Baker (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) stole home in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Stony Brook baseball team an 11-10 win over visiting Manhattan and cap a crazy game at Joe Nathan Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Baker singled to open the Seawolves' (6-12) half on the ninth inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore C
Sean Buckhout (West Nyack, N.Y.), stole third and then came home on an attempted suicide squeeze play that the Jaspers (3-12) picked up on, but Baker avoided an apparent tag and was called safe at home.
The game came down to the ninth inning only because Manhattan combined to plate seven runs in the eighth and ninth innings to complete a comeback after trailing 10-1.
Freshman SS
Nick Grande (Smithtown, N.Y.) collected three hits and a pair of RBI in the victory, while Baker, senior CF
Toby Handley (Whitby, Ontario) and junior LF
Andruw Gazzola (Coram, N.Y.) each banged out two hits.
Junior RHP
Aaron Pinto (West Covina, Calif.) picked up his second win of the season, while redshirt freshman RHP
Greg Marino (Centereach, N.Y.) tossed 5.0 innings in the start and allowed just one run on six hits, while he collected six strikeouts.
Turning Point
With the score tied 10-10 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, senior 1B
Casey Baker (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) singled into left field, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore C
Sean Buckhout (West Nyack, N.Y.), stole third and then came home on an attempted suicide squeeze play that turned into a steal of home for the win.
Quoting Head Coach Matt Senk
"Crazy game with a crazy ending. I have to give a lot of credit to Manhattan who kept playing and came back from a big deficit. It was a crazy game, but I'm glad we came out on the winning side."
Notes
- Freshman SS Nick Grande (Smithtown, N.Y.) had three hits to extend his hitting streak to five straight games.
- Grande's three hits also mark his fifth multi-hit game of the season and first three-hit game of his career.
- Grande drove in two runs for his second multi-RBI game of his career.
- Senior CF Toby Handley (Whitby, Ontario) had two hits for his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Junior LF Andruw Gazzola (Coram, N.Y.) had two hits for his second multi-hit game of the season.
- Senior 1B Casey Baker (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) had two hits for his seventh multi-hit game of the season.
- Freshman RF Chris Hamilton (Schenectady, N.Y.) drove in two runs for his second multi-RBI game of his career.
- Baker stole three bases, Handley stole two bases and Gazzola stole a base. The Seawolves are now 21-23 in stolen bases this season.
On Deck
Stony Brook continues its homestand and opens America East Conference play with a three-game series against Hartford this weekend. The Seawolves and Hawks will square off in a doubleheader at 12 p.m. on Saturday followed by a single game at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
