ALBANY, N.Y. — Cole Durkan picked an opportune time to launch his second career homer.
After the Stony Brook baseball team had a late five-run lead erased by UAlbany, Durkan led off the top of the ninth with a game-tying homer to pull the Seawolves even.
Shane Paradine then delivered a tiebreaking two-out, two-run double later in the frame, after an intentional walk to
John Tuccillo. And
Evan Fox tacked on an RBI single as Stony Brook prevailed, 14-11, in its America East opener on Friday afternoon.
Brian Morrisey handled a scoreless bottom of the ninth and earned the win in relief. He struck out all five batters he faced.
The scoring output was the most by Stony Brook since a 15-run outburst against Binghamton on May 17, 2018.
Durkan's lone other career long ball was a three-run shot in a win at Army West Point on March 19, 2019.
"I was looking for a pitch I could hit hard to get the inning going," Durkan said. "When I saw it, I just put a good swing on it. It was really an exciting moment. I think we fed off of that energy as a team, which led us to scoring a few more runs."
Meanwhile, Paradine had similar heroics March 12 at Central Connecticut State, when he delivered a game-tying RBI double in ninth inning en route to a 4-3 win.
The Seawolves (5-7, 1-0 AE) halted a three-game skid … with no shortage of drama.
Chris Hamilton, slowed this season by a pair of injuries, and Paradine drove in three runs apiece.
Tuccillo extended his season-opening hitting streak to 11 games with a 3-for-5 performance.
Evan Giordano and Tuccillo each scored three runs.
Paradine's RBI double in the first inning had opened the scoring. Giordano then contributed a two-run double and Hamilton had an RBI triple in a three-run second as Stony Brook grabbed a 4-0 lead.
A half-inning after UAlbany pulled within 6-4, Hamilton and Tuccillo had back-to-back homers in the sixth.
Starter
Jared Milch turned over a 9-4 lead to the bullpen for the seventh. But the Great Danes produced three runs in the frame.
Stony Brook gained slightly more breathing room the following half-inning, though. Hamilton drew a leadoff walk, advanced to third on Tuccillo's single and scored on a wild pitch for a 10-7 lead.
But the Great Danes scored four runs in their half of the eighth, capped by a run-scoring wild pitch by Morrisey after he inherited the go-ahead runner at third.
The four-game series continues Saturday with a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
