STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Starting pitcher
Ben Fero opened the day with a 1-2-3 top half of the first and the Seawolves offense scored four runs in the bottom half, providing the runway for a 12-2 victory for the Stony Brook baseball program over rivals UAlbany on Friday afternoon at Joe Nathan Field.
After a pair of walks to start the day,
Shane Paradine and
Matt Brown-Eiring laced a pair of run-scoring doubles to the outfield, making it 3-0 Seawolves in the bottom half of the first.
Stanton Leuthner would single home Brown-Eiring to finish the frame's scoring.
Fero would make sure it stood, throwing five innings of two-run ball, striking out five for his second win of the year. Brendan Patterman iced it away, throwing the final four to earn his third save.
The teams traded pairs of runs in the sixth, with UAlbany's two-run double being canceled by run-scoring hits from
Evan Giordano and Brown-Eiring. The Seawolves poured on four in the seventh, with Leuthner launching his fourth home run of the season on the second pitch of the frame.
After that,
Evan Fox drove in a run with a double to left and
Shane Paradine scored a pair with a fly-ball double down the line.
STATS AND NOTES
- After another multi-hit day today, Paradine is hitting .425 (17-for-40) in conference games this season with a team-high seven doubles and a pair of homers.
- Brown-Eiring has a team-high .786 slugging in league play, with four homers and 15 RBI to his name in 10 conference contests. He has also reached in 16 consecutive games this season, one off the highest by a Seawolves player this year. His three doubles are the most by a Stony Brook player this season.
- Stony Brook's offense recorded season highs in runs (12) and doubles (8).
- Paradine hit a pair of doubles and drove in three runs, both of which are season highs.
- Leuthner's three hits are his most during a game this year.
- Fero's five strikeouts are a new career-high.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Pre series, we always go through our scouting reports. Coach [Jim] Martin handles the hitters and we executed that about as perfectly as we could've ... We figured we would stay with Ben and hoped he would set the tone, and he got back to how well he pitched against Old Dominion, Western Carolina and UMass Lowell. It was really good to see him do that." - head coach
Matt Senk.
"I've really changed my approach from last year. Instead of just trying to rip balls, I've been more soft and smooth and just wanted to drive the baseball anyway I can. I widened out my stride and that's been the biggest impact to my swing." - sophomore outfielder
Matt Brown-Eiring.
"I'm just more relaxed. As the season went on, I've gotten more confident and trusted myself more. I've wanted to focus on just hitting the best pitch I'm going to get in an at-bat, and I've done that more recently. I wasn't doing that to begin the year" - junior catcher
Shane Paradine.
UP NEXT
Game two of this three-game set is slated for 1 p.m., tomorrow at Joe Nathan Field.
Brandon Lashley is slated to take the ball for the Seawolves.
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