STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Stony Brook baseball team (22-27, 13-14) celebrated their Mother's Day and 2023 senior class this afternoon by defeating Monmouth University (15-28, 5-20 CAA), 8-5, to secure the series sweep.
Leading the offense this afternoon was a trio of student athletes who recorded multiple hits and RBI. Junior
Evan Fox was the spark in the lead-off spot by finishing his afternoon 2-for-4 with his career-high eighth home run of the season. Also, senior
Brett Paulsen continued to rake as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He is now hitting .328 this season and has four multi-hit games in his last five.
In his final game at Joe Nathan Field, graduate
Evan Giordano left his mark as he finished his day with a double, triple, two RBI, and scored a run.
First-year student
Eddie Smink got the start for the Seawolves and was dominating the Monmouth hitters early in the game. The right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters that he faced, including a double-play to end the third inning.
With the momentum on the Seawolves side, the squad tallied three runs in the next half to take a 3-0 lead. After sophomore
Matt Miceli began the inning with a walk, junior
Ryan Micheli sent the sophomore to third base by doubling down the left field line. First-year student
Matthew Wright came to the plate and produced a sacrifice-fly to bring Micheli home.
Following the out by Wright, Fox came back at the top of the order with the two-run home run to left field that gave the Seawolves the 3-0 advantage.
The Hawks would come back in the fourth inning with a run of their own to cut the deficit to 3-1. But, Stony Brook made the most of an error by Monmouth in the next half to retake their three run lead.
After Smink held Hawks scoreless in the fifth inning, the Seawolves collected another two runs to go up 6-2. It was the top of the order again doing the damage for Stony Brook as Fox notched a hit with one-out and Giordano brought him around the bases by launching a triple to center field. Following a pitching change, senior
Shane Paradine came up with an RBI knock to bring Giordano home.
Monmouth answered with three runs of their own to make the score 6-5 in the top of the sixth.
This would force Stony Brook to turn to their pen and graduate
Nick DeGennaro entered the game. In his final appearance at Joe Nathan Field, the right-hander held the Hawks scoreless over the final 3.1 innings and struck out three batters to earn his second save of the season.
DeGennaro punched out the side in the seventh inning and the Seawolves tacked on another two runs after Giordano collected an RBI double to left field in the seventh and Miceli brought home Paulsen on a ground-out to give Stony Brook the 8-5 lead and ultimately the victory.
Before the game, the Seawolves honored their senior class,
Jared Bellissimo,
Eric Foster,
Brandon Lashley,
Josh O'Neill,
Devin Sharkey,
Shane Paradine,
Brett Paulsen, and
Derek Yalon, who have all made lasting impacts on the program over the course of their careers. Their hard work, dedication, and contributions have and always will be greatly appreciated.
STATS AND NOTES
- After going 3-5 at the plate yesterday with a home run and tied the single season record in steals, he produced a 2-4 afternoon with his eighth home run of the season. This series, he went 6-14 with six RBI, four runs scored, and two stolen bases.
- Giordano leads the team with 23 multi-hit games this season as he went 2-4 with a double and triple. He also finished with two RBI, which marks the 13th time this season that the graduate recorded multiple RBI (tied with Paradine for team-high).
- Smink earned his third win of the season which leads all first-year students on the squad and third on the team.
- In his 43rd appearance of the year and 10th of the season, DeGennaro earned his second save of the season and third of his career after finishing the final 3.1 innings without allowing a run.
- Paulsen went 2-4 with a run scored. For Paulsen, it was his 17th multi-hit game of the season. He extended his hitting streak to seven games in a row and is now hitting .368 in conference play.
- Paradine tallied his career-high 37th RBI this afternoon and went 1-4 at the plate.
- Stony Brook ends their season 16-8 at Joe Nathan Field this season and 30-15 since the beginning of last season. They have won their last six CAA games at Joe Nathan Field.
- The Seawolves are now 5-1 all-time against the Hawks.
UP NEXT
The Seawolves will return to the diamond this weekend in Towson, Md., to take on Towson University in their final three game set of the season. The matchup on Friday and Saturday is set for 3 p.m., while Sunday's first pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
For an inside look at the Stony Brook baseball program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
