NEWARK, Del. – The Stony Brook baseball team belted four home runs this afternoon, including two by
Nico Azpilcueta, but Delaware erupted for six runs in the bottom of the seventh to ultimately take a 15-10 victory on Saturday afternoon in Newark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Seawolves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after Johnny Pilla recorded a two-out bunt single, followed by a two-run blast from Nico Azpilcueta over the left-field fence.
- Left-hander George Adams made his first career start for Stony Brook, but Delaware answered back in the bottom of the first with a two-run shot to tie the game at 2-2.
- Stony Brook retook the lead in the top of the second. Chanz Doughty led off with a single through the left side, and Luke Szepek followed with a single to right field, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Chris Carson then delivered a go-ahead sac fly, giving the Seawolves a 3-2 lead.
- Delaware responded in the bottom of the second with an RBI single to right field, tying the game at 3-3.
- Azpilcueta launched his second home run of the afternoon in the top of the third, putting Stony Brook ahead 4-3. However, the Blue Hens countered with four runs on four hits in the bottom half, taking a 7-4 lead.
- Carson added a solo home run in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit to 7-5, but Delaware answered again with a two-run single to extend its lead to 9-5.
- In a back-and-forth battle, Stony Brook continued to fight. Doughty crushed a two-run shot to bring home Matt Jackson, making it a 9-7 game.
- Matthew Canizares tossed a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and both teams went down in order in the sixth, keeping Delaware ahead 9-7.
- The Blue Hens broke the game open with six runs in the bottom of the seventh, extending their lead to 15-7.
- The Seawolves mounted one last push in the eighth. Erik Paulsen reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Carson. Azpilcueta reached on a throwing error, bringing home Paulsen, and Jackson capped the rally with an RBI single to center, cutting the deficit to 15-10.
- Alex Jankowski threw a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for Stony Brook, but Delaware retired the Seawolves in order in the ninth to secure the 15-10 win.
STATS AND NOTES
- Azpilcueta recorded the first multi-homer game of his career and a career-best four RBI. He has now reached base in every game this season.
- Doughty had his second three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. He also hit his fourth home run of the year.
- Pilla posted a multi-hit performance for the third time in his last four games, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. He has now scored a run in 11 of his last 12 games.
- Jackson, Goforth, and Szepek each collected two hits in the loss.
- Adams made his first career start for the Seawolves, allowing seven runs while striking out three over 2.1 innings.
- Vincent Mariella and Ryan Dieguez both made appearances out of the bullpen.
- Jankowski pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, striking out two. He has now allowed a run in just one of his four outings this season.
- Stony Brook went 14-for-41 (.341) at the plate, including 6-for-16 (.375) with two outs and 7-for-18 (.389) with runners on base.
- Each team threw 164 pitches in the game.
- The Seawolves hit four home runs, one shy of their season-high, while the five homers they allowed set a new season-high.
- The team tied its season-high with four hit-by-pitches.
- Stony Brook is now 3-8 all-time against Delaware.
NEXT UP
Stony Brook returns to action tomorrow afternoon for the weekend finale against Delaware in Newark. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. and can be streamed live on FloBaseball.
