GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Stony Brook baseball team secured the series-clinching victory this afternoon after
John Rizzo allowed just one run over 7.0 innings and the Seawolves erupted for six runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 12-6 win over North Carolina A&T on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After the Seawolves went down in order to start the game, Rizzo stranded a two-out hit with a lineout to end the opening inning.
- Chanz Doughty led off the second inning with a home run, giving Stony Brook a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Luke Szepek launched a two-strike solo homer to extend the advantage to 2-0.
- Rizzo followed with a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, striking out two in the frame.
- Both teams went down in order in the third, with Rizzo recording another strikeout.
- Johnny Pilla drew a one-out walk in the fourth, and Szepek followed with a base hit, but the Aggies escaped the jam to keep the deficit at two.
- Rizzo stranded two runners with a strikeout to end the fourth, and worked around two more baserunners in the fifth to preserve the 2-0 lead.
- In the sixth, the Seawolves broke the game open with six runs on three hits and one A&T error to take an 8-0 lead. Nico Azpilcueta, who has reached base in every game this season, opened the inning with a walk and came around to score on an error. Chris Carson added an RBI sac fly, Nick Zampieron dropped an RBI bunt single, and Matt Miceli and Evan Goforth capped the rally with RBI hits.
- A&T got on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, trimming the lead to 8-1. Rizzo wrapped up his outing with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
- Carson singled to start the eighth and stole second, but the Aggies held the Seawolves scoreless.
- Matthew Canizares took over on the mound for Stony Brook in the eighth and worked around two baserunners to keep A&T off the board.
- The Seawolves added four more runs in the top of the ninth on five hits to take a commanding 12-1 lead. Szepek delivered a two-RBI double, Carson drove in another with a single, and Nick Solorzano came off the bench with an RBI single of his own.
- The Aggies responded with five runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the Seawolves closed the door with a flyout to right field to secure the 12-6 victory.
STATS AND NOTES
- Rizzo delivered a dominant performance on the mound, tossing a career-best 7.0 innings while allowing just one run on three hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He held opposing hitters to a .130 batting average. He surpassed his previous career-high of 5.1 innings (which he reached three times in his last four starts) and tied his personal best with seven strikeouts (previously set vs. Seton Hall on March 14).
- Szepek recorded his third three-hit game of the season and tied a season-high with three RBI, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, including his fifth homer of the year.
- Carson logged his fourth multi-hit and fourth multi-RBI game of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI, one run scored, and a stolen base.
- Doughty launched his sixth homer of the season — and his first since March 25.
- Zampieron extended his hitting streak to five games and registered his first multi-hit game of the year, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
- Pilla drew three walks, tying the most by any Seawolf this season (Paulsen, 3 vs. Niagara on March 8). He also added a hit and scored two runs.
- Solorzano and Miceli each added a hit and RBI off the bench.
- Azpilcueta extended his on-base streak to 29 games — every game this season — finishing 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
- This marked Stony Brook's first CAA series win of the year — and their first CAA road series victory since taking two of three at Campbell from April 12–14, 2024.
- The Seawolves have now scored 29 runs over their last two games — their most in a two-game stretch since tallying 29 against Fordham (March 4) and Niagara (March 7).
- The Stony Brook pitching staff totaled 10 strikeouts, tying their most in a game against any CAA opponent this season (10 vs. Delaware on March 22).
- Stony Brook improves to 5-1 all-time against North Carolina A&T
NEXT UP
The Stony Brook baseball team returns to Joe Nathan Field on Tuesday as they host Sacred Heart. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m., with the game streaming live on FloCollege.
