Maritime Scores Extra-Inning Walk-Off Win Over Manhattanville

Recap courtesy of SUNY Maritime College

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – After building up a 3-0 lead early in the game the Maritime baseball team went to extra innings at home on Tuesday evening and knocked off the Manhattanville Valiants by the score of 4-3 on a walk-off wild pitch.
 
Freshman Matt Eng (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood), who was pinch running for sophomore Jake Vera (Plainview, N.Y./Bethpage) scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning on a wild pitch by Manhattanville to give the Privateers their 15th win of the season.
 
Sophomore Skylar Graff (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) picked up the win in relief after tossing a scoreless top half of the 10th inning. Sophomore Matthew Paghidas (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place) got the start and got through four innings while allowing three hits and striking out four. Freshman Kyle Peterson (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland) tossed three innings of two-hit ball, before freshman Kevin Dunn (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) was touched up for the three Valiant runs. Junior Matthew Buckshaw (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts.
 
Offensively freshman Travis Zurita (Ozone Park, N.Y./Poly Prep) excelled in the leadoff spot as he
went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Senior Aaron Schiavoni (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson) had one RBI, while sophomore Antonio Diaz (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport) had a multi-hit game with one run scored. Senior Chris Deddo (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) had a double, as did freshman Zach Baber (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem), while senior John Verwoert (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet) crossed the plate once for a run scored.
 
Paghidas worked in and out of trouble in the top of the first to send the game to the bottom half of the inning. Zurita attacked the first pitch and singled, followed by a first pitch double off the bat of double to put two runners in scoring position. Two batters later Schiavoni picked up a sacrifice fly as Zurita crossed with the game's first run.
 
Diaz opened the second inning with a single, then stole second. Verwoert walked to put two runners on base. Three batters later Zurita sent a 3-1 pitch to right field for a base hit to plate Diaz to put Maritime up by two.
 
After a scoreless third inning, Maritime added another solo run as Verwoert walked on four pitches then moved up to second on a groundout. Zurita was up once again and singled to right centerfield to put the Privateers up by a 3-0 score.
 
Peterson came on for the fifth and retired the side in order. However in the sixth he got a key defensive assist from sophomore Phil Russo (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) in right field, who threw out a runner at home for a double play to end the Manhattanville threat.
 
In the top of the eighth Peterson was lifted for Dunn, as Manhattanville was able to break through against the righty to tie the game at three. Buckshaw came on to get the final out of the frame and pitched a perfect ninth inning including two strikeouts.
 
Maritime threatened in the bottom of the ninth as freshman Angelo Brucculeri (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) walked and was moved over to second on a bunt, but the Privateers were unable to break through and headed to extra innings.
 
After Graff got through the top of the 10th Vera was hit by a pitch on a 1-1 pitch to bring up Baber, who doubled down the chalk along the left field line. The ball kicked up off of the base of the lamppost in foul territory and onto the adjacent turf field to keep Vera at third on the ground rule. Eng ran for Vera carrying the game-winning run. Two batters later with Verwoert batting, the Valiant pitched threw a pitch in the left-handed batters box and to the backstop as Eng scored the game-winning run.
 
Maritime (15-9, 4-4 Skyline) will be back home on Saturday for a Skyline Conference doubleheader against St. Joseph's (Bklyn) at 12:30 p.m. on the Reinhart Baseball Field.