Big Fifth Propels Baseball Past SJC Long Island in Opener But Settles For Split in Pitchers' Duel

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — Senior Rosario DiLorenzo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) earned his fourth victory of the season in game one as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team pushed five runs across in the fifth with two outs for a 7-2 victory, but St. Joseph's College (Long Island) triumphed in a 1-0 pitcher's duel in game two, salvaging a split between the sibling rivals in a Skyline Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon in Patchogue, N.Y.

The Basics

• Final Score (Game 1): SJC Brooklyn 7, SJC Long Island 2
• Final Score (Game 2): SJC Long Island 1, SJC Brooklyn 0
• Records: SJC Long Island (12-9, 5-5 Skyline), SJC Brooklyn (13-14, 4-4 Skyline)
• Date: April 16, 2016
• Location: Patchogue, N.Y.
• Field: Gregg Alfano Field
• SJC Brooklyn Starters (Game 1): Pasetti (LF), Rapp (SS), Luebcke (3B), Condon (DH), LoPrinzi (C), Pallatto (1B), Brigando (2B), A. Camerada (RF), M. Camerada (CF), DiLorenzo (P)
• SJC Brooklyn Starters (Game 2): Arroyo (LF), Rapp (SS), Luebcke (3B), Condon (DH), LoPrinzi (C), Schwartz (2B), Pallatto (1B), A. Camerada (RF), McGreevy (CF), Pasetti (P)

How it Happened in Game 1

• The Golden Eagles struck first off of Joseph Calabrese's two-run single up the middle in the first inning.
• After being held hitless in the first two, the Bears cut the lead in half on Francis Rapp's RBI single in the third inning.
• After two runs early runs, starter Rosario DiLorenzo settled in and kept the Golden Eagles at bay, setting the table for a six-hit, five-run Brooklyn outburst in the bottom of the fifth inning, all the runs scoring with two outs. Brian Luebcke delivered the go-ahead runs with a two-run double to the left field corners, while Connor Pasetti, John Condon and Nicholas LoPrinzi all added run scoring hits.
• An Anthony Camerada sacrifice fly in the seventh tacked on an insurance run for the final difference.
• DiLorenzo exited after 7.1 innings and Anthony Amatuzzi entered to close the door, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings to secure the win.

How it Happened in Game 2

• After a scoreless first, the Golden Eagles rallied for one in the second inning on consecutive doubles from Sean Balsam and Joseph Calabrese.
• That would be all Long Island needed as starters Connor Pasetti and Steven Szobesky engaged in a pitcher's duel.
• Still scoreless, the Bears threatened in the sixth. John Condon and Nicholas LoPrinzi connected for back-to-back two-out singles to put the tying running in scoring position. The rally forced starter Szobesky out, but reliever Michael Catanzaro induced a popout to end the threat.
• Catanzaro tossed a perfect seventh to earn the save and complete the five-out shutout.

For the Bears

• Francis Rapp (4-for-7, RBI, R) led all players with four hits on the afternoon, slugging two in each end of the twinbill.
• Nicholas LoPrinzi (3-for-7, RBI, R), John Condon (2-for-6, RBI, R, 2B) and Thomas Pallatto (2-for-5) each recorded multi-hit days as well.
• Brian Luebcke (1-for-8, 2 RBI, R, 2B) led the Bears with a pair of RBI, both coming on one swing in the opener.
• Starter Rosario DiLorenzo (7.1 IP, 3 K, 2 ER, 6 H) evened his record at 4-4 in game one. Connor Pasetti (7.0 IP, 5 K, ER, 4 H) allowed just one run in seven strong innings in game two, but was stuck with the loss and fell to 3-3.

For the Golden Eagles

• Joseph Calabrese (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2B) hit safely three times and drove in all three of the Golden Eagles' runs on the day.
• Daniel Campanelli (2-for-7) and James Nakashian (2-for-7) collected one hit apiece in each end of the doubleheader.
• Ryan Aloise (5.0 IP, 3 K, 5 ER, 9 H) suffered the loss in game one, while Steven Szobesky (5.2 IP, 3 K, 0 ER, 5 H) shut down the Bears in game two to earn the victory and set up Michael Catanzaro's save.

Inside the Box Score

• A defensive game two saw just nine hits. All five of the Bears' were singles, while the Golden Eagles took advantage of a pair of doubles to score the game's lone run.
• Brian Luebcke extended his hitting streak to seven games in game one, but saw it snapped in game two.
• Connor Pasetti extended his reached base safely streak to eight games.

The Bear Facts

• Rosario DiLorenzo moved into solo second on the career strikeout list with 135 K's and moved within one win of tying the all-time wins record with his 15th career victory.
• SJC Brooklyn game-two loss snapped a three-game winning streak as their record now stands at 13-14 overall and 4-4 in the Skyline Conference.
• The Bears maintain a winning record on the road, now at 8-7. Although the Bears batted as the home team, officially will count as a road game for SJC Brooklyn.
• The all-time series between Brooklyn and Long Island remains even at 2-2 following last season's split.
• Both Brooklyn and Long Island remain tied for sixth with level .500 league records, but just a half-game behind a tie for fourth.
• The Bears victory in game one could prove important at the end of the season. Should the teams remain tied, the third tiebreaker is the victor of the nine-inning contest.

Next Up for St. Joseph's

The Bears face a quick turnaround welcoming conference foe Purchase College to Padavan-Preller Field on Sunday, March 17 for a doubleheader. The Panthers sit just a half-game ahead in the congested league standings. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. with live stats available on SJCBears.com.