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Luebcke Goes the Distance, LoPrinzi and Pallatto Go Yard as Baseball Upsets Maritime in Skyline First Round

Luebcke Goes the Distance, LoPrinzi and Pallatto Go Yard as Baseball Upsets Maritime in Skyline First Round

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. — Senior Brian Luebcke (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) held the No. 3 seed Maritime College to just five hits, striking out eight as he fired his sixth complete game of the season leading the No. 6 seed St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) to a 3-2 victory in the first round of the Skyline Conference Baseball Championships on Wednesday evening. Junior Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) and sophomore Thomas Pallatto (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) both launched solo home runs in the fourth that proved to be the difference.

The Basics

  • Final Score: St. Joseph's 3, Maritime 2
  • Records: St. Joseph's (21-18), Maritime (22-14)
  • Date: May 4, 2016
  • Location: Throggs Neck, N.Y.
  • Field: Reinhart Field
  • SJC Starters: Pasetti (LF), Rapp (SS), Luebcke (P), Condon (C), LoPrinzi (RF), Schwartz (3B), McGreevy (2B), Pallatto (1B), M. Camerada (CF)

How it Happened

  • After Francis Rapp and Brian Luebcke knocked one-out singles in the first, Nicholas LoPrinzi gave the Bears an early 1-0 lead punching the first pitch he saw to right.
  • Maritime threatened in the home half of the inning with back-to-back singles to lead off the frame, but with runners on the corners, Patrick McGreevy threw out the runner at home trying to score on a grounder. On the next play, the second baseman made another great defensive play running back to track down a popup in right field and doubled up the runner on second.
  • LoPrinzi went yard to leadoff the fourth and later in the frame Thomas Pallatto followed with a two-out solo blast giving the Bears a 3-0 lead and knocking Privateer ace A.J. Ammirati off the hill after four innings.
  • With a three-run cushion behind him, Luebcke held the Privateer lineup hitless until the sixth, after the two lone hits in the first. But in the eighth, the Privateers closed the gap with one swing on a Paul Woodburn two-run, two-out shot that made it a one-run ball game.
  • Luebcke took the hill in the ninth with his pitch count above 125 and worked a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the Privateers No. 4 and 5 hitters and inducing a fly out to center to close out the first-round upset.

For the Bears

  • Luebcke improved to 7-1 on the mound with his league-leading sixth complete game of the season, striking out eight and surrendering just five hits and one walk. The senior helped himself at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort and also stole a base.
  • Nicholas LoPrinzi (2-for-4, 2 RBI) launched his fifth home run of the season and Thomas Pallatto (1-for-2, RBI) blasted his second home run of the season to account for all the Bears runs.
  • Francis Rapp (2-for-4) rounded out three with multi-hit games and also scored a run.

For the Privateers

  • Chris Deddo (2-for-3, R, BB) and Paul Woodburn (2-for-4, 2 RBI) did most of the damage accounting for four of the five hits and all the runs.
  • Aaron Schiavoni (1-for-4) knocked the only other hit for the hosts.
  • A.J. Ammirati (4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER) took the loss while Tyler Stuart tossed four scoreless innings in relief, striking out nine.

Inside the Box Score

  • Luebcke recorded five of the final six outs by strikeout after just three K's over the first seven innings. He struck out the Privateer 3-4-5 hitters a combined five times holding them to a 1-for-12 on the day.
  • After jumping ahead 3-0 in the fourth, the Bears were held to just two hits by the Privateers relievers.

The Bear Facts

  • The win is the second upset as a No. 6 seed by St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) this season, with the men's basketball team knocking off Farmingdale State in the opening round en route to their cinderella run to the Skyline title game.
  • Brian Luebcke extends his single-season records in hits (60), total bases (104), multi-hit games (21) and at bats (154). The senior also set a new single-season record for innings pitched (72.0). He is also a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts this season.
  • St. Joseph's closes the gap in the all-time series to 13-10 and SJC is 5-2 over the last seven since 2014. The Bears have faced the Privateers more times than any other school in program history meeting for the 23rd time.

Next Up for St. Joseph's 

The Bears now move on to the double-elimination round of the Skyline Championships facing No. 2 Old Westbury on Friday, May 6th at 5 p.m. at Farmingdale State College. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com