Palermo’s Go-Ahead RBI in Extras Lifts Baseball Over SJC Long Island

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — Senior Anthony Palermo (Patchogue, N.Y./Sachem North) went 2-for-5 and knocked an RBI single in the top of the eighth in game two to give the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team (11-16, 4-12 Skyline) a win over sibling rival St. Joseph's College (Long Island) in the nightcap of their Skyline conference doubleheader on Sunday.

The Bears split the day with the Golden Eagles (14-14, 6-8) snapping a seven-game losing streak in the all-time series, beating them for the first time since 2015-16. Brooklyn also broke out of a nine-game skid with the game two victory for their first win since April 1.

Game 1: SJC Long Island 11, SJC Brooklyn 0 (7 innings)

The Bears went down one-two-three in the top of the first and Anthony Raucci notched a sac fly in the bottom to open the scoring as Long Island led 1-0 after one. Inning number two was scoreless and the Golden Eagles tacked on another sacrifice fly in the third to double their advantage entering the fourth.

Back-to-back players were hit by a pitch to open SJCLI's half of the fourth and, after a Brooklyn double play, Daniel Campanelli roped an RBI double to extend the lead. He was singled home two batters later, which was followed by a two-run double, as the Golden Eagles plated five tallies in the fourth to break the game open.

Long Island added a pair of runs in both the fifth and a six to reach the 10-run mercy rule and held the Bears to four hits on the outing cruising to their 14th victory of 2019.

Game 2: SJC Brooklyn 4, SJC Long Island 3 (8 innings)

The first two frames went scoreless but the Bears caught stride in the third when J.J. McLaughlin (Elmont, N.Y./Sewanhaka) and Adam Schwartz (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) singled and were followed by RBI's from Palermo and William DeLuca (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central) to break the gridlock.

SJCBK extended their edge to 3-0 in the fourth on a Long Island error but the Golden Eagles got into the scoring column an inning later with two runs on a pinch-hit RBI single from Tyler Crafa and a Tyler Sanderson sac fly.

The Bears stranded the bases loaded in the sixth and SJCLI was down to their final out in the seventh but loaded the bases themselves on two walks and a hit batsman. Jesse Nakashian stepped up next and drew another walk to score a run and force extra innings.

McLaughlin was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth, was sacrificed to second, and advanced to third on a groundout to the right side setting up a run-scoring situation with two outs. Palermo followed driving the go-ahead single to right field and DeLuca picked up the save with a one-two-three bottom half, capped off by a strikeout looking, to secure the split.

For the Bears

• Palermo (2-for-5, 2 RBI), DeLuca (2-for-4, RBI), and Kevin Reyes (Bronx, N.Y./AECI) each had two hits in the win.
• Joseph Langan (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) doubled in game one and went 1-for-2 in the nightcap.
• Rookie Louis Lombardi (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) pitched six strong innings in the victory allowing two runs on just five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
• Matthew Trudden (Broad Channel, N.Y./Christ the King) was 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, and a run scored in the victory while McLaughlin scored twice himself and picked up the win on the mound.

Next Up for the Bears
A single non-conference matchup against New York University on Wednesday (Apr. 17) at MCU Park with first pitch set for 4 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com.