Baseball Sweeps Senior Day Doubleheader Against Old Westbury

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – A remarkable two-way game for senior Louis Lombardi (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) and a big day at the plate for Kevin Reyes (Bronx, N.Y./AECI) led the St. Joseph's University Brooklyn baseball squad to sweep their Skyline Conference doubleheader against SUNY College at Old Westbury. 

Lombardi, coming off last week's Skyline Pitcher of the Week accolade, tossed his second complete game in as many starts; notching his first collegiate shutout as he struck out two and allowed just three hits. The senior also drove in the game's lone run as the Bears (7-23, 5-11) took game one, 1-0.

With game two tied at three in the bottom of the fifth, Anthony Hernandez's (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) steal of home plate gave the navy and gray a lead they would not surrender, coming out with a 7-4 triumph and the sweep of the Panthers (9-22, 6-12).

Along with Lombardi, Thomas Airey (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) was honored in Senior Day ceremonies ahead of game one.

How It Happened, Game 1

Both sides were only able to muster a pair of hits each through the first five innings. Chris Leary (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) and Hernandez got on base to lead off the sixth inning. , setting the stage for the Bears to put a run on the board. With Hernandez in scoring position, Lombardi stepped in to hit a two-out base hit, bringing the sophomore home to score the lone run of the game.

The first two Panther bats got on base to begin the seventh. A sacrifice bunt pushed the runners into scoring position before Lombardi got the game's final two outs on a strikeout and a ground out to Leary.

Game 2

The Panthers brought a runner across the plate in the top of the first to begin the second game. After two quick outs in the bottom of the first, Lucas Collet (Toulouse, France/Lyc'ee Bellevue) reached first on a fielding error by the visitors and stole second and third base on consecutive pitches. Reyes' double brought in Collet, knotting the game up at 1-1.

Starter Matt McHugh (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) kept Old Westbury off the board in the second and third before answering back with two runs in the fourth. 

Reyes lined a one-out double into right-center field and freshman Michael Gardener (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) followed up with a double of his own down the left-field line to score Reyes to cut the Panther lead to just 3-2 in the home half of the fourth. A two-out RBI single from Zach Schnabel (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) would bring the tying run in Gardener across the plate, tying the game at three runs apiece, 3-3.

Hernandez notched a one-out single in the fifth before stealing second and advancing to third on a groundout. Thanks to some heads-up baserunning, on a 1-2 pitch to Reyes, Hernandez stole home; giving the Bears their first lead of the game, 4-3.

A dropped fly ball in left field saw the Bears tack on an insurance run in the seventh before Reyes and TJ Moussette (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) scored on a two-out pinch-hit RBI single off the bat of Mike Medina Jr. (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) in the eighth,  7-3.

The Panthers took back a run in the top of the ninth but weren't able to cause further damage as the Bears come away with their first-ever sweep of Old Westbury in program history.

For the Bears, Game 1

• Hernandez went 1-for-2 with one run and a stolen base, his first since April 9 vs. Manhattanville. 

• Leary batted 1-for-2 while Gardener went 1-for-3.

For the Bears, Game 2

• Reyes batted 3-for-4 with two doubles and crossed the plate twice. This was his first three-plus hit game since April 25, 2021, vs. Maritime. 

• Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a hat-trick of stolen bases.

• Gardener logged a 1-for-4 game at the plate with a double, run scored, and RBI.

• Lombardi finished 2-for-4.

• Collet stole a pair of bases. 

• Leary batted 1-for-5, extending his hit streak to six consecutive games. 

• McHugh went 4.2 innings with a strikeout and allowed three earned runs, settling for the no-decision.

• Justin Conaty (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) struck out three in 4.1 innings, earning his first collegiate win (1-4). He also gave up a run and a pair of walks.

Up Next

The Bears will play their final seven games on the road with the first two coming on Tuesday, April 26 against Yeshiva University in New Jersey. The Skyline doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. with live stats available on sjcbears.com/live.