Baseball Earns First Win of the Season and Sidman Era in Doubleheader Split with Brandeis

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) baseball team split a doubleheader against Brandeis, winning game one, 7-4, and were shut out 4-0 in game two Friday afternoon as part of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational at Lake Myrtle Park.

The game one victory also marks the first collegiate win for Head Coach Jerry Sidman, who was elevated in the offseason after five years as associate head coach to become the third head coach in Bears program history.

Catcher Domenick Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) led the Bears (1-2) going two-for-three and driving in three runs in game one. St. Joseph's also got two RBI from Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep), while Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) had two hits and scored two runs.

Starting pitcher Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) allowed three earned runs and struck out five batters over 6 1/3 innings to give the team their first victory of 2015.

In game one, Brandeis got two quick runs in the top of the second when Remy Pontes lined a two-run single, but Brigando fanned Nick Falkson swinging to strand two runners in scoring position. The Bears would scratch out a run in the bottom half on a Camerada RBI single to cut the deficit to one.

After a leadoff walk and Anthony DeFillippo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) reaching on an error, McKenna singled home a run to knot up the score. Then DeFillippo would cross the plate on a double play to give them the lead.

Following the Judges (2-2) scoring two runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, St. Joseph's would tie the game again immediately in the bottom half. Following a leadoff walk to Francis Rapp (Baldwin, N.Y/Oceanside) and a grounder that moved him to second, he would score following an error on a grounder to the first basemen.

With two runners on in the fifth, Camerada would knock in both on a base hit to break the tie. McKenna would add another run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth to extend the advantage to three runs. Senior Thomas Decapua (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) would come in with one out in the seventh and force two groundouts to close out his first save of the season.

The Judges took charge in the second game thanks to pitcher Sam Miller going the distance with a four-hit shutout with three strikeouts for the victory. After two scoreless frames, Brandeis would grab the lead on a Tom McCarthy RBI double. Falkson would put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run homer to complete the scoring.

St. Joseph's will look to grab two wins tomorrow when they take on Alma University in a twinbill Saturday at Lake Myrtle Park in Auburndale, Fla. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 11:00 a.m.