Baseball Advances in Winners Bracket of Skyline Championship With 4-2 Victory Over Old Westbury

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Junior Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) knocked three hits on the day including the game-winning RBI double to lift the sixth-seeded St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team to a 4-2 victory over second-seeded and defending champion Old Westbury in the Skyline Conference Baseball Championship. Rosario DiLorenzo (Howard Beach, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) worked 6.2 strong innings in the start and Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) retired all but one of the eight batters he faced for the save.

The Basics

• Final Score: St. Joseph's 4, Old Westbury 2
• Records: St. Joseph's (22-18), Old Westbury (26-14)
• Date: May 7, 2016
• Location: Farmingdale, N.Y.
• Field: FSC Baseball Stadium
• SJC Starters: Pasetti (LF), Rapp (SS), Luebcke (2B), Condon (DH), LoPrinzi (C), Schwartz (3B), A. Camerada (RF), Pallatto (1B), M. Camerada (CF), DiLorenzo (P)

How it Happened

• Old Westbury took an early 1-0 lead in the first, stringing together a pair of hits with two outs with Tommy Ziegen's triple followed by Dean Sheridan's RBI single putting the defending champions ahead.
• The Bears got the run right back in the second with John Condon leading off the inning with a double to the gap followed by a Nicholas LoPrinzi single and Adam Schwartz punching a single to right to level the game.
• St. Joseph's kept the bats going in the third, with Connor Pasetti opening the frame with a single and later followed by Brian Luebcke and Nicholas LoPrinzi RBI doubles, that gave the Bears a 3-1 lead.
• After the early run, DiLorenzo held the Panthers scoreless over the next five innings, working perfect frames in the second and sixth, but Old Westbury cut the deficit in half to 3-2 in the seventh with back-to-back leadoff singles and pushing one across with a Jesse Russo sacrifice fly.
• The Bears manufactured an insurance run with just one hit in the top of the ninth after LoPrinzi knocked his third hit of the game, advanced to second on a sacrifice and moved to third on a grounder and coming home on a passed ball.
• The 4-2 cushion was more than enough for Brigando, who took the hill in the seventh and worked 2.1 scoreless innings, capped off by a 1-2-3 ninth for the save, completing the Bears second upset of the tournament.

For the Bears

• Nicholas LoPrinzi (3-for-4, RBI, R, 2B) led all batters with three hits and he drove in the go ahead run and scored the insurance run.
• Brian Luebcke (2-for-4, RBI, R, 2B) recorded his 22nd multi-hit game of the season, extending his Bears single-season record.
• Adam Schwartz (1-for-3, RBI) accounted for the other run scored and John Condon (1-for-4, R) and Connor Pasetti (1-for-4, R) knocked the other hits as the Bears had eight hits on the day.
• Rosario DiLorenzo (6.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 K, 0 BB) improved to 5-5 on the mound on the season and collected his 16th career victory.
• Mitch Brigando (2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB) picked up his second career save facing just one base runner over the minimum.

For the Panthers

• Kevin Lao (2-for-3) and Tommy Ziegen (2-for-4) led the No. 2 seed at the plate with two-hit games.
• Dean Sheridan (1-for-4, RBI) and Jesse Russo (1-for-3, RBI) drove in the Panthers two runs on the day.
• Jeremy Charles (9 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 6 K) went the distance and suffered only his third loss of the season falling to 6-3.

Inside the Box Score

• Charles held St. Joseph's to just two hits over the final six innings with the Bears manufacturing the insurance run in the ninth on just one base knock.

The Bear Facts

• With a double in the third, Brian Luebcke became the solo single-season record holder in doubles (21). He extends his single-season records in hits (62), total bases (107), multi-hit games (22) and at bats (158).
• With the victory, Rosario DiLorenzo moved into a three-way tie for career victories improving to 16-12 and a two-way tie for career starts (34). He also moved into second all-time in innings pitched (196.2).
• The Bears pick up their second victory over Old Westbury, but the Panthers maintain an 8-2 edge in the all-time series.
• The top two seeds in the Skyline Championship--No. 1 Farmingdale State and No. 2 Old Westbury--will meet in an elimination game this afternoon.

Next Up for St. Joseph's 

The Bears continue in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament facing sibling rivals and No. 4 seed SJC Long Island tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Farmingdale State College. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com

When the Bears and Golden Eagles met in the regular season in Patchogue, N.Y., the Bears took an 7-2 victory in game 1 before the Golden Eagles salvaged a split with a 1-0 victory in a pitchers' duel.