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Homers by Tapio and Reyes Not Enough as Baseball Edged by Maritime

Homers by Tapio and Reyes Not Enough as Baseball Edged by Maritime

THROGGS NECK, N.Y. — Rookie catcher Nick Tapio logged his first collegiate home run, courtesy of a fourth-inning two-run shot, and finished the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with five RBI and a pair of runs. However, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team fell to SUNY Maritime College, 12-9.

In the nightcap, senior Kevin Reyes belted a three-run shot and drove home four runs as he and Tapio had a combined 10 RBI on the day. Chris Leary also went 3-for-4 with two RBI and as many runs scored but the Bears (2-18, 1-13 Skyline) were defeated by the Privateers (8-5, 6-2 Skyline), 16-8.

Game 1: Maritime 12, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 9

Leary led off the game with a two-bagger down the left-field line before scoring on a wild pitch later in the first, giving the Bears the lead. The hosts responded with a run of their own to level the score at one apiece.

Reyes' single broke the deadlock in the third as Tapio came around to score. SJC's one-run advantage was erased in the bottom half of the frame as a single by Phil Russo brought the game to 3-3. A pair of three-run home runs later on in the inning saw the Privateers possess an 8-2 lead.

The Bears would chip at Maritime's lead throughout the contest. In the fourth with two down and Thomas Airey on first, Tapio swung at the second pitch of his at-bat sending an opposite-field two-run homer to left, cutting their deficit to 8-4. Leary reached on a walk in the following at-bat and scored on Anthony Hernandez's single to left, 8-5.

Trailing 9-5 in the fifth, Airey drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit by a run. The bases remained loaded for Tapio who delivered a bases-clearing double to left-center, tying the game at 9-all.

However, the Privateers went up 11-9 on Freddy Forgione's two-run shot to right. They scored their 12th run in the sixth, seeing the front-end of the twin bill end 12-9.

Andrew Monda went three innings on the bump but settled for the no-decision. Joe Acampora fanned six, a new season-high, but dropped to 0-2 on the year.

Game 2: Maritime 16, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 8

With Leary and William DeLuca on and one out in the opening inning, Reyes lifted his second home run of the season over the right-center field fence to give the navy and gray the early 3-0 edge. Maritime plated a pair in the bottom half of the stanza as SJC went into the second up 3-2.

The Bears tacked on two more runs in the second – on an RBI groundout by Hernandez and Leary's double to right – to increase their lead to 5-2; followed by a scoreless bottom half tossed by starter Mike Santoriello.

The Privateers broke the game open in the bottom of the third, pushing nine runs across the plate and swinging the advantage in their favor, 11-5.

The Bears scored their sixth run of the contest in the fourth. DeLuca's RBI single and Reyes's sacrifice fly in the sixth inning brought the score to 11-8 in favor of Maritime. 

The Privateers further distanced themselves in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring four runs on three hits. A lead-off home run in the eighth completed the 16-8 win for the hosts.

Up Next:

The Bears will celebrate Senior Day and conclude their 2021 campaign on Sunday, April 24 with the final two games of their series with the Privateers. Ceremonies begin at 12:40 p.m. with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com.