The Stony Brook baseball team broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning — highlighted by a three-run blast from Erik Paulsen — and rolled to a 12-5 win over Monmouth on May 17 to celebrate 2025 Senior Day at Joe Nathan Field.
Senior John Rizzo got the start on his special day and worked around a two-out walk with a groundout to short to keep Monmouth off the board in the first.
James Schaffer led off the bottom half with a single and stole second, then scored on a gap shot by Paulsen to give Stony Brook a 1-0 lead. After a popout, Nick Solorzano doubled to right-center to bring home Paulsen and make it 2-0.
Monmouth answered in the top of the second, scoring two runs on three hits to tie the game at 2-2. Mike Villani led off the bottom half with a walk, but the Seawolves were kept off the board.
Rizzo came back with a 1-2-3 third, inducing two groundouts. The Seawolves also went down in order.
In the fourth, Rizzo worked around a one-out single after Solorzano threw out the runner at second with help from Matt Miceli. He issued another walk but stranded the runner with a groundout to short.
The game stayed tied at 2-2 after a quiet bottom half from the Seawolves.
Monmouth threatened again in the fifth, putting runners on the corners with two outs after back-to-back hits, but Rizzo escaped the jam with a caught stealing to end the inning.
Kincaid Bergthold led off the bottom of the frame with a double down the third base line. After Nick Zampieron moved him to third on a bunt, Miceli knocked him in with a single to center. A few batters later, Paulsen crushed a three-run homer to right, giving the Seawolves a 6-2 lead.
The Hawks cut the lead to 6-4 with a two-run homer in the top of the sixth.
In the home half, Villani walked and Bergthold was hit by a pitch to start the rally. Miceli doubled down the left field line to bring home Villani, and Schaffer followed with a single to center that scored both Bergthold and Miceli. After Schaffer scored on an error, Cam Santerre ripped a two-run double down the line to cap a six-run inning and push the lead to 12-4.
Monmouth added a run in the seventh on two hits to trim the deficit to 12-5. The Seawolves were retired in order in the bottom half.
After a Monmouth leadoff double in the eighth, Matthew Jackson and Miceli connected with Solorzano at the plate to cut down the runner trying to score. Vincent Mariella induced a groundout to first to end the inning and keep the lead intact.
Following another quick bottom of the eighth, Monmouth opened the ninth with back-to-back hits. Mariella received a standing ovation as he exited the game, and Aidan Colagrande came on in relief. Solorzano picked off the runner at first for the first out, and after a hit-by-pitch, Colagrande closed it out with a flyout and a strikeout to seal the sweep.
Head coach Matt Senk earned his 970th career win in his 1,666th game. He finishes his career seventh among active head coaches in victories and is the only active Division I coach to win 970 games at a single program.
The Seawolves concluded the 2025 season at 25-27 overall (11-16 CAA), including a 13-11 mark at Joe Nathan Field.
