Despite scoring in each of the first five innings, the Stony Brook baseball team was unable to hold off Seton Hall’s late surge, falling 8-6 on March 15 at Joe Nathan Field. The Pirates plated three runs across the final three innings to even the series at 1-1
Right-hander John Rizzo took the mound for Stony Brook and worked around a first-inning threat, inducing a double play to end the frame.The Seawolves wasted no time getting on the board, as Evan Goforth launched a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first for an early 1-0 lead.
Seton Hall responded with three straight singles in the second to tie the game at 1-1, but Rizzo escaped further damage by striking out three consecutive batters to leave the bases loaded.
In the bottom half, Chanz Doughty and Cam Santerre worked walks before executing a double steal. The Seawolves capitalized on a Seton Hall balk to regain the lead, 2-1.
The Pirates countered with a power surge in the third, blasting two home runs as part of a three-run inning to take a 4-2 advantage.
Stony Brook cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third when Goforth led off with a double, Paulsen walked, and Nico Azpilcueta lifted a sac fly to make it 4-3.
Seton Hall tacked on another run in the fourth with an RBI single, extending their lead to 5-3.
The Seawolves answered once again, as Santerre singled and later scored on a Nick Solorzano base hit to pull within 5-4.
Reliever Ryan Dieguez entered in the fifth and stranded a runner at second to keep the game within reach.
Johnny Pilla delivered the equalizer in the bottom half, crushing a solo home run to left field, knotting the score at 5-5.
Micah Worley worked a perfect sixth out of the bullpen, but Seton Hall regained the lead in the seventh with an RBI single to center, moving ahead 6-5.
The Pirates added two insurance runs in the eighth to stretch their lead to 8-5.
Stony Brook kept battling in the bottom of the frame as Solorzano led off with a single, Goforth followed with his fourth hit of the game, and Paulsen delivered an RBI single to make it 8-6.
Matthew Canizares took the mound for Stony Brook in the ninth and retired the first two batters before allowing a double. He stranded runners on the corners to keep the deficit at two, but the Seawolves were unable to rally in their final at-bat.
Up next, the team will look to claim the series victory in the rubber match against Seton Hall on March 16 at Joe Nathan Field. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m., with live coverage available on FloBaseball.