Cocoa, FL—The Panthers return from a long weekend in Cocoa, Florida finishing 2-4 leaving them with an overall record of 2-8. Coach Aristy thought the trip was worthwhile; “It gave us the opportunity to get outside and play. We saw some tough competition and did some good things. It also gave us the opportunity to assess what we need to accomplish before conference play.”
In the first game in Florida, Old Westbury opened up with a 2-0 victory against Ursinus College. The Panthers knocked in both runs during the second inning While the bases were loaded, sophomore Darly Alcantra (Bronx, NY) hit a single allowing both Greg Jones (Laurelton, NY) and John Decrescenzo (Brooklyn, NY) to score. The Panthers held the lead throughout the game.
On Friday March 11th the Old Westbury Panthers split a double header. They saw Wilkes College first and triumphed 7-4. The Panthers started out strong scoring in the first inning Rob Knips (Commack, NY) singled and stole second. Felix Tatis (Brooklyn, NY) then sacrificed an out advancing Knips to third. Sophomore Matt Heenan (Farmingdale, NY) then drove Knips home with a forced out. In the second inning Geg Jones hit a single and stole second. Darly Alcantara followed with a double to bring Jones home. Alcantara then stole third base and scored on a pass ball, leaving the Panthers up by 3 runs. The Panthers added another run in the third inning. Junior Pete Petrides (Massapequa Park, NY) sacrificed bringing home Felix Tatis who had advanced to third on Heenan’s double. Wilkes followed by scoring a run, leaving the score 4-1 at the end of the third inning. In the fourth inning Wilkes rallied with two more runs. Old Westbury came back in the fifth inning scoring 3 more runs, when Felix Tatis hit a double bringing Rob Knips home. Matt Heenan sacrificed allowing Tatis to proceed to third base. Pete Petrides then hit a double allowing Tatis to score. Petrides scored the third run of the inning on a wild pitch. Wilkes scored one run in the fifth and both teams were scoreless in the last two innings. Waynesburg College soared past the Panthers (21-8) in the second game of the double header.
Old Westbury faced another double header on Saturday March 12th. In the first game they were defeated by Farleigh Dickenson University (FDU) 7-6. In that game Felix Tatis went 2 and 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI’s. Junior left hander Nelson Hernandez (Brooklyn, NY) threw a strong 4 innings giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. The Panthers allowed 2 runs in the 7th inning letting FDU win the game. In the second game of the double header the Panthers faced the nationally ranked Bridgewater Bears and lost 15-3. The offense of the Panthers was led by Simieon Knight (Bronx, NY) who went 3 for 3 with 1 run scored. Pete Petrides went 2 for 4 with 1 run scored.
The last game of the Panthers Florida trip was against state rival Oneonta. Unfortunately the Panthers lost 6-2. The Dragon pitching staff held the Panthers to 3 hits and 2 runs scored. The Panthers will next take on Cortland College at St. Joseph’s (Patchogue) on Saturday March 19th at 2:00pm.