PANTHER BASEBALL STUMBLES AGAINST #17 RPI, 10-2

APRIL 26, 2009

Old Westbury vs. RPI Boxscore

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y.-The SUNY College at Old Westbury baseball team fell by a final score of 10-2 on Sunday afternoon to #17 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in non-conference action at the Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex.  The loss dropped Old Westbury to 24-11 on the season while Red Hawks improved to 26-8.

Panthers at the plate: Junior Albert Bevacqua (Staten Island, N.Y.) drilled his team leading fourth homer of the season in the fifth inning to spark the offense.  Freshman Ronnie Petito (Fort Myers, FL) led off the fourth inning with a single to left field and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Steve Sciame (Lindenhurst, N.Y.).  Senior Ben Farmer (Three Mile Bay, N.Y.) added a pair of stolen bases in an 0-for-2 day at the plate with one walk.   

Red Hawks at the plate:  Junior Patrick Reardon (Troy, N.Y.) put RPI on the board in the first inning on a solo homer to right field, going 1-for-4 at the plate. Junior Andrew Krushelnyski (Bloomfield Hills, MI) spurred the offense with a 5-for-5 performance with a double and three runs scored.  Sophomore Mike Cieszko (Stevenson Ranch, CA) and senior Jim Devine (Castleton, N.Y.) each scored two runs while Cieszko batted in two runs.

Panthers on the mound: Junior Robert Hugli (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) was pinned with the loss after working three innings to fall to 6-3 on the season.  Hugli allowed five runs on six hits and four walks before freshman Alexander Villanueva (Brooklyn, N.Y.) worked one inning of shutout baseball in relief of Hugli.  Sophomore Joshua Burgos (New York, N.Y.) was tapped for five runs (2 earned) on three hits and one walk while working the fifth inning.  Freshman Biondis Vasquez (Elmont, N.Y.) along with seniors Jake Tauber (Valley Stream, N.Y.) and David Collado (Copiague, N.Y.) threw the final four innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out three. 

Red Hawks on the mound: Senior starter Andy Opperman (Oneida, N.Y.) improved to 7-0 on the season, allowing two runs on four hits and five walks in five innings of work.  Freshman Dan Duval (Middletown, MA) fired four innings in relief of Opperman, holding Old Westbury hitless with one strikeout. 

Game Notes: RPI outslugged Old Westbury, 13-4, including 2-1 in extra base hits.  On the base path, Old Westbury stole two bags and stranded six runners while RPI left 11 on base.  Defensively, Old Westbury committed four errors and turned one double-play compared to RPI, which had two miscues and one double-play.  On the mound, Old Westbury struck out five batters and issued six walks as RPI struck out one and walked five.   

The Green and Ivory return to action for "Senior Game" later today in a Skyline Conference matchup against Yeshiva University at the Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex.  First pitch is slated for 5:00 p.m. in Old Westbury.  Please visit www.oldwestburypanthers.com for more information on baseball or any of the other Panther athletic teams.