OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - The SUNY Old Westbury baseball team swept the Bears of St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn on Monday night. The final scores were 4-3 and 6-5, respectively.
Old Westbury improves to 15-13 overall on the season and holds a conference record of 6-8.
Game One- SUNY Old Westbury (4) - St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn (3) [Seven Innings]
The first game of the day was filled as the Panthers avoided extra innings with a walk off in the bottom of the seventh.
The game's scoring got started in the top of the fourth inning by the Bears as they singled through the right side to take a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers responded an inning later with James Reilly (who pinch ran) scoring on a wild pitch. The Panthers would add another run thanks to a sacrifice fly from Jacob Taormina.
Old Westbury, holding a 2-1 lead, added another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Sean Maddi scored on a passed ball.
The Bears responded with a pair of runs themselves after loading the bases in the top of the seventh.
With a 3-3 game, the Panthers found a runner in scoring position as Reilly led off with a double to right center. Taormina came to the plate with two outs and hit a walk off single to right field to give the Panthers their first victory of the day. Old Westbury took the first game of the day, 4-3.
Jacob Taormina impressed as he finished with one hit, two RBIs and the game's winning hit. RJ Azarieh, Nick Giovanakis, and Donny Whalen, combined for hits. James Reilly recorded a hit and two runs.
On the mound, Thomas Lynch looked solid through 6.1 innings. Lynch struck out nine batters and allowed just three earned runs. Anthony Ponzo recorded the win as he closed out the top of the seventh inning for the Panthers.
Game Two- SUNY Old Westbury (6) - St. Joseph's University-Brooklyn (5)
The Bears got going first in the scoring column as they hit a two RBI single down the left field line to take an early 2-0 lead.
The Panthers were able to respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jacob Taormina and a double to left field by JJ Palumbo.
With the game tied 2-2, the Bears broke the tie with a run in the top of the fourth.
Trailing 3-2, the Panthers responded with an RBI single from Palumbo. The Panthers added two more runs in the fourth as Donny Whalen reached on an error and Sean Maddi singled through the right side.
Now leading, 6-3, the Panthers let up a run in the top of the fifth and eighth innings, respectively,
Thanks to a save by Anthony Ponzo, the Panthers were able to take the second game of the doubleheader to complete the sweep, 6-5.
JJ Palumbo and Jacob Taormina each recorded two hits with two RBIs and one RBI, respectively. RJ Azarieh went 2-4 at the dish. Sean Maddi recorded a hit, a run and an RBI.
Jimmy Stroehlein got the win and threw six innings where he allowed nine hits and four runs. He struck out three strikeouts. Anthony Ponzo earned the save after tossing three innings, where he allowed three hits, one run and two walks. Ponzo struck out two batters.
Next up, the Panthers will play host to the Bloodhounds of John Jay College in a single non-conference matchup. The Panthers and Bloodhounds will face off on Wednesday, April 23 starting at 3:30 PM.
