Long Island Edged in Pair of Pitchers' Duels

(Box Score - Game 1)
(Box Score - Game 2)

5/5/07 -- The Long Island University baseball team dropped a pair of games to Mount St. Mary’s in a Northeast Conference doubleheader at KeySpan Park. On a day where both teams had quality efforts from their pitching staffs, Mount St. Mary’s took the first game, 2-1, before defeating the Blackbirds, 2-0, in game two.

In the first game, Mount St. Mary’s did all of its scoring in the second inning. Back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Justus Yocum and Ivor Hodgson put the Mountaineers up 2-0.

Long Island threatened in the top of the seventh. Leftfielder Frank DiMasi (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a one-out double and came around to score on centerfielder Johnny Neckar’s (Fort Myers, Fla.) two-out single, knocking Mount St. Mary’s starter Bucky Kosyk out of the game. Michael Matta came on and walked pinch hitter Anthony Amatucci (Toms River, N.J.) to put runners on first and second. Matta got rightfielder Robby Rowen (Rosendale, N.Y.) to strike out to end the game.

Kosyk (4-3) picked up the win, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing one run on seven hits and a walk. He struck out two. Matta saved his eighth game. James Jones (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dropped to 1-6, allowing two runs in six innings of work. He gave up five hits and three walks, while fanning four.

In game two, Hodgson took the hill for a complete-game, two-hit shutout. He walked three batters and struck out five. Long Island received a strong but short outing from freshman Adam Sauter (Perry Hall, Md.). Sauter did not allow a run and gave up just two hits in three innings of work before leaving the game due to injury. He struck out four.

Sophomore Kenny Cedel (Staten Island, N.Y.) came on in relief and found trouble in the fourth inning. He allowed a one-out single to first baseman Eric Smith before getting the next batter to pop up. Catcher Stephan Fay then laced a triple down the right-field line to score Smith. Fay would score on a passed ball to give Mount St. Mary’s a 2-0 lead.

Long Island fell to 9-31 (3-15 NEC) with the losses, while the Mountaineers improved to 29-17 (15-4). The teams will wrap up their four-game series with a noon start on Sunday, May 6 at KeySpan Park.