Baseball Drops 16-6 Contest at Saint Joseph's

(boxscore)

4/26/05 -- Long Island could not hold an early lead and was handed a 16-6 loss by Saint Joseph's in Norristown, Pa.

The Blackbirds (9-18) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning when a throwing error by second baseman Chris Hildreth allowed junior Trey Bell (Georgetown, Del.) and freshman Bryan Burke (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to score.

LIU made it a 3-1 contest in the top of the second. Freshman Danny Etkin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lined a two-out double down the left-field line and scored on a single to right center by sophomore Marcus Wynn (Plainfield, N.J.).

But the Hawks (12-26) scored four times in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Jeremy Jakubowski's three-run homer, and a combined 11 runs over the last three innings. The contest was called in the bottom of the eighth inning due to darkness.

Bell had three hits with Burke, Etkin and junior Sean Durkin (Damascus, Md.) adding two apiece. Sophomore Robert Rowen (Rosendale, N.Y.) contributed a double to extend his hitting streak to five games.

Brooklyn, N.Y. sophomore Peter Orsi (1-1) permitted 10 runs and 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and four walks for the Blackbirds.

Matthew Gilbert (2-2) allowed four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits over six innings for Saint Joseph's. Jakubowski finished with five RBI and Nick Baldasari had three hits.

LIU returns home Wednesday to face St. John's, beginning at 3:00 pm.