Golden Eagles & Brooklyn Bears Split in First-Ever Baseball Meeting

Patchogue, N.Y. – The Golden Eagles (19-13) hosted the St. Joseph's College Brooklyn Bears (15-16) in an afternoon twinbill matchup on Sunday afternoon at Gregg Alfano Field and they recorded a split on the day, as they lost the first contest and won the second. They were overwhelmed during the first game, losing by a margin of 7-1. Fortunately on their Senior Day they were able to come up victorious with the second game, winning 11-7. It was the first-ever official meeting for the sister schools in an official NCAA contest.

Glen Patriss (2-1) took the hill for the Golden Eagles during the first contest, and would throw four scoreless innings. In the fifth inning however, the Bears would awake from their miniature hibernation, posting two runs off four hits gaining the games first runs. Again in the top of the sixth, they posted another two runs making their lead 4-0 with only another two at bats for the Golden Eagles.

Heading into the last frame of the contest, the Bears would again strike and recorded three runs increasing their lead to 7-0. The Golden Eagles had their backs against the wall heading into the bottom of the seventh, as they attempted to pull off a long-shot comeback. They would in fact score on a James Terry sacrifice fly, plating Joseph Calabrese, who had walked earlier in the inning, but it was not enough as the game ended 7-1.

At the start of the second game, Nick Girardi (2-1) took the bump in search of his second win of the season. He would do just that, striking out six batters in four innings along the way. The home bats woke up immediately in the second game, as SJC-LI posted three runs in the very first inning, getting off to a 3-0 start. Doubles off of the bats of Brendan Sullivan and Calabrese allowed the Golden Eagles to cross the plate and give them the early lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, a Joseph Lynn triple would garner two RBI's scoring Ryan Walsh and Terry. Another three runs for the Golden Eagles in the inning gave them the 7-0 lead, and they would almost be able to put it in cruise control for the remainder of the game.

SJC-LI would eventually hit some rough waters in the top of the seventh as they attempted to shut the door on their way to a win. The Bears weren't about to go down easy, and wanted to make it interesting. Thomas McKenna led off the inning with a homerun, setting the tone for a comeback.  Five runs later, the Bears had made it a ballgame, making the score 11-7. 

That was as far as the comeback would go, as the Bears wouldn't be able to scrounge up the remaining four runs of the deficit.  Girardi was credited with the win, and the Golden Eagles would increase their record to 19-13 on the season.

Up next for the SJC-LI are two non-conference games with John Jay and New Jersey City as they gear up to host the Skyline Conference Tournament as the top-seed beginning Friday at 1:00 vs. #4 Maritime.