Baseball Edged by #10 Salisbury in Extras

Auburn, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) baseball team opened play at the NCAA Division III New York Regional on Thursday evening with a 3-2 10-inning defeat to #10 Salisbury in Auburn, NY.

The Golden Eagles (26-17) drop to the losers bracket on Friday afternoon and face Amherst in an elimination game at 1:15 pm. The Seagulls (34-10) meet Southern Maine in a winners-bracket showdown tomorrow at 7:45 pm.

Earning the start for SJC was junior Anthony Papa (5-2), who struck out four and allowed one earned run in 8.0 innings of action. Senior Nick Clemente (2-5) allowed the winning run and struck out one batter in a 1.2 inning effort.

Senior Lou Doria (2-for-5) opened the scoring in the top of the first when he belted a solo homer to right field to give the Golden Eagles an early 1-0 lead.

After Papa walked in a run in the bottom of the second, Salisbury's Justin Meekins (0-for-5) reached first on a fielder's choice, enabling Colby Dean (0-for-2) to score from third to give the Seagulls a 2-1 advantage.

Junior shortstop Anthony Raucci (2-for-3) knotted the score up at two in the top of the fourth when his RBI single up the middle sent senior Dylan Piscitelli (2-for-4) home.

A stalemate until the 10th, Salisbury's Simon Palenchar, pinch-hitting in a two-on, two-out situation, knocked in the winning run with an RBI single to left.     

SJC, participating in its second NCAA Tournament regional in three years, faces a must-win situation vs. Amherst on Friday afternoon. A victory over the 24-13 Mammoths sees the Golden Eagles advance to Saturday while a loss ends their season.