Tropeano allows just one run on four hits in 8.0 innings.Vestal. N.Y. - Sophomore Nick Tropeano (West Islip, N.Y.) allowed one run in 8.0 innings and the No. 3 Stony Brook University baseball team scored five runs in the sixth inning on its way to a 10-1 victory over the No. 2 Maine Black Bears in the opening round of the 2010 America East Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at Varsity Field. The Seawolves advance to the winner's bracket of the four-team double-elimination tournament and will take on No. 4 Albany on Thursday at 2:45 p.m. (WUSB)
Tropeano (8-3) allowed just four hits in his 8.0 innings, striking out six. Senior Justin Echevarria (Uniondale, N.Y.) had a hit and three RBI for the Seawolves (27-15), who tallied 15 hits. Junior Chad Marshall (Paris, Ontario) had three hits and two RBI while sophomore Pat Cantwell (West Islip, N.Y.) added two hits and two RBI.
The Seawolves threatened in the first as junior Stephen Marino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) and senior Robert Dyer (Selden, N.Y.) reached on two-out singles. But Jeffrey Gibbs got senior Michael Stephan (Patchogue, N.Y.) to fly out to right to end the inning.
Tropeano, meanwhile, recorded his first five outs via the strike out and did not allow a hit until the fourth. Stony Brook put runners on first and second with no out in the fifth before Gibbs retired Marshall and Marino. Dyer walked to load the bases but Stephan grounded out to first to end the inning.
Justin Leisenheimer walked to lead off the fifth but Tropeano then made a diving grab on a Matt Howard bunt and then tossed it to first to double off Leisenheimer. The Seawolves finally broke across in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. Gibbs then walked Echevarria to force in a run and give SBU a 1-0 lead.
Cantwell followed with an RBI single and Marshall then drilled a two-run single through the right side to make it 4-0. Cantwell scored the final run of the inning on a Marino double-play ball.
The Seawolves tacked on three runs in the seventh on a Echevarria two-run double and a Cantwell sacrifice fly. Maine got on the board in the seventh on a Howard run-scoring double but SBU answered with a run in the eighth on an RBI double from Carmona.
