Sophomore Tanner Nivins (Kitchener, Ontario) hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie and lift the Stony Brook baseball team to an 8-4 win over UMBC to complete a three-game sweep of Retrievers Sunday at President's Field in Old Westbury, N.Y.
Nivins finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI to lead Stony Brook. Senior Chad Marshall (Paris, Ontario) also drove in two runs. Freshman Kevin Courtney (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and finished the series with seven hits in eight at-bats. He is hitting .727 (16-for-22) this season at President's Field. Freshman starter Brandon McNitt improved his record to 4-1 after throwing six innings and allowing three runs on five hits, walking none and striking out three batters.
The Seawolves are now 22-9 overall and have won 20 of their last 25 games. They move into first place in America East with a 6-1 mark. Stony Brook outscored UMBC (4-23, 0-6 America East) 34-4 in the three-game sweep and has now won nine straight games over the Retrievers. Stony Brook pitchers threw 21 innings this weekend and did not walk a single batter.
Stony Brook picked up where it left off from yesterday in the first inning with sophomore Maxx Tissenbaum (Toronto, Ontario) smacking a RBI double to left center that brought home Marshall. Sophomore William Carmona (Hempstead, N.Y.) then came home to score after senior Steve Marino (Lake Grove, N.Y.) reached on a UMBC error. The Seawolves led 2-0 after one inning.
UMBC then took its only lead of the series in the third inning when Retrievers designated hitter Michael Pesci hit a home run to right center with runners on first and second to make it 3-2.
The Seawolves tied it in the fourth inning as Courtney doubled to left center, moved to third on junior Pat Cantwell's (West Islip, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt and scored on Marshall's sacrifice fly to center.
Stony Brook then took the lead for good in the fifth. Tissenbaum reached first base on an error, and after Marino flew out, Nivins drove a Austin Drewyer pitch down the right field line that the howling wind carried over the fence for a home run, putting SBU up 5-3.
The Seawolves scored a run in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to finish off the Retrievers.
After McNitt threw six innings, sophomore G.C. Yerry (West Shokan, N.Y.) pitched 2-1/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out one. Sophomore Jasvir Rakkar got the final two outs of the game, including a strikeout.
Stony Brook will resume non-conference action Wednesday at Rhode Island at 3:30 p.m. The Seawolves are at UMBC next weekend for another three-game America East series.
