After taking the America East championship in 2015, the Stony Brook Seawolves baseball team (1-0) looks to repeat last season’s exceptional performance. Known for their high-powered offense, the Seawolves used it to defeat the Dayton Flyers (0-1) at Russell C. King Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
Both teams hit the ball well. They had 12 hits each but Stony Brook got great performances from infielders Casey Baker and Johnny Caputo, who combined for nine of the team’s 12 runs batted in.
Junior Baker had a phenomenal start to his season, getting three hits in five at-bats and drove in half of the team’s runs with six RBIs. Senior Caputo had two hits and drove in three runs.
“Anytime you have double digit hits and runs, are able to play all fifteen position players and get four pitchers work you’ve had a solid day,” Stony Brook Head Coach Matt Senk said in a press release by the Athletic Department. “Clearly, we have a lot of positives going into tomorrow’s game.”
Both coaches used their seniors to begin the 2016 season. Left-handed pitcher Tyler Honahan took the mound for Stony Brook and right-handed pitcher Sam Brunner started for the Flyers. Both let up runs in the first inning but Honahan had a solid outing and earned the win.
Honahan pitched five innings, struck out five, and allowed five hits on two runs. Brunner was credited with the loss and pitched 3.1 innings, walked seven, gave up five runs on four hits and struck out four. The Seawolves used four pitchers and the Flyers went with five.
It was junior Nick Weybright who gave Dayton the lead in the first inning with an RBI single to center field. He brought in junior Mitch Coughlin, who got on base with a leadoff walk and then stole second base.
In the bottom half of the first, Stony Brook was able to drive in three runs on three hits. Stony Brook’s first baseman Casey Baker and second baseman David Real were the catalysts to ignite the offensive engine. Baker drove in senior Jack Parenty on a single to right field. Real earned two RBIs on a single to center field that brought in Parenty and Baker.
Junior first baseman Nick Gobert hit a solo homer to left field to cut the deficit to make the game 3-2 in the second inning.
The fourth and fifth innings belonged to the Seawolves with an eruption of eight combined runs. Stony Brook put up a five spot in the fourth and batted in three runs in the fifth. Baker hit a two-RBI double to center and brought home sophomore right fielder Andruw Gazzola and junior center fielder Toby Handley. Caputo then crushed a three-run homer to left field, giving SBU a 6-1 lead.
The fifth inning was all Baker. He ripped a three-RBI single down the right field line driving in Parenty, Gazzola and Handley.
The Flyers responded in the eighth and ninth innings with two runs each but it was not enough to overcome the Seawolves’ offense. Junior first baseman Mike Geisler walked with the bases loaded and drove in junior third baseman Robbie Doring for Dayton. Gobert then grounded into a double-play with the bases loaded with no outs and brought home junior catcher Matt Poland. The final runs for the Flyers came on Poland’s two-RBI double to right center that brought in Coughlin and junior center fielder Glenn Jones.
Stony Brook’s next game is against Wofford on Feb. 20 at the same location (Russell C. King Field-Spartanburg, S.C) at 2:00 p.m.
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