Staten Island, NY - - -The second-seeded College of Staten Island Dolphins captured their fourth consecutive CUNYAC Baseball Championship after defeating top-seeded John Jay, 9-7, Sunday afternoon at the College of Staten Island. Second baseman Bob Glennerster delivered the key blow as the second baseman broke a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with an RBI double.
“Our kids just battle, year in and year out,” said Dolphins’ head coach Bill Cali. “What makes this championship so special is the fact that we beat an outstanding team in John Jay. They deserve a great deal of credit for the season that they have had.”
John Jay (28-13), who went a perfect 18-0 during the CUNYAC regular-season, opened the game with three straight singles to get on the board in the top of the first inning off Dolphins’ starter Jon Reyes. Catcher Stephen Hillmann lined a single to right center to produce the run after singles by right fielder Robert Fernandez and designated hitter Sean Perrett.
Staten Island (24-16) answered right back against Bloodhounds’ right-hander Michael Colletta in the bottom of the frame. Center fielder Ray Valerio lifted a sacrifice fly to score shortstop Anthony Piccirillo, who had led of the game with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on an error.
Right-fielder Robert Fernandez gave the Bloodhounds a 2-1 advantage in the second with a two-out infield single that scored Joshua McElroy (singled).
Staten Island scored two runs in the bottom of the second with two men out to grab a 3-2 advantage. Colletta balked to move Glennerster (reached on fielder choice) into scoring position. First baseman Joseph Guarneri followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Piccirillo (pictured above), who was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, then reached out for an outside pitch and poked an opposite field single to right to score Glennerster. Colleta gave the Dolphins another run as he uncorked a wild pitch to plate Guarneri.
The Bloodhounds evened the score at 3-3 in the top of the third as McElroy lined a two-out single to score Hillman, who had led-off the frame with a single.
Staten Island went back on top in the third, 6-3, as catcher Mike Maldone walked and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch and a failed run down play. Glennerster then lined his first clutch hit of the day, a two-run opposite field single to right center to plate Jamie Lee and Paul Buonviaggio with two men out.
The Dolphins added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single by designated hitter/pitcher Mike Liconti to make it 7-3.
John Jay loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning but only came away with one run (RBI groundout by Rob Fernandez) to cut the deficit to 7-4. The Bloodhounds then tied the game with three runs in the top of the eighth. Sean Perrett delivered an RBI single and shortstop Henry Chao found the right-center field gap with a two-run double.
But John Jay reliever Enmanuel Rodriguez could not hold the Dolphins at bay and would suffer the loss. The freshman allowed a lead-off walk to Liconti. Liconti was then forced out at second on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Buonviaggio. Glennerster followed with the game-winning double to right center just out of the reach of Bloodhounds’ centerfielder Kenneth Sepulveda. Piccirillo added an insurance run by lacing a double down the left field line.
Pat Smith came on to close the door on the Bloodhounds in the ninth. The senior allowed a lead-off single and a walk, but settled down and struck out the side to earn the save.
Piccirillo went 4-for-5 (2 RBI’s) in the game and batted .533 (8-for-15) with 5 RBI’s in the three-game tournament.
“We really wanted this title and worked hard for it all season,” Piccirillo said. “We played three great games and our pitchers came up big in each one of them. John Jay is a great team and they beat us three times during the year, but the tournament is a new season. Our mentality was that anyone can win on any given day.”
Glennerster (2-for-4, 3 RBI’s) and left fielder Jamie Lee (2-for-4, 2 runs) also came up big for the Dolphins.
Sophomore Jon Reyes gave Staten Island a quality start as he allowed four earned runs over 7.0 innings of work. Liconti picked up the win, despite allowing two runs in his inning of work.
Perrett, Hillmann, and McElroy all had a pair of hits for the Bloodhounds.
Box score (NCAA)
2006 College of Staten Island Baseball
John Jay College at Staten Island
May 07, 2006 at Staten Island, NY (CSI Baseball Complex)
John Jay College 7 (28-13)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Fernandez rf............. 5 2 1 1 0 1 4 0 0
Perrett dh............... 4 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 3
Canela pr............... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Murphy ph............... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Hillmann c............... 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 3
DeCesare 2b.............. 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
Chao ss.................. 4 0 1 2 1 0 2 4 1
McElroy 1b............... 4 1 2 1 1 1 9 0 1
Sepulveda cf............. 5 1 1 0 0 1 5 0 1
Ayala 3b................. 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 2
Santana lf............... 4 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 0
Colletta p............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rodriguez p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Schwab p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 40 7 12 6 5 8 24 10 13
Staten Island 9 (24-16)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Piccirillo, Anthony ss... 5 1 4 2 0 0 0 2 0
Stefanski, Matt 3b....... 5 0 0 0 0 1 4 3 1
Valerio, Ray cf.......... 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2
Madalone, Michael c...... 3 1 0 0 1 0 7 1 0
Lee, Jamie lf............ 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 1
Liconti, Mike dh/p....... 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Buonviaggio, Paul rf..... 3 2 1 0 1 0 3 0 0
Glennerster, Bob 2b...... 4 2 2 3 0 0 3 0 1
Guarneri, Joseph 1b...... 2 1 0 0 2 1 7 0 1
Reyes, Jon p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Smith, Pat p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 33 9 10 7 5 2 27 7 6
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
John Jay College.... 111 001 030 - 7 12 1
Staten Island....... 123 010 02X - 9 10 2
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E - Chao; Piccirillo; Valerio. DP - CSI 1. LOB - John Jay 13; CSI 6. 2B -
Chao; Piccirillo; Lee; Glennerster. HBP - Fernandez; Perrett. SF - Valerio.
SB - Piccirillo; Stefanski; Madalone; Lee 2; Liconti, M; Buonviaggio;
Glennerster.
John Jay College IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Colletta............ 4.1 7 7 6 3 0 20 24 94
Rodriguez........... 3.0 3 2 2 2 2 11 13 49
Schwab.............. 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2
Staten Island IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
Reyes, Jon.......... 7.0 9 5 4 4 3 31 36 126
Liconti, Mike....... 1.0 2 2 2 0 2 5 6 26
Smith, Pat.......... 1.0 1 0 0 1 3 4 5 22
Win - Liconti, M. Loss - Rodriguez. Save - Smith .
WP - Colletta 3; Rodriguez; Smith. HBP - by Reyes (Perrett); by Liconti, M
(Fernandez). BK - Colletta. PB - Madalone. Pitches/strikes: Colletta 94/54;
Rodriguez 49/27; Schwab 2/2; Reyes 126/67; Liconti, M 26/16; Smith 22/15.
Umpires -
Start: 11:00am Time: 3:00 Attendance: 98
Game notes:
The College of Staten Island wins the 2006 CUNYAC Baseball Tournament for
their fourth straight year.
Anthony Piccirillo named tournament MVP.
Reyes faced 1 batter in the 8th.