Dobbs Ferry, NY  |  The College of Staten Island Baseball team picked up a split of today's doubleheader against Mercy College bouncing back from a lopsided defeat in game one to hold on for a thrilling 5-3 victory in game two.  The game one loss and game two win moved the Dolphins to 5-3 on the season with Mercy finishing the day with a record of 3-9

GAME ONE - STATEN ISLAND 6, MERCY 14

The Mavericks struck first in the opening inning and took a 2-0 lead that they would never relinquish as they kept the Dolphins playing from behind the entire game.  With CSI getting as close as a single run, 3-2, in the third, Mercy broke the game wide-open in the bottom half of that inning with a four-spot to go ahead 7-2.  The deficit would grow as large as ten runs, 12-2, before the Dolphins scored again, but they would not get any closer than six runs as the Mavericks cruised a 14-6 victory behind what was by far their highest scoring output of the season.  

After CSI was held scoreless in first half-inning, John Esposito took the mound for his second start of the season and retired the first two batters to face him. However, the Mavericks would not go down quietly in the opening frame as Anthony Murphy lashed two-out triple into the spacious right-center field gap. This set up Miguel Ortiz-Sanchez, Mercy's leading hitter, with an RBI opportunity and he delivered a single through the left side to plate the game's first run. Ortiz Sanchez was then chased home from first by a Nolan Giblin double before the third extra-base hit of the inning, a James Mattutat double, put runners on second and third with two away.  

Faced with the potential of a big inning, Esposito got a Justin Glennerster ground out to bring the two-out rally to an end. Behind 2-0 through one, the Dolphins got halfway back in the second with a two-out rally of their own. A Thomas Joyce double to left put a man in scoring position for Michael Ciancio who came through with an RBI-single.  

Leading 2-1 entering the bottom half of the second, a leadoff double by Francisco Paulino got things started, and he was ultimately driven in by a one-out double off the bat Nikko Liguori to make it 3-1. Now in danger of surrendering multiple runs for the second straight inning, Esposito was able to work his way out of trouble by retiring two of Mercy's most feared hitters, John Mooradian and Murphy, for the final two outs of the inning.

Trailing by two, CSI would get on the board again in the third after a Louie Mandile triple put him only 90 feet away from scoring to lead off the inning. Jett Nouvertne quickly drove him in with a groundout to make it 3-2, but that was all the Dolphins would muster in the inning.  

For the Mavericks, a big inning to break the game open would follow as Ortiz Sanchez singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a balk before an out was recorded. A walk of Giblin set up a double-steal that allowed Ortiz Sanchez to score easily from third. A groundout moved Giblin to third with one away before a towering fly-ball double by Glennerster landed just inside the right-field line to score the fifth Mavericks run. What would go down as a four-run inning was capped off by a Paulino home run to left which made it 7-2.

The Dolphins were turned aside in the fourth before a trio of CSI errors in the bottom half led to another Mercy run in the inning to make it 8-2. That spelled the end for Esposito who was relieved by Alexis Santos in the fifth.  Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Santos got his outing off to an equally difficult start as he hit the first two batters he faced. An infield single by Liguori that loaded the bases followed setting up a two-RBI double by Mooradian to make it 10-2. A Murphy sacrifice fly made it 11-2 and an Ortiz Sanchez double scored Mooradian to make it 12-2. From there Santos settled down to record the last two outs, but the three-run inning put the Dolphins behind double-digits.

In the next half-inning, CSI got a one-out Peter Lombardo triple followed by a Steven Collica sacrifice fly to scratch out the first of three sixth-inning runs. Joyce added a two-out single and Michael Ciancio homered for the first time this season to make it a three-spot for the Dolphins who now trailed, 12-5. The Mavericks were held scoreless in an inning for the first time in the sixth, and in the seventh, it was Khalid Zahrieh who took advantage of the expanse in center field to register an inside-the-park home-run which made it 12-6.

This would be as close as the Dolphins would get the rest of the way as Mercy responded with an inside-the-park home-run of their own to go back up seven before a Kevin Garcia triple plated another to make it an eight-run lead, 14-6. That score would stand the rest of the way and the Dolphins dropped the nine-inning game one by eight. Esposito was the losing pitcher and Jack Kelly picked up the win for Mercy. The Mavericks had seventeen hits in the game and scored in each of the first five innings while the Dolphins had nine hits, Ciancio and Joyce each finishing with two.

GAME TWO - STATEN ISLAND 5, MERCY 3

For the second time on the day the Mavericks opened the scoring in the first inning, but this time the Dolphins were able to respond by getting in front with a pair in the third.  From there, the Dolphins were able to build upon their lead and add some insurance, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh, to go up 5-1.  However, the failure to cash in on two bases loaded opportunities in the seventh almost cost the Dolphins dearly as starter Kevin Ryan was chased one out shy of a complete game with his team ahead 5-2.  It was Castiglione who came on to record the last out as he escaped the final stanza by stranding the bases loaded in a 5-3 game earning his team the victory and a split of their first doubleheader with Mercy as a provisional Division II program.

The Dolphins were once again kept off of the scoreboard in the opening frame of game two with the Mavericks striking first against CSI starter Kevin Ryan in the bottom half of the inning. Unsurprisingly, was Mooradian and Ortiz Sanchez right in the middle of the scoring as the former doubled with one out in the inning setting up the latter to drive him home with an infield single. 

The Dolphins failed to score in the second, but the Mavericks once again mounted a significant scoring threat of their own putting runners on second and third with two away. This time, Ryan was able to keep them out of the run column as he retired Liguori on a fly ball to end the inning.

After escaping trouble in the previous inning, the Dolphins rewarded their pitcher with some run support for the first time in the third. Ciancio opened the inning with a walk and Salvatore Trancucci IV moved him along to third with a single. Mandile walked to load the bases setting up a Nouvertne sacrifice fly to right. Domenick Castiglione then plated the tying run with a ground ball to short before stealing second with two away and Andrew Nathan at the plate. However, the Dolphins could not take advantage of the runner in scoring position and settled for two in the inning to go in front 2-1.

It wasn't until the fifth that the Mavericks would move the tying run past first base as a leadoff single and stolen base set up a sacrifice that moved the tying run to third. Mooradian came to the plate with yet another opportunity to do some damage, but this time it was it was the Dolphins defense that came up with a huge play. On a grounder to third, Nathan came up firing to cut down the tying run at the plate and keep the score 2-1.

CSI would remain ahead by a run until the sixth when an RBI-double by Joyce would plate Nathan, who had previously singled, from first. Soon after in the seventh, CSI would add some more insurance. A leadoff walk of Trancucci and a throwing error put runners on the corners for Castiglione who singled to left to bring home the fourth Dolphins run.  Leading 4-1, a Nathan single loaded the bases for Lombardo who came through with a single through the left side to reload the bases and put CSI up by four. However, the Dolphins would squander the chance to break the game open as a fielder's choice saw Castiglione forced out at home and Michael Crocco flew out to left.

The failure to capitalize on their chance to add onto their lead further in the seventh nearly proved costly for the Dolphins in the final half-inning. A Paul Cozzolino double down the line in left greeted Ryan who was making the bid for a complete game. Two batters later with one out, Ryan Saltzman singled to score Cozzolino and make it 5-2. A fly ball to right brought Ryan within one out of going the distance, but a Mooradian single spelled the end for the Dolphins starter after 6.2 innings.

It was Castiglione, making his first pitching appearance of the season, who stepped onto the mound in search of the game's final out, an out that did not come easily. He hit the first batter he faced, Murphy, with a pitch and walked Ortiz Sachez to force in a run and reload the bases. That brought Corey Tingo to bat with a chance to be the hero for Mercy, but it was Castiglione who induced a ground ball straight to his third baseman Nathan for the final out.

The save by Castiglione, his first, also earned Ryan his first victory of the season in what was an impressive start that saw him pitch 6.2 innings allowing three runs on seven base-hits. It was a standout performance in game two for Nathan who made a key defensive play to keep the Dolphins ahead early in the game and was the only CSI player with multiple hits finishing the game with three. Saltzman had three hits for the Mavericks as well and they also got a good performance from their starter, James Jakuba. Despite a solid effort in which he allowed three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings, he was charged with the loss.

Next up on the schedule for the Dolphins is their first home game of the season which is currently scheduled for Tuesday afternoon against the College of Mount Saint Vincent. That will be a single, nine-inning game with a 4 PM start.