Staten Island, NY | The College of Staten Island Baseball team suffered a tough loss today at the CSI Baseball Complex, falling into a hole they could not crawl out of against visiting Dominican College by a 21-7 count as part of non-league play.

Both teams approached the game with the mindset of getting work in for many of their pitchers, as the teams used a total of 18 pitchers, 10 for CSI and eight for the Chargers.  Just about every positional player was substituted as well, making the midweek matchup a chance to showcase for many players seeking to impress.

Certainly both starting pitchers impressed.  CSI's John Esposito and DC's Jaden Diaz-Lambert both took care of business 1-2-3 in the first inning, Esposito fanning two in his half.  But in the second inning, CSI pitcher Kevin Ryan got into trouble, when Dominican first manufactured a run off of a stolen third base coupled with an error to open the scoring, and then another run came home via a wild pitch.  After walking and hitting a batter, Ryan was lifted for Adam Gonzalez who made his season debut, but Ryan Ruziecki would lace a two-RBI hit to place CSI into an even deeper hole that became 5-0 by the time Gonzalez was able to get out of the frame.

CSI got a run back in the second on a RBI-stroke from Thomas Marten, part of a big game for the freshman that saw him go 4-4.  The teams then traded another scoreless frame in the third inning before Dominican erupted for two more runs in the fourth and another six runs in the fifth.  Control was the issue, as CSI issued seven walks over the two innings alone, part of 13 overall in the game along with four hit batters.  Already down 13-1, DC added another five-spot to make it 18-1 in the sixth, as Tyler Patterson highlighted the frame with a two-RBI double down the left field line.

CSI scratched out another run on a Marten double in the sixth, scoring fellow frosh Angel Santiago, but DC came back with two in the seventh to respond.  Never giving up, CSI stayed the course and had their biggest inning in the seventh.  Nick Cippoletti earned on via an error, and was moved over to second on a Bryan Birkhead single.  That brought up Domenick Castiglione, who lined a bullet to left field that left the park for a three-run homer.  After a scoreless eighth, both teams registered in the ninth, with DC playing two runs, and CSI one on a Thomas Joyce RBI single.  

All told, DC out-hit CSI, 18-13, led by Patterson's 2-3 performance with four RBI and Richard Paulino's 2-4 performance with a pair of RBI.  Marten would finish the game 4-4 for CSI with three RBI while Castiglione finished 2-3 with the three RBI and Angel Santiago stayed hot going 3-4 with three runs scored.

CSI will be back in action as part of conference play on Friday, when they play St. Thomas Aquinas in a doubleheader, beginning at 2:00 PM, at the CSI Baseball Complex.

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