Newburgh, N.Y. – With a total of nine hits, seven runs, and seven runs batted in from the first four spots in the order, the Mount Saint Mary College baseball team slugged their way to a 10-7 defeat of Old Westbury in the opening round of the Skyline Conference tournament. The Blue Knights improve to 13-23 overall and advance to the double elimination stages of the tournament. The Panthers dropped to 13-27 and were eliminated from postseason play.
Senior Anthony Forgione (Franklin Square, N.Y.) drove in the first three runs for the Blue Knights, singling home senior B.J. Masopust (Wallkill, N.Y.) in the first inning and then connecting on a two-run home run in the third inning that made the score 3-1. The Panthers countered the Forgione homer with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead.
Junior Brian Visconti (Newburgh, N.Y.) singled to lead off the fifth and then stole second. Masopust walked and then senior Chris Schacca (Franklin Square, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Junior Matthew Germann (Islip, N.Y.) drove home the first run of the inning with an RBI groundout and then freshman William Casey (Marlboro, N.Y.) singled to score Masopust. The Blue Knights loaded the bases once again and sophomore Mike Umphlett (North Stonington, Conn.) drew a walk to force home the third run of the inning.
After Old Westbury responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth, Visconti led off the sixth with a triple and scored easily on double by Schacca. The Panthers scraped together another run in the sixth, but the Mount retaliated with two more in the seventh. With the bases loaded, Masopust laced a single that allowed Casey and Umphlett to score, making it 9-6 in favor of the Blue Knights.
Junior Mike Redmond (Stone Ridge, N.Y.) collected the victory for the Blue Knights, pitching six gritty innings and keeping the Panthers at bay. Redmond was throwing on only three days of rest after having pitched nine innings on Saturday against Mount Saint Vincent. Junior Kyle Smith (Franklin Square, N.Y.) shut down Old Westbury for the seventh and eighth innings, allowing just two hits while striking out two. Sophomore Chris Gage (Saugerties, N.Y.) closed out the Panthers in the ninth, giving up an unearned run but nothing more.
Masopust finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and a pair of runs scored while Visconti was 3-for-6 with 3 runs scored. Forgione wound up 2-for-6 with a home run, 3 RBIs, and a run scored. Junior Matthew Berger (Cochecton, N.Y.) also had three hits for the Blue Knights.
Mount Saint Mary advances to the second round of the tournament where they will take on Farmingdale State College. The game is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Friday in Farmingdale, N.Y. The playoffs switch over to a double-elimination format at this stage, so the Blue Knights will be back in action on Saturday, win or lose tomorrow afternoon.
