Uniondale, N.Y. – The Molloy baseball team split a doubleheader against the Dolphins of Staten Island (12-1 and 7-6) Friday afternoon at Mitchel Field. Following the twin-bill the Lions sit at 35-9 overall and 25-4 in East Coast Conference play, while the Dolphins improve to 14-28 overall and 9-20 in league play.
Game One: Molloy 11, Staten Island 1
- The Lions wasted no time, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Senior Sean Welsh plated a run with a single to left field and junior Charlie Imhof scored Welsh with a single before coming around to score after senior Jack Coogan doubled.
- The Dolphins got one run back in the bottom of the frame after JJ Hunter drove in a run with a single to left field to come within two, 3-1.
- Coogan collected his second RBI of the afternoon in the third after he singled through the left side to reclaim the three-run lead, 4-1.
- Molloy put together a five-run the top of the sixth to extend their lead, 9-1. Junior Joe Burriesci drove in a pair following a sacrifice fly, junior Brian Sanchez singled up the middle to bring home a run, and Welsh smoked a two-run home run to left field to cap the inning.
- The cardinal and white added two runs in the top of the eighth after Welsh connected for another two-run home run to open the lead, 11-1.
- Freshman John Franco topped off the scoring for the Lions with a single in the ninth to set the score at 12-1 where it would stay to end the contest.
- Welsh tallied two home runs and drove in five tying a career-high as part of a four-hit, four-run afternoon.
- Coogan collected three hits and two RBI.
- Sanchez totaled three hits, three runs, and one RBI and Burriesci added two hits and two RBI.
- On the mound, redshirt senior Sean Mileti picked up his fourth win of the season tossing 6.2 innings allowing one run on five hits.
- Sophomore Ziggy Cohen pitched the final 2.1 innings of shutout baseball and struck out a career-high four.
Game Two: Staten Island 7, Molloy 6
- As they did in game one, Molloy struck for three runs in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. Sophomore Steve Mulqueen plated a run with a fielder's choice and two runs came around to score following a throwing error.
- Staten Island knotted the contest at three in the bottom of the second after two runs crossed the plate after a throwing error and a sacrifice fly.
- The Lions patience at the plate led to two runs in the top of the third. Senior Sean Serrano and Junior Mike Sweeney brought in a run each with bases loaded walks to reclaim the lead, 5-3.
- In the fourth Mulqueen drove a triple into the left center field gap to score Welsh, increasing the lead, 6-3.
- The Dolphins began to chip away at the lead in the bottom of the frame as Vincent Weigele singled home a cut to shrink the deficit to two, 6-4.
- The sixth inning saw Staten Island rally for three runs to jump ahead, 7-6, after a run scored following a wild pitch and two runs came in following a single.
- The cardinal and white began the top of the seventh loading the bases following a pair of walks and a infield single, putting the tying run and go-ahead run in scoring position.
- Staten Island would escape the jam, ending the contest with a strike out, fly out, and fielder's choice to close out the game and the win, 7-6.
Up Next
The Lions conclude their four-game series against the Dolphins on senior day Sunday, May 2 at Mitchel Field beginning at 12:00 p.m. The team will recognize the six members of the senior class,
Jack Coogan,
JC Kiss,
Sean Mileti,
Sean Serrano,
Sean Welsh, and
Jeremy Taggart.
