Stony Brook Baseball Takes Two out of Three from Binghamton

Everything seems to go your way when you’re on a winning streak, and the Stony Brook University baseball team proved that in its doubleheader sweep of Binghamton Saturday at Dowling College before dropping a third contest on Sunday.

The Seawolves won game one in the bottom of the tenth inning, on a bases-loaded wild pitch, 5-4. Game two was more conventional, won by a score of 6-0, the way coaches like to win — with outstanding pitching from starter Tyler Johnson, clutch hitting, and terrific defense, especially in the outfield.

After the weekend, the Seawolves’ winning streak hit 11 games before Sunday's loss, with a record of 30-10 overall and 11-2 in the America East conference, good for first place. Binghamton fell to 8-5.

“All year we’ve preached pitching and defense, it begins with that,” head coach Matt Senk said. “Then from there, we’ve been trying to do whatever we’ve got to do offensively. And it’s been a winning formula for us.”

Johnson, a junior, was masterful in the game two victory, throwing a complete-game, four-hit shutout, striking out five and walking none to improve to 7-2 on the season with a 1.91 ERA. He has not allowed in a run in his last 18 innings.

“That’s vintage Tyler Johnson,” Senk said. “He works both sides of the plate, he’s got movement, he mixes pitches, he pitches to contact for the most part. Tyler has just been a pleasure to have for three years, because he just goes out there and gives you a great outing every time.”

Johnson called Binghamton a good hitting team, particularly at the 3-4-5 spots in its lineup.

“Just like any game, commanding my three pitches and especially throw my fastball for a strike, trying to get it sink a little bit and get some ground balls, and I was able to do that today,” he said.

Stony Brook grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second on an RBI triple by Tanner Nivins — who was just named conference Player of the Week for the second time this season — and a groundout. Willie Carmona doubled in a run in the third, and then Binghamton got generous in the fourth.

A two-out single by Josh Mason brought up freshman Kevin Courtney, who tapped to pitcher Mike Augliera. His throw to first was wild, scoring Mason from second base. The throw home by right fielder Peter Bregartner was also off the mark and landed in the dugout, scoring Courtney. Courtney doubled in the final run in the sixth.

Stony Brook’s defense was as stellar as Binghamton’s was sloppy. Mason made a nice running grab of a low liner in the fourth, and then Travis Jankowski did him one better by laying out for a diving catch in center in the fifth.

“We’re making great plays, which we’ve been doing all year,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a great defense. As a pitcher, when you’ve got guys out there making those kind of plays, it’s really easy to throw it in there.”

Stony Brook grabbed a 4-0 lead in the first inning of game one but Binghamton came back to tie the game in the seventh, failing to take the lead on a failed suicide squeeze. Stony Brook starter Nick Tropeano struck out nine in six innings. Carmona was the winning pitcher, throwing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief while going 3-for-5.

Stony Brook loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the tenth, and then pitcher Zach Juliano threw a wild pitch to score Chad Marshall from third.

“We put them in scoring position and do everything by the book, and you end up winning the game on a passed ball,” said Senk. “The guys hung in there. I give Binghamton a lot of credit, they really fought to get back in the game. Willie Carmona did a great job in relief and we managed to get the win.”

Stony Brook's winning streak came to an end in Sunday's series finale, won by Binghamton, 4-2. Freshman Brandon McNitt threw a complete game in the loss, allowing three earned runs. Maxx Tissenbaum had three hits and an RBI for the Seawolves.

This is Stony Brook’s best overall start since becoming a Division I team in 2000. With 10 more conference games, the Seawolves are in good position to win the conference title.

“We’ve got a long way to go," Senk said, "but hopefully we’ll continue to do this every weekend out and put ourselves in position to possible host the conference tournament."