The Pioneer Trail: Monday, Mar. 9, 2015

3/9/2015 12:18:00 PM

Baseball vs. No. 1 Tampa - 1 p.m.
The LIU Post baseball team is continuing to spend their time playing early-season contests in Florida against both regional and non-regional opponents. Although the start to the season has not been kind to the Pioneers, their next opponent will provide them with possibly the toughest matchup that the team will encounter all season. Today the green and gold face the No. 1 team in the country, a Tampa squad that has made the last two NCAA Division II National Championships and a team that has a win against the Philadelphia Phillies under their belt this season.

LIU Post (0-3) lost both games of a doubleheader to No. 20 Southern New Hampshire on Saturday (March 7). The Penmen took Game 1 by an 11-3 score and earned an 8-4 victory in the latter game of the double-dip. In the first contest, sophomore James Long (Oceanside, N.Y.) gave the Pioneers a decent starting performance, going six and two-thirds innings and striking out five batters. However, Long was touched up for seven runs in the loss. Fellow sophomore Kenny Daley (Glenwood Landing, N.Y.) had a team-high two hits in the game while graduate outfielder Vinny Iacono (Nesconset, N.Y.) had the lone RBI for the green and gold with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Game 2 starter Connor McCarthy (Westbury, N.Y.) lasted just four innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and taking the loss. Junior second baseman Matt Bowers (Staten Island, N.Y.) and senior first baseman Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) each collected two hits, with Brunetti smacking the Pioneers' first home run of the season over the right field fence in the contest.

Through three games, Daley has proven to be the team's best hitter, sporting a .429 batting average. Four players have an RBI for the Pioneers, including Brunetti, Bowers and Iacono. Freshman pitcher Vinny Ruggiero (Plainview, N.Y.) and junior southpaw Dillon Burke (Plainview, N.Y.) have shown flashes of brilliance out of the bullpen for the green and gold so far. Ruggiero has tossed three near-perfect innings in his two appearances, allowing one hit and striking out three batters. Meanwhile, Burke is sporting a 2.25 ERA, allowing one run on three hits in four innings of work.

Tampa (16-3, 2-1 SSC) is coming off of a 12-3 win in five innings over Sunshine State Conference foe Barry on Saturday (March 7). The Spartans broke the game open with a six-run second inning after trailing to their opponents after one frame of baseball. Senior shortstop Giovanny Alfonzo (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and senior outfielder Stephen Dezzi (Sarasota, Fla.) both clubbed thome runs in the win, with Dezzi knocking in five runs on the day. Junior left-handed pitcher Brad Hencke (Land O'Lakes, Fla.) recorded his fourth win of the season, pitching five innings while allowing just three runs on six hits. Hencke struck out six batters in the victory, as well.

Alfonzo is providing a majority of the offense for Tampa this season, leading the team with a .431 batting average, three home runs and 12 runs batted in. Junior third baseman Nick Flair (Belle Chasse, La.) is hitting .400 with a team-best 23 runs batted in and Dezzi is pacing the Spartans with five home runs on the year. As a team, Tampa is hitting .341 on the young season, while the Spartans are limiting opposing offenses to a .234 batting average. Tampa's pitching staff is also doing their work, holding opponents to a 2.66 ERA for the year.

No. 2 Men's Lacrosse at No. 3 Adelphi - 4 p.m.
In a sport full of heated rivals and blockbuster contests, today's game between the No. 2 LIU Post men's lacrosse team and No. 3 Adelphi may be the early-season frontrunner for "Best Game of the Year." There are plenty of great storylines in this contest, including the fact that the Pioneers defeated Adelphi last May in the NCAA Semifinals at Motamed Field---where both teams will clash this afternoon.

LIU Post (4-0, 1-0 ECC) utilized a five-goal second quarter and a six-goal third period to knock off an upset-minded Lynn, 13-10 in the North Florida College Lacrosse Face-Off last Sunday (March 1). Junior attacker Matt Bellando (Miami, Fla.) and senior midfielder Connor Drost (Wading River, N.Y.) tallied hat tricks in the victory, while junior attackman Matty Beccaris (North Babylon, N.Y.) collected a three-point outing (2G, 1A). Senior defenseman Matt Scalera (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) stepped up in a huge way for the green and gold, collecting a team-high five ground balls while freshman middie Ryan Erickson (Watertown, N.Y.) was 8-for-17 on face-offs and scooped up four ground balls on defense. Junior goalie Adam Winne (Ridgefield, Conn.) made six saves in the cage for LIU Post and picked up his fourth victory on the season.

The emergence of the Pioneers' attack has been a major story in the early part of the season, as the team has seemingly scored at will, to the tune of a 13.5 goals per game average. Bellando is certainly helping his cause, leading the way with 17 goals an 24 points on the season. Drost is next on the points list with 17, but the senior middie has a team-best nine assists and has proven to be an accurate distributor. The duo of Beccaris and junior attackman Ryan Slane (North Babylon, N.Y.) have provided a combined 15 goals and 33 points on the year as third and fourth options. In cage, Winne is limiting opponents to a 5.76 goals against average and sports a .588 save percentage.

Adelphi (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) ran roughshod over Saint Rose in their last contest on Feb. 28, defeating the Golden Knights by a 16-4 scoreline. Senior attacker Nick Susko (South Hempstead, N.Y.) scored a hat trick in the win while junior attackman Sal Tuttle (Farmingdale, N.Y.) also scored three goals for the Panthers. Junior Jack Cutrone (Huntington, N.Y.) made it a trio of hat tricks for Adelphi in the victory, as the team overwhelmed their opponents in the ground ball category (44-27). Junior midfielder John English (Farmingdale, N.Y.) was 16-of-23 on face-offs and senior goalie John McGrath (Huntington, N.Y.) was hardly tested, making three saves in his 30 minutes of work for the win.

The hallmark of Adelphi's dominance comes from its defensive stinginess, as the Panthers are limiting opponents to a 3.33 goals per game clip. Unlike LIU Post, Adelphi's scoring is more spread out, with Tuttle netting a team-high six goals, as compared to the 17 from Bellando for the Pioneers. The Panthers have scored a combined 45 goals through three games and allowed just 10 shots to cross the goal line and into the cage.

As previously mentioned, LIU Post defeated then-No. 1 Adelphi in their most recent contest, a 12-9 victory in the NCAA Semifinal on May 18, 2014. The Panthers, though, took the last regular-season contest, defeating LIU Post in Brookville by an 11-7 margin on March 11, 2014.