LOUDONVILLE, NY – Vincenzo Castronovo crushed a walk-off three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel Siena Baseball to a doubleheader split with MAAC rival Marist Saturday at Connors Park. The Red Foxes took the opener 6-3, with the Saints rallying for the 4-2 triumph in the nightcap thanks to Castronovo's heroics.
Game 1: Marist 6, Siena 3
Gene Napolitano tallied four hits and drove in three runs to lead Marist (12-10, 2-3) to the Game One win. The Red Foxes scored four of their six runs with two outs, and also took advantage of four Siena (6-18, 4-1) errors in scoring four unearned runs.
Napolitano gave Marist a lead they would not relinquish with a two-out, two-run single plating a pair of unearned runs to break the ice in the second inning. After the Saints rallied within 4-3 following a two-run fifth, the Red Foxes got both runs back in the ensuing half inning to cap the scoring.
Devan Kruzinski,
Alex Milone, and
Matt Livingston tallied two hits apiece to lead Siena offensively, while
Mike McCully struck out seven over seven innings.
Zane Kmietek tossed 3.2 shutout innings allowing just one hit and striking out four to earn the save for the Red Foxes' Jack Bowery who picked up the win.
Game 2: Siena 4, Marist 2
Castronovo launched Nick Cantone's first offering over the right field wall to rally the Saints to a much-needed split of the series-opening doubleheader. After mustering just two hits off a pair of Marist hurlers over the first eight innings, Siena pieced together three clutch hits in the ninth inning to walk off.
After striking out looking in his first plate appearance against Cantone back in the seventh, Castronovo wasted no time in punishing the first pitch for a game-winning three-run home run in the ninth.
Nick Melillo and
Chris Erickson – who scored ahead of Castronovo on the play – generated back-to-back one-out singles to start the rally.
Siena clung to a 1-0 lead deep into the contest, thanks to a second inning solo home run by reigning MAAC Player of the Week
Nick Hohenstein and strong pitching from
Ben Seiler. But the Red Foxes finally broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on a botched sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.
Seiler pitched strong despite not being rewarded with the win, as he went six-plus innings scattering six hits and two runs (one earned) with two walks and six strikeouts in a no-decision.
Arlo Marynczak was outstanding again out of the bullpen, and was the beneficiary of the walk-off, as he earned the win with three shutout hitless frames with only one walk allowed while striking out three.
Erubiel Candelario struck out 10 while allowing just two hits and one run over 6.2 innings in a no-decision for Marist.
Due to Sunday's inclement weather forecast, the rubber game of the series has been pushed up to an 8:30 a.m. start and will be played at Central Park in nearby Schenectady, New York.
