2024 Skyline Conference Baseball Championship – First Round
(4) Farmingdale State - 12, (5) Purchase - 0
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. | The fourth-seeded Farmingdale State baseball team hosted No. 5 Purchase College on Wednesday evening in the first round of the 2024 Skyline Conference Championship and cruised to a 12-0 victory behind a nine-run sixth inning. The Rams have advanced to the four-team, double elimination portion of the tournament and will play the top-seed and hosts No. 1 St. Joseph's-Long Island on Friday (May 10).
FSC (21-13) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first after sophomore second baseman
Ryan Wasserman (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) walked, junior shortstop
Chris McGuggart (Bethpage, N.Y.) singled, and sophomore right fielder
Richie Heyder (Holbrook, N.Y.) tallied an RBI ground out.
The game remained 1-0 into the fourth when Heyder reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior first baseman
Jordan Lambert (Plainview, N.Y.). Senior third baseman
Tyler DiRocco (Commack, N.Y.) followed with an RBI single to give Farmingdale State a two-run advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Rams sent 14 batters to the plate and scored nine runs, including six with two outs. Lambert opened the inning with a triple and scored on a DiRocco sacrifice fly. Later in the inning, freshman catcher
Sean Maldonado (Glen Head, N.Y.) and pinch-hitter
Justin DiMartino (Bethpage, N.Y.) drew run-scoring walks and Wasserman recorded an RBI sacrifice bunt to go ahead, 6-0. With the bases loaded, Lambert recorded a three-run double before DiRocco and senior designated hitter
Daniel Deutsch (Northport, N.Y.) produced RBI hits to give FSC a commanding 11-0 advantage.
Farmingdale State added a run in the eighth on another Deutsch RBI single as they went on for the 12-0 victory.
Senior pitcher
Johnny Dougherty (King Park, N.Y. - W, 8-1, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 7 SO) earned the win on the mound after tossing six shutout innings with seven strike outs. Relievers
Christian Esperon (West Islip, N.Y. - 1.0 IP, 2 SO),
Tyler Kregeloh (Plainedge, N.Y. - 1.0 IP, 1 SO) and DiRocco (1.0 IP, 1 SO) threw a perfect inning each to secure the win for FSC.
At the plate, Lambert was a home run shy of the cycle as he had three hits, a double, triple, three runs scored and three runs batted in, while Deutsch was 3-for-3 off the bench with two RBI's and a run scored. McGuggart tallied two hits, a walk and one run and Pollock reached base three times with a hit and two walks. DiRocco had two hits and three runs batted in, Wasserman registered a hit, walk, RBI and run, and Maldonado recorded a double, walk and one RBI in the win.
The Rams have advanced in the Skyline Conference Championship and will play No. 1 St. Joseph's-Long Island in their first game on Friday (May 10) at 11:00 a.m.
