Garden City, N.Y. - Behind the right arm of junior Ed Baram, and a three-run homer from Brett Malm in the eighth to seal the deal, the Adelphi University baseball team defeated Stonehill College, 9-1, on Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference cross-divisional matchup.
Baram hurled hit first-ever nine-inning complete game in the win on the hill for Adelphi (11-11-1, 3-5-0 NE10), with a career-high 11 strikeouts on 29 batters. The native of Saddle Brook, N.J. did not allow a hit through six innings, and finished with one run and three hits allowed in nine against the Skyhawks (11-9, 4-3 NE10).
Tyler Becker and Brett Malm lead the way for the Panthers, going 2-for-3 and 3-for-5, including a three-run homer by Malm to put the Panthers up 9-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Malm also tallied four of the home team's seven RBIs.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Brandon Morse reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Becker to cross home plate from third. Two innings later, the Brown and Gold put two more runs on the board, starting with an RBI double from Malm which brought Becker home once again. Two batters later, though Morse struck out swinging and was called out at first, Malm tacked on Adelphi's third run with a heads up plate as he sprinted home from third base.
Two more runs came for the hosts in the fourth and sixth innings off an RBI double by Michael Cattani, which brought home Tyler Warshefskie, and a sixth-inning sacrifice fly from Steven Withers which scored Jack Ryan.
With a 5-0 lead, the visitors' lone run came in the top of the seventh, as Matthew Rocco broke up Baram's no-hit bid to lead off, and came around to score on Harrison Sabo's one-out double down the left field line. However, Baram stranded runners at the corners with a popout and a strikeout to keep the lead at four runs, and the Panthers' offense gave him breathing room to finish the job in the bottom of the eighth.
Warshefskie legged out an infield single to shortstop to lead off the inning, and took second on a throwing error, before Michael Cattani was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch and a passed ball gave the Panthers their five-run lead back over the Skyhawks, and after a walk to Becker, Malm launched a home run over the left field fence for three RBIs.
Pitching into the ninth for the first time in his collegiate career, Baram set the Skyhawks down 1-2-3, as he fanned Tyler Carey as the second batter in the inning to record his career-best 11th strikeout.
The Brown and Gold will continue a three-game series with the Skyhawks on William J. Bonomo Field on Saturday in a doubleheader. The first pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 26 regular season conference titles, 28 tournament championships, 37 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.
For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
