Baseball Drops Series Opener to Stony Brook

Friday, February 25

Boca Raton, Fla.

6:30 PM

Florida Atlantic

4-2

Stony Brook

1-0

Stony Brook

Florida Atlantic

2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 25, 2011

Final Stats

Boca Raton, Fla. - The adage strong pitching can beat strong hitting rang true Friday night as the Florida Atlantic University baseball team was handcuffed by preseason All-American pitcher Nick Tropeano in a 5-0 loss to Stony Brook University in the opener of the three-game weekend series at the FAU Baseball Stadium in Boca Raton.

FAU stands 4-2 on the season and lost for the first time in five home games, while Stony Brook won in its season opener. This series features two teams that qualified for last year's NCAA regional tournaments - FAU to Gainesville and Stony Brook to Myrtle Beach.

Tropeano provided why he was the America East Conference's co-Pitcher of the Year last season, tossing six shutout innings and striking out eight batters for the victory.

Stony Brook grabbed the early advantage with two runs in the second inning. Sophomore leftfielder Tanner Nivans singled to right-center field to score sophomore first baseman William Carmona to get the scoring started. Nivans would later score on a RBI-single to right-center by freshman designated hitter Joshua Mason.

The Seawolves took a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning on a base hit by senior third baseman Stephen Marino to center field that plated junior catcher Pat Cantwell.

Marino then connected on a two-run home run to left field in the seventh inning to cap the scoring for the visitors from Long Island.

FAU's offense was held to six hits in the game. Senior shortstop Nick DelGuidice, this week's Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, led the way with a pair of singles. Senior second baseman Raymond Church extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the eighth inning. Hits were also recorded by senior outfielder Andy Mee, senior designated hitter Eddie Cassidy and junior outfielder Alex Hudak. However, the Owls couldn't manage to put a serious scoring threat together in the game.

Owls' starting pitcher R.J. Alvarez suffered his first loss of the season after giving up three earned runs in 4.2 innings. The sophomore struck out six batters. Junior left hander Ahmed Garcia threw four quality innings in relief.

Carmona paced Stony Brook's 12-hit offensive attack with three hits in four at-bats, while Marino and Nivins each had two hits. Freshman reliever Brandon McNitt picked up where Tropeano left off to help secure the victory.

Florida Atlantic returns to the diamond on Saturday, February 26, at 4 p.m. in the middle game of the three-game set against Stony Brook. Live audio and statistics of the game can be found at www.fausports.com. For season and individual tickets, call the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.