BROOKLYN, NY – Highlighted by the first collegiate home run by rookie 3B Matt Flannery, the Iona College baseball team scored a season-high run total in a 13-5 win over LIU Brooklyn in non-conference action at LIU Field. Freshman RF Seth Hoagland and sophomore 2B Matt Byrne each had three hits for the Gaels in the victory.
After falling behind 2-0 following the first two innings, the Gaels responded with a crooked number third through seventh innings to pull away from the Blackbirds.
Byrne was 3-for-6 with two runs scored, three RBI and a run scoring triple in the third inning. He extended his Iona season-long hitting streak to six games. In his first start since missing several games with an injury Hoagland went 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Flannery was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. His three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Gaels an 8-3 advantage. Sophomore C Alex Beckett also had two hits. Senior 1B Jimmy Guiliano extended his Iona-high on-base streak to 10 games with an RBI double in the seventh. He also walked twice including once with the bases loaded in the fourth.
Five Gael pitchers combined for the win. Junior RHP Max Bruckner tossed the first four innings, allowing three runs on six hits with two strikeouts. Rookie RHP Joe DeRosa earned his first collegiate win, pitching the fifth and sixth innings. Rookie RHPs Patrick Ryan and Jared Finkel combined for two hitless innings in the seventh and eighth and sophomore Vinny Martin shut the door in the ninth with three strikeouts.