Supported by
Stony Brook 7, L.S.U. 2
Stony Brook Defeats L.S.U. to Advance to College World Series
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Coach Matt Senk and his unflappable band of ballplayers from upstart Stony Brook invaded the most hostile territory in college baseball and vanquished another national power.
Six-time national champion Louisiana State is done, and after 22 seasons with a Stony Brook program that played in Division III when he arrived in 1991, Senk is taking his team to the sport’s promised land: the College World Series in Omaha.
Frankie Vanderka threw a three-hitter, Travis Jankowski had four hits and Stony Brook continued its stunning run with a 7-2 victory over L.S.U. on Sunday night in the deciding game of the Baton Rouge super regional.
Stony Brook, which has won 28 of 30, became only the second team to open the tournament as a No. 4 seed in the regional round and reach Omaha. The first was Fresno State in 2008 which went on to win the national title.
This Stony Brook squad, which beat host Miami in winning the Coral Gables Regional, just might be good enough to repeat that feat. Playing before crowds of 10,000-plus draped in L.S.U. purple-and-gold, the Seawolves did not merely survive so much as thrive, outhitting L.S.U. in the series, 35-15.
The only time the Seawolves (52-13) trailed in the three games was when Mason Katz hit a single to end a thrilling Game 1 in the bottom of the 12th.
And while Stony Brook may have been a relative unknown before this riveting postseason run, professional baseball scouts were quite familiar with them. Seven Seawolves were selected in last week’s Major League Baseball draft (compared to five from L.S.U.). They have eight players with 168 or more at-bats hitting .300 or better.
L.S.U. Coach Paul Mainieri and his players told anyone who would listen that Stony Brook was “legit,” as good as anyone they play in the Southeastern Conference. Still, the Tigers hoped that playing in Alex Box Stadium, where one overflow crowd about matched Stony Brook’s home attendance for the entire season, would be a distinct advantage. After all, L.S.U. (47-18) came into the series 8-0 in N.C.A.A. tournament games at the current Alex Box since it opened in 2009.
Stony Brook’s 3-1 Game 2 win behind ace Tyler Johnson’s three-hitter ended that streak, but L.S.U. was still confident they would fare better as Stony Brook went deeper into its rotation.
Indeed, the Tigers hit Verduka when he was called upon for the 12th inning of Game 1, and Katz pounded a solo home run off Verduka in the bottom of the first inning Sunday to tie the score at 1-1.
Verduka (3-3) then went five and two-thirds innings without allowing another hit as the Seawolves pulled away for good.
Stony Brook struck for three runs on three straight two-out hits in the third. Jankowski, who had singled and scored in the first, started the rally with a double and scored on Maxx Tissenbaum’s double. Kevin Krause and Cole Peragine followed with R.B.I. singles that knocked out starter Ryan Eades (5-3). Joe Broussard, L.S.U.’s third pitcher of the inning, struck out Sal Intagliata to leave the bases loaded.
Tissenbaum’s second double of the game, which was misplayed by Katz in center, drove in two to make it 6-1 in the fourth. The Tigers never got closer than 6-2 after that, and at one point, about two dozen fans wearing Stony Brook red — surrounded by more than 10,000 L.S.U. fans, could be heard chanting “S-B-U!”
Tigers fans started filing out in the eighth inning. Those who stuck around saw a rare sight: A team wearing colors other than purple and gold in a dog-pile near the pitcher’s mound, then celebrating with fans who rushed to the front row, and then posing for photographs behind the mound — with the video board behind the left field wall showing the Stony Brook logo in the background.
Senk arrived at Stony Brook in 1991. He has overseen their transition from Division III to Division II in 1995 (when they changed names from the Patriots to Seawolves) and to Division I in 2000.
Now the Seawolves, the first team to reach 50 wins this season, are the class of the America East Conference, poised to become a regular in the N.C.A.A. tournament, and maybe even win a national title. In any event, get used to hearing “Stony Brook” and “Omaha” in the same sentence.
Inside the World of Sports
Dive deeper into the people, issues and trends shaping professional, collegiate and amateur athletics.
No More Cinderella Stories?: Expansion of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament has been a popular topic. But adding more teams could push small schools like Oakland, which upset Kentucky, out of the action.
Caitlin Clark’s Lasting Impact: People have flocked to watch the Iowa basketball star on TV and in person. But will her effect on the popularity and economics of women’s sports linger after her college career ends?
Gambling Poses Risks for Leagues: The situation involving the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger and pitcher, shows that when it comes to wagering on games, professional leagues have more than just the players to watch.
Unionization Efforts: How is a football team different from a marching band? The National Labor Relations Board is considering this question as it tries to determine whether some college athletes should be deemed employees.
Delayed Gratification: Doping rules, legal challenges and endless appeals have left some Olympic medalists waiting for their golds.
Advertisement