The College of Staten Island men’s baseball team did more than just pick up their 27th win and a take a non-conference home win over visiting Drew University, 17-6, this evening at the CSI Baseball Complex. The program helped cap the 7th Annual Grace Hillery Breast Cancer Awareness Night by collecting over $5,700 for the Staten Island Breast Cancer Research Initiative, the most in history since the inception of the inaugural event, raising the overall dollar amount to over $30,000 since the event first started.
Played annually towards the close of the season, the evening serves to honor the memory of Grace Hillery, mother to former Dolphin Anthony Hillery who lost his mother to the illness during the 2004 season. Hillery went on to play for the Dolphins until 2005, and the inaugural has been spearheaded to raise funds for the disease that took her life. Grounds crews worked feverishly trying to get the field ready for the game, and despite the cold conditions, the fans came out in numbers. Raffle prizes, t-shirt sales, and concessions all helped raise the total to $5,736 in 2010, topping the $5,400 the team generated last year as the most ever.
“I want to thank everyone involved,” said Anthony Hillery when he addressed the crowd during the seventh-inning stretch. “From the great folks at Drew University and CSI, and all the people behind the scenes, I’m blown away every year when we get together and see the commitment and support.”
In the middle of all the festivities, a baseball game was played, and CSI broke open a 3-1 lead in the 4th inning by plating 14 runs over the next three innings to seize control of the game.
CSI erased a 1-0 deficit in the first inning. Pat Gale tripled to score the game’s first run, and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Joe Cassano. A Sal Todaro sac fly made it 3-1 in the 3rd inning before the floodgates opened.
Against Drew starter Matt Altman, the Dolphins got on the board again via an error, one of two in the inning by the Rangers, and then a two-RBI single by Cassano made it 6-1. Cassano would score later in the inning on a wild pitch, and a Thomas DeWaters capped the inning’s scoring at 8-1.
While CSI starter Jeff Pontebbi was continuing to look sharp, the Dolphins plated another six tallies in the fifth. After Henry Roman scored via another error, Cory Sullivan laced a two-RBI double down the left field line, and RBI singles later by Matt Oetting and Devon DiCasoli put the game completely out of reach.
For safe measure CSI added three more in the sixth, before Drew tallied two runs in the seventh and another three-spot in the ninth to pull within the 17-6 final.
Pontebbi earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings, allowing a single run on six hits, walking two and fanning three. CSI scattered 20 hits in the game. DiCasoli was a stellar 4-for-6 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored, while also picking up his 59th career stolen base, tying him for the most ever in CSI history. Joe Cassano went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Matt Oetting went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
With the win, CSI improved to 27-9, while the Rangers fell to 8-30. The next stop for CSI will be as part of the annual CUNYAC Postseason Tournament. The Dolphins (No. 1 seed) will take on No. 4 seed and defending champion Baruch College on Thursday at 1pm at MCU Ballpark in Brooklyn, NY.