On This Day In History | 1998

The ’98 Bears. Passalacqua (#23), Simmons (#9) & Houseknecht (#11)

On this day 17 years ago, the baseball team thumped Port Jeff, 9-4, thanks to two deep drives from Lyndsey Simmons and Ray Houseknecht.

After Anthony Passalacqua tripled to knot the game at 1-1 in the first, the Bears unleashed a barrage on the Royals’ pitching that paved the way for a blue and white victory. In the bottom of the second, Simmons crushed a three-run home run. One inning later Houseknecht hit a two-run long ball that left the Brook up 8-1 on the way to a dominant win.

The Bears totaled 13 hits on the day.

The boys would go on to win the League VIII Championship for the second time in three years.

Stony Brook Goes Deep for Victory

The Stony Brook baseball team hit its first two home runs of the season yesterday and both were well-earned.

Lyndsey Simmons hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning and Ray Houseknecht a two-run shot in the third as Stony Brook opened an 8-1 lead and went on to defeat Port Jefferson, 9-4, in League VIII. Stony Brook totaled 13 hits in the game, including a run-scoring triple by Anthony Passalacqua that tied the score at 1 in the first.

But the two long balls stood out. Simmons, who played shortstop and also pitched, hit his homer over the fence in right-centerfield, estimated at 370 feet by Stony Brook coach Tommy Grimm, to highlight a five-run rally and give the Bears a 6-1 lead. The next inning, 6-3, 200-pound leftfielder Houseknecht launched a ball over the left-centerfield fence to make it 8-1. That shot was an estimated 400 feet, Grimm said. Starter Teppei Inoue pitched two innings to earn the win. Dan Meehan suffered the loss.

~ Newsday

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