This afternoon the baseball team opened the season with a 5-1 victory at Port Jeff.

Freshman Joe Wozny, in his first start with the Bears, pitched six no-hit innings and struck out 12 Royals before losing his no-hit bid in the 7th. Seamus Scanlon nailed down the victory by recording three straight outs, two by way of strikeout.

The Bears built their lead with quality at bats and timely hitting. The Bears broke through in the 1st inning, thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Aidan Mega that plated Scanlon, who started the inning with a single.

The Bears knocked on the door in the 2nd, but after a left field drive by David Choi, Dan Rueda was erased at the plate to end the inning. Scanlon began the 3rd inning with another leadoff single. After a walk by Wozny, Scanlon came around from second on a single by Ben Tutuska to give the Brook a 2-0 lead.

The Bears clung to the 2-0 lead for three more innings, thanks to the sensational pitching of Wozny who struck out seven over the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings, including mowing down the side in the 4th. In the top of the 6th, the Bears broke it open, scoring three runs to take command of the game. Wozny started the inning with a single, then stole second. Tutuska followed with a flair to center field that narrowly eluded the center fielder, forcing Wozny to stay put at second base. A double steal put Wozny and Tutuska into scoring position for Mega who roped a double that scored both runners and gave the Bears a 4-0 lead. Nate Smith followed with his second single of the day, plating Mega to give the Brook a 5-1 edge.

Wozny strode to the mound to start the 7th, hoping to become the first Stony Brook pitcher since Cameron Thiessen in 1990 to throw a no-hitter. He yielded a walk to start the inning, then lost his no-hit bid on a double to left field. With Wozny approaching the state mandated pitch count limit, the hit signaled an end to his outstanding day.

Seeing the tall righty walk of the mound energized the Port Jeff dugout, eliciting spirited chatter for the first time in three innings. Scanlon ensured they didn’t have much to cheer about by retiring three straight Royals to end the game.

This is the Bears’ second win over the Royals in the last three games, to go along with a 6-2 victory on April 12 a season ago. This is the team’s first season opening win since a 13-0 victory over Shelter Island on March 27, 2007.

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