FARMINGDALE, N.Y./KINGS POINT, N.Y. | The 2026 Skyline Conference Baseball Championship continued Thursday evening with a pair of tightly contested matchups, as top-seeded Farmingdale State held off Merchant Marine, while No. 3 St. Joseph’s-Long Island used a powerful offensive performance to defeat No. 2 Maritime and advance in the winner’s bracket.

(1) Farmingdale State 3, (5) Merchant Marine 2
Top-seeded Farmingdale State edged No. 5 Merchant Marine, 3-2, in a pitcher’s duel at Farmingdale State to open the double-elimination portion of the tournament.

The Rams struck first in the second inning on an RBI single from Mike Kocovic and added two more in the fifth, highlighted by a sacrifice fly from Ryan Wasserman and an RBI knock from Richie Heyder.

Merchant Marine mounted a late push in the eighth inning, scoring twice behind RBI efforts from Drew Davis and Jason Brown to cut the deficit to one. However, Farmingdale State reliever Derek Watts closed the door, retiring the final four batters to secure the save.

Thomas O’Neill earned the win on the mound, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. Matt Faraone led the Rams offensively with three hits, while Christian Villacci added a pair of hits and scored a run in the victory.

(3) St. Joseph’s-Long Island 9, (2) Maritime 6
Third-seeded St. Joseph’s-Long Island erupted for 19 hits in a 9-6 win over No. 2 Maritime at Bartoszek Field.

After falling behind early, the Golden Eagles responded with a three-run third inning to take control, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Rob Page. St. Joseph’s continued to apply pressure throughout the game, adding runs in five different innings to build a comfortable lead.

Joe Thatcher paced the offense with four hits and an RBI, while Andrew Amarando added three hits and two RBI. Joe Hackal contributed three hits and two RBI, and Page finished with two hits and two RBI in the balanced offensive effort.

Maritime rallied late with three runs in the eighth inning, but the comeback fell short as the Golden Eagles bullpen held firm. Ryan Callaghan earned the win, striking out 11 over 7.1 innings of work.

With the results, Farmingdale State and St. Joseph’s-Long Island remain in the winner’s bracket and will face off in tomorrow’s Game 6 at 3:00 pm, while Merchant Marine and Maritime will meet in an elimination matchup to open the day at noon.

All games will be played at Farmingdale State College.