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| Photo Credit: Vinny Messana |
Playing against sub .500 teams has usually meant scoring 10+ runs for the Old Westbury Panthers. That was not the case on Tuesday, as they narrowly edged Drew University 5-3, and it took a seventh inning run to break the tie.
The Panthers were down 2-1 in the fourth inning but tied it up on a sac fly by catcher Carlos Balmaceda to score Jacob Coners.
Drew took the lead in the fifth inning on a bases loaded walk against Justin Mize. After the batter, Nick Schoen came in and relieved Mize. He put out the fire with two strikeouts to end the threat.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers tied up the game on a wild pitch that scored Coners.
Schoen put up another goose egg in the top of the seventh to set the stage for a Panther rally.
A walk and a single put runners on the corners with one out. Matt Taurisani hit a sac fly to score Dean Sheridan and give the Panthers a 4-3 lead. The next batter, pinch hitter Nick Yip, smacked an RBI single to provide an insurance run for the Panthers.
Christopher Vitale and Vinny Bieniek combined to throw the final two innings. Bieniek recorded his second save of the season.
If there was one negative, the Panthers pitching staff walked nine batters. Nevertheless, it was a victory and they improved to 13-8 with Yeshiva looming on the schedule.
