[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_mr2czzfOs]
There was not much offense on display at Farmingdale State College tonight in the 11th annual Nassau vs Suffolk All Star Game. The pitchers brought their ‘A’ game but it was Nassau who prevailed with a 3-1 win.
The big blow came on a two-run single in the bottom of the 6th off the bat of Billy Bianco of North Shore–who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
The inning began with Jim Mendyk getting drilled on an 87 MPH fastball by Dom Savino of Smithtown East. The following batter, Beau O’Connell, reached on an infield single back to Savino, who was unable to record the out.
Anthony Papa (2-for-3), the postseason hero from Division, grounded into a 6-5 forceout for the first out of the inning. Another Division player, Joe Piscitelli, grounded out to the third baseman for the second out, but the runners advanced to second and third.
That was when Bianco smacked a single to CF to score both runners and give Nassau County a lead that they would not relinquish.
The combination of Hasan Deljanin, Lucas Hall and Reiss Knehr combined to close the door with three-shutout innings after the run-scoring hit.
Suffolk originally had a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Pat Lagravinese singled to left field, then made an aggressive base running played in which he sprinted to third on an infield ground out. The first baseman made a strong throw but nobody was covering the base and he came around to score easily to get Suffolk on the board.
The score remained that way until the fifth inning when Papa led off with a triple into the right center field alley. Andrew Hastings ripped a long fly ball to left field that scored Papa to tie the game.The run came off Travis Bruinsma–the 13-game winning from Connetquot.
It was a clean, swift game. It was clear the pitchers had the upper hand in this game. There was some incredible performances on the hill. It was a great night for fans of Long Island baseball.
