by Vinny Messana
Trailing 7-3 in the ninth inning, the Old Westbury Panthers mounted a furious rally and Mike Cardino capped the comeback with a bases-clearing walk-off double to win it 8-7.
They faced deficits of 4-0 in the sixth, 5-1 in the seventh and 7-3 in the ninth, but had the resolve to chip away every time.
Panthers starting pitcher Trey Pizzutello had a rough outing, allowing four ER on nine hits and two walks over 4.2 IP.
Nick Schoen came in relief and fired 2.1 shutout innings to keep the Panthers in the game.
That’s when their offense went to work.
Kevin Lao smacked an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-1. Tommy Zeigen drove in Luis Sileno and J.J. Lindgren with a single to make it a 5-3 game.
Justin Mize allowed three hits and walk without retiring a batter to increase Olivet’s lead to 7-3.
For most teams, trailing four runs in the ninth is a prerequisite to a defeat. The reigning Skyline Conference Champs took it as a challenge to get to work.
John Dell’Olio led off the ninth with a walk. Preston Zanon followed with a single to right. Lindgren loaded up the bases with a single to right. Jesse Russo singled to right to score two runs and cut the lead to 7-5–still with nobody out. Zeigen reached on a fielding error to put two runners on. After Lao flew out, Dean Sheridan drew a walk to load the bases and set the stage for Cardino.
The Massapequa native smacked a double to turn tragedy to triumph and improve the Panthers to 5-2.
Nick Dorcean received the win, he threw two shutout innings in relief. The Panthers will close out their trip with a DH against Finlandia University today and a single-game against Otterbein at 9am.
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