by Danny Gatta
Dowling got back on track with a DH sweep of New Haven on Sunday by the scores of 3-2 and 8-1.
Dennis Buckstein got the start for the Golden Lions, while New Haven sent out East Islip grad David Palmer.
The Chargers got on the board first in the top of the second inning. After a Jack Zagaja single, Joe Caico launched an RBI double over the head of the right fielder to give New Haven a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Lions would answer in the third. Chris Russo started things off with a one out single to right. Timmy Going hit into a fielder’s choice, putting him on first and Russo out at second. Rob Costanzo lined a double down the first base line, scoring Going from first. Vinny Orlando followed with a single up the middle, scoring from second and putting Dowling up 2-1.
Buckstein and Palmer, both pitched well, cruising through innings 4, 5, and 6 unscathed. Buckstein stumbled in the seventh, allowing a single up the middle to T.J. Riccio, followed by an error, attempting a throw over to first, putting the runner on third. After a sacrifice fly to center that tied the game, followed by a single, Buckstein exited the game.
Buckstein finished the day giving up 4 hits, 1 walk, 2 earned runs and striking out six in 6 1/3 innings. Coach Caputo was very pleased with Buckstein’s outing and the recent performances by his entire staff. “Dennis pitched great. All of our pitchers have had great outings lately, keeping us in ballgames and giving us chances to win games.”
Chris Cepeda entered the game for Dowling with one out in the seventh and a runner on first. It took him only two pitches to induce an inning-ending double play.
The Golden Lions broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the seventh. After a leadoff walk, Chris Russo was bunted over to second. A single by Costanzo put runners on the corners, and a sac fly by Orlando scored Russo to put Dowling ahead.
Dowling would hold on, as Cepeda finished the game in dominant fashion. He skated around a leadoff double in the eighth and an infield single in the ninth, closing out the win for the Golden Lions.
Caputo had high praise for the relief appearance by Cepeda.“It was big for him, but it was not the first time I had seen him pitch like that. I watched him compete in high school and it was good to see him bring that competitiveness today and get the job done.”
Game Two of this double header featured pitchers John Parisi of Dowling and Joe Caico of New Haven. The story of this game was the Golden Lion’s offensive onslaught. Dowling batted around in the bottom of the first, tallying 6 hits and 1 walk. Bobby Morse, Chris Appell, Chris Russo, and Timmy Going all recorded RBI hits in the inning.
Parisi was gifted a six-run cushion early on, and would not relinquish the lead. Robert Petrillo led off the fourth with a double to deep left. He advanced to third on a groundout to the shortstop, and later scored on a wild pitch. Parisi had a very solid outing, allowing one run on 6 hits and one walk while striking out five in five innings of work.
Dowling would add two runs, one off of Mike Schettino and another off of Josh Walker. Dowling’s Andrew Sesto would take over for Parisi in the fifth, and throw two perfect innings to earn his team their second victory of the afternoon. The final score was 8-1, with John Parisi as the winning pitcher of record.
After a slow start to their season, Coach Caputo was happy to see his team’s bats finally come alive. “Our offense finally got the bats going, and it was good to see a spark like that. I think it’s what our offense is capable of doing going forward.”
With two wins today the Golden Lions improved to 3-6 on the young season. Their next game comes on Tuesday, March 15th when they take on Nyack College at home.
