By Nakeem Grant
Conference play is in full swing in the East Coast Conference. Molloy won both games (Game 1: 5-1, Game 2: 3-0) in today’s doubleheader against their rivals, LIU Post. Both games were well-played and featured great pitching on both sides, but Molloy has been the better team so far in this series.
In Game 1, Anthony Catinella (Molloy) pitched against Dan Jagiello (LIU) in what turned out to be an exciting head-to-head matchup. Catinella pitched eight innings, allowing one run and striking out eight batters with one walk, improving his record to 4-2. He induced a lot of groundballs during the game and his defense behind him scooped up everything that was hit their way.
Photo Credit: Nakeem Grant
“The pitchers know who’s playing behind them,” said Molloy head coach Joe Fucarino. “That infield, that’s probably one of the best infields I’ve coached in the years that I’ve been coaching.”
Molloy scored their five runs in a variety of ways. They got RBI extra-base hits from Anthony Galanoudis, Christian Todd, and Angelo Navetta. They even played a little small ball, particularly when Brian Murphy executed the safety squeeze in the bottom of the eighth to push Molloy’s lead.
“We just don’t take bp [batting practice],” said coach Fucarino. “We work on all situational hitting. We work some contests in practice in groups to see who could drive the most runs in.”
Jagiello pitched well for LIU. He had one rough inning where he allowed three runs in the bottom of the second. He would bounce back, however, putting up five consecutive scoreless innings before handing the ball to the bullpen in the eighth.
Kenny Daley accounted for LIU’s only run scored when he smacked a solo home run in the top of the seventh, his first of the season. In the end, LIU couldn’t figure out how to string things together against Catinella’s pitching.
Game 2 featured a pitching duel between two of the better left-handed pitchers in the ECC: Bobby Kelly (Molloy) and Joey Arena (LIU Post).
Kelly threw a complete game, one-hit shutout against a lineup that features four hitters batting well over .300. He worked at a quick pace and like his predecessor in Game 1, he forced countless routine grounders.
“It’s not about strikeouts,” said coach Fucarino. “It’s about pitching to contact, trusting your defense, and keeping your pitch count down.”
Arena allowed only two earned runs in six innings. He pitched in and out of trouble several times during today’s outing, keeping the game close for LIU.
Molloy scratched out all three of their runs on plays where the ball hardly left the infield. Navetta scored on a wild pitch in the first and Deilyn Guzman set the table for his teammates in the fourth when he doubled into rightfield, putting runners on second and third with one out. Galanoudis and Guzman came in to score when Matt Bowers whiffed on a groundball.
As a team, Molloy is currently batting .312 which is the best in the ECC. Coach Fucarino has enjoyed his team’s all-around offensive performance to this point.
“As a coach, it’s fun right now because the players are executing on the field what we’re putting on in practice,” said coach Fucarino. “It’s honestly fun for me and it’s making my job easy.”
He also expressed nothing but respect for LIU Post, a team that’s ranked in the top ten of the East Region for Division II baseball.
“That’s a good team over there. They’re going to be right in the mix of things throughout the whole season. The ECC is week-to-week.”
Molloy and LIU will wrap up the four-game series on Monday in Brookville, NY.
