by Vinny Messana
With the bases loaded and no out and St. John the Baptist clinging to a 1-0 lead over St. Anthony’s, Noah Lorenzo was in a tough spot. Having a number of big wins under his belt, his Head Coach was not worried, though.
“He took the ball and said ‘let’s go’ and did the job,” said his Head Coach Casey McKay. Lorenzo struck out the next two batters and induced a foul pop out to elude any trouble and keep the lead in tact. “He just bears down when needed, he did an outstanding job,” he added.
“I knew he can hit, and I felt like I had pretty good stuff,” he said in regards to facing Matt Martino with the bases loaded and 0 out. “I knew all my players behind me were making the plays so I just figured, take a chance and go after him–and it worked out,” said Lorenzo, who is committed to LIU Post.
The Cougar bats went to work after that and added four insurance runs which eventually stood up and they won 5-0.
After both pitchers, Lorenzo and Pat Kennedy of St. Anthony’s, fired zeros for the first four innings, it was the Cougars who got on the board first.
Damon DeMicco lined a single with one out and stole second to get in scoring position. After Tyler White reached on an error by the shortstop and a fly out to center field, it set the stage for another LIU Post commit, Kevin Dolan.
The center fielder smoked an RBI to put the Cougars ahead 1-0.
That was all Lorenzo needed, who ended up going six shutout innings and striking out seven batters. This was against a lineup that featured several college bats, including one of the top players in the 2017 class in Cameron Tomaiko. Their Head Coach told me prior to the season that the Friar’s outfield is the best group he has had since taking over as coach.
After his clutch pitching in the sixth inning, the Cougars opened up the flood gates with a four-spot. Five hits including a clutch two-run single by the Hofstra-bound White led to the insurance runs.
For the Friars, Kennedy went 5+ innings and showed tons of ability navigating through some jams and ultimately struck out five batters and allowed four hits.
Both teams now stand at 3-1 on the young season.
“It’s always nice to win, especially when there’s a lot of people here. Winning at home is always a good thing,” said Lorenzo.
With the toughness he showed out there today, it certainly won’t be the last time he wins.
