by Chris Amato
Two perennial playoff teams in their respective leagues squared off in a battle between Class A and Class AA powerhouses.
It was the Class A team that came out on top by the score of 10-3.
The Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms’ red hot offense was truly a major part in the win, especially backed up by an excellent starting pitching performance by junior, Jake Liberatore. Bayport scored 10 runs which were more then enough to assure them the victory.
The game started off with Max Nielsen taking the mound for Ward Melville, along with Bayport jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the first. The run was scored by Dylan Rooney who was driven in by a RBI double from the centerfielder, Nik Ingraffia.
Photo Credit: Chris Amato
The Phantoms offense struck again later in the 2nd inning by placing a three-spot on the board. Runs were produced by RBI base hits by Joe Donnelly and Dylan Rooney, including a sac bunt by TJ McGuire. Their hitting was extremely timely, and seemed to come in bunches which resulted in multiple runs at a time.
Bayport then scored again in the 3rd, this time due to one single swing of the bat. Nik Ingraffia gave Bayport a five run lead when he launched a monstrous solo home run to dead center field. The bomb was Ingraffia’s first of the season and it was one of the two Bayport would hit this game.
Liberatore held the Patriots scoreless the first two innings but they would finally produce their first run in the 3rd. Logan Doran stated the inning with a double and would later be scored on a drop 3rd strike when he ran home as the catcher threw to first to get the force out and the first basemen could not get the ball back to the plate in time before Doran could reach his hand across.
The offense for Bayport continued to roll as the game headed to the fourth. Ingraffia picked up his second and third RBIs of the game when he poked a double into the gap that scored Dylan Rooney and Luke Olsson. That would be the last Bayport batter Nielsen faced. He finished the game with a total of 7 earned runs off 9 hits while striking out 4 batters and walking 2, all through the course of 4.2 innings.
The fifth was the only inning in which neither team crossed the plate. The 6th, however, was started with a bang which came off the bat of Dylan Rooney. Rooney blasted a two-run shot, the second homer of the game for BBP which gave them a 9-1 lead.
Melville came right back in the bottom of the inning when Dominick LaMonica singled and worked his way over to third base. He scored on an erratic throw by Bayport’s catcher which sailed over the third basemen’s head and into left field. The run slightly decreased their deficit to 7 runs.
Even in Bayport’s final at bats they were not finished just yet. They put one more final run across on Liberatore’s RBI single. In the bottom of the 7th, Liberatore took to the mound one final time looking to pickup the W and the complete game. Ward Melville’s fight was not yet over; they were able to scratch one more run across before Liberatore would shut the door on their rally hopes.
Liberatore fired a complete game, surrendering 3 runs to the extremely potent Melville lineup. Liberatore used his flaming fastball along and an impressive array of offspeed pitches to keep the lineup at bay.
When asked what his approach was coming into the game he responded with,“We try to keep it the same every game, get ahead, move up and down, in and out and throw off-speed for strikes. That’s a big part of our game.”
Liberatore got into a few minor jams during the game but was able to easily work his way out and ether minimize the runs scored or totally prevent them. He would finish with 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking 10 batters out and walking 2.
Bayport’s convincing win over a Class AA Long Island powerhouse team can definitely create a positive spin on a season that has not started off the way Bayport is used to.
Their Head Coach, James Moccio said “We have work to do in our league. It definitely helps our confidence. These guys are playing well now and we have two good teams scheduled for this week.”
Bayport continues to make the playoff push later this week as they take on Mt. Saini on the 25th.
