Going against one of the top pitchers on the island like Chris Stefl (St. John’s-commit) is a daunting task for any team. But for a quality hitting team like Lynbrook, the secret sauce was simply in their approach, according to Head Coach Al Marrazzo.
“We always talk about if we could get into good counts–which is what we spoke about this week–we could be successful, and that’s what we were. I think you saw that with the top of our lineup, they were a little bit patient–they got fastballs in fastball counts and they were patient on curveballs and change ups. He settled in towards the middle of the game, and he really had his curve and change up working really well, but I think we had him early when he left the fastballs up at times. I think we had a really good approach”
The Owls did a tremendous job of driving the mistakes that Stefl made in the first two innings.
They got out to an early 3-0 lead when lead off hitter and starting pitcher Dom Sinopoli ripped a triple to left center field and scored on an RBI ground out to second base by SS Nick Tuzzio. After a strikeout of Tom Sullivan, cleanup hitter Justin Baeyens drew a walk and scored on an RBI double by Tampa-commit Paul Scibelli‘s double. He scored on a single by Tommy Postiglione before Stefl ended the inning with a strikeout.
Floral Park got their lone run in the second inning off Sinopoli on an RBI single by Justin Rahaman to score Mike Baldini.
The Owls tacked on two more in the second inning on an error and another RBI hit from Scibelli.
Stefl ended up finding his rhythm, retiring the side in order in the third and fourth innings. He finished with nine strikeouts, thanks in large part to the devastating 12-6 curveball that was falling off the table.
He showed why he is such a dangerous hitter with two singles–one to center and the other to left field while also drawing a walk.
Kyle Bacchus also had two hits for Floral Park–the only other player with a multi-hit game.
Marrazzo was complimentary of the job of Sinopoli–who he noted is also their best outfielder and lead off hitter.
“He came to me during our non-league week and said ‘I want the ball’ and he was a horse for us. He doesn’t throw real hard, but he hit spots and he’s got the mentality of a bulldog. He’s out there and he doesn’t care who’s up–whether it’s Stefl or any other big hitter. He’s going to throw strikes and if they hit him, they hit him. But that’s his mentality–‘I want the ball’, and we want guys like that,” he added.
With the win, they improved to 8-3 on the season, while Floral Park drops to 5-3-1.
