To say that Saturday’s game between LIU Post and Molloy was a pitcher’s duel would be an understatement. The Pioneers took down the Molloy Lions 3-2 in walk-off fashion on Saturday. The game remained low scoring and the pitching was stellar despite the rain coming down throughout the entire game.
Jake DeCarli got the win for LIU Post posting a fantastic line for the game. He went the full nine innings allowing only two runs, one earned, on four hits with no walks and only three strikeouts. DeCarli showed consistent command throughout the outing with all of his pitches hitting his spots around the zone. DeCarli legitimately made one mistake the entire game allowing a run on a passed ball in the fourth inning, but even with that mishap, he pitched phenomenally. His record improves to 5-1 on the season as he has been one of their most reliable arms this year.
“He’s been our guy the last four years,” Head coach Mike Gaffney said about DeCarli. “He’s our stopper, he did exactly what we thought he would do.”
The Post offense was quiet for most of the game only recording six hits in its entirety. Most of the Pioneer offense came in the bottom of the ninth inning where they scored two runs and ultimately won the game. Tom Asbaty walked with the bases loaded to tie the game. Kenny Daley had the game winning hit with the bases loaded scoring Joe Piscitelli who pinch ran for Sal Geraci earlier in the inning. Joe Spitaleri also recorded two hits in the game and was great defensively. Red hot Rob Andreoli continued his hitting streak with a hit today where he was 15-19 in this past week going into Saturday’s game. Jimmy Mendyk also had a hit in the game.
For the Molloy Lions, they could not have asked much more of Ronnie Bauer as he was stellar for about eight of his nine innings. He went 8.1 innings only allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits with four strikeouts. Bauer’s command was shaky at points as he had five walks in the game with the biggest one coming in the ninth inning. He entered the ninth inning of work with over 100 pitches already on his pitch count so he definitely had a full workload. He recorded the loss resulting in a 2-4 record on the year.
Offensively, Molloy could not figure out Jake DeCarli only putting up four hits in total in the game. Nobody in the lineup recorded more than one hit. Brian Murphy had the first Molloy hit in the fourth after DeCarli retired the first nine hitters in order. That hit resulted in a run on a passed ball. James Messina came up with a big hit in the eighth to give the Lions a 2-1 lead scoring Jack McCarty who had pinch ran for Ryan Dillon earlier in the inning. Angelo Navetta and Mike Rahn also had hits in the game.
With the win on Saturday, LIU Post moves to 19-15 on the year whereas Molloy moves to 15-20. The Pioneers will look to continue their success in a double-header on Sunday against Southern Connecticut State on the road as Molloy will look to bounce back on Monday at home against Felician.
