Stony Brook-commit Liam Pulsipher was a dominant force on the mountin a must-win game on the road against No. 1 Mattituck. Pulsipher threw seven zeros on the board for the Red Devils, as he only allowed two hits, two walks and he struck out 10. The crafty junior lefty stepped up for his team against a tough opponent and opposing pitcher in Brendan Kent.
“Liam has really progressed throughout the years, we had him as a freshman and each year he keeps getting better and better, staying composed under pressure, and he really has become a solid big game pitcher,” said CM head coach Dennis Donovan. “Nothing seems to bother him, which is rare for a kid his age.”
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The Red Devil’s offense was led by Rob Copozzi, who went 3-for-3 with a double and a run. CM got their scoring going early, as they rallied to score two runs with one out. After Pulsipher and Matt Alifano reached base, Brad Sakellarides unloaded a fly ball double that scored Pulsipher. Alec Maag stepped up and did his job smoking a ball to short allowing Alifano to score on the 6-3 putout.
“They’re a great team, we always seem to play a good game against them, it’s close every game,” Donovan said. “It’s one of those rivalries that just happens year after year, they’re well coached, we just happened to come out on top today.”
Despite the dominant stats, Mattituck played a tough game and responded to CM’s two third-inning runs working two key walks with two outs after the nine hitter, Chris Nicholson, knocked a single. The inning was ended by an impressive play from Pulsipher and Copozzi off a grounder to Copozzi that took a bad hop; the two stuck with the play to earn a bang-bang 3-1 putout.
“It felt great, I was out there throwing the ball well and my guys behind me were putting up tough defense.” Pulsipher said. “We came out and swung the bat well, which has been our problem all year, and thankfully we scored some runs today and it helped me out a lot.”
CM followed up their two-run third inning with a lead off single from Copozzi. However, after a sac bunt from Dylan Bryant, the Red Devils failed to knock Copozzi in with one out. David Franchi came up with two outs and roped a line drive to LF to score Copozzi. Franchi finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and a RBI. Following this, Pulsipher only allowed one hit and struck out five over the next four frames.
“We talk about how our guys aren’t going to drop 12 or 15 runs, we’re a young team who is still learning how to hit and we’re still trying to piece things together.” Donovan said.
These two teams are set to play again tomorrow in Mattituck. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. and winner takes home the Class B county championship.
