Molloy extends their lead to 5-2 after the 4th on a Jack McCarty RBI single. pic.twitter.com/IXW6Sub5yI
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 11, 2018
The Molloy Lions defeat the LIU Post Pioneers 11-4 to advance to the ECC championship game. Molloy starter, sophomore Anthony Vano threw a complete game and freshman Matt Overton went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run and five RBI.
“These guys have been battling all year,” said Molloy head coach Joe Fucarino. “They just played inning-to-inning very focused.”
Molloy gets the last word against LIU Post, who defeated the Lions on Thursday 4-0.
Molloy’s offense got hot in the third inning batting around. The Lions started the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles by Mike Wall, James Messina, and Jake Saltzman. Senior Angelo Navetta drove in two runs on a single two batters later. ECC Rookie of the Year Matt Overton added to the lead with a RBI single of his own, the first of five RBI on the day. Sophomore Sean Hogan was hit by a pitch later in the third to give Molloy a 4-0 lead.
“[Matt Overton] is a gem,” said coach Fucarino. “This kid has been hitting in the four-hole all year as a freshman behind Navetta, which has been huge…Matty is a confident player and he knows how to get the job done.”
“The entire lineup was hitting one-through-nine today,” said Overton.
The Pioneers would answer back in the top of the fourth. Junior Anthony Vaglica and Zach Fritz hit singles to start. Jimmy Mendyk drove in Vaglica on a RBI single, and Joe Piscitelli drove in Fritz on a RBI fielder’s choice to make it 4-2.
Molloy got a run back in the fourth with a Jack McCarty RBI single scoring Wall to make it 5-2 in favor of Molloy.
In the sixth inning, Overton launched a three-run home run down the right field line to make it 8-2. Jake McCarty drove in senior Elijah Leerdam to make it 9-2 after six innings.
“[Matt] Stiles is a really good pitcher for Post out of the ‘pen. I was just looking for a ball to hit with men on first and second, and just try to break the game open,” said Overton.
LIU Post cut the deficit to 9-3 in the seventh inning on a RBI groudout by Ramger Iglesias.
Molloy stayed dominant offensively with Navetta notching a RBI double in the bottom of the seventh. Overton drove in his fifth run on a RBI single scoring Navetta to make it 11-3.
The Pioneers got one more run with a RBI single by Iglesias, but the Lions held on for the 11-4 victory.
Every Molloy batter got at least two hits in the game, bringing the team total to 21 hits. Saltzman finished the day 3-5 with three runs scored. Navetta finished 2-5 with three RBI and three runs.
For LIU Post, Iglesias and Joe Spitaleri got two hits each, with Iglesias driving in a team-best two RBI.
Vano gave up four runs (three earned) and tallied four strikeouts and no walks (two HBP). LIU Post starter Joseph Valentino earned the loss, giving up four runs on eight hits, and tallied only one strikeout.
“Our pitching has been there. We knew we had to play one game at a time,” said coach Fucarino.
“We just have to keep hitting the way we have,” said Overton.
With the loss, the Pioneers season ends. Molloy will face St. Thomas Aquinas College Saturday at noon at Mitchel Field.
