Our @DigmiNation player of the game: Joey Savino. He pitched a complete game while only allowing one run to save the T-Birds from elimination. He spoke with @jpaura24 after the game. pic.twitter.com/HoSCzK5Zy6
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 21, 2018
After earning an upset win over #9 Connetquot (15-8) on Thursday, #17 Bay Shore fell to the Thunderbirds 4-1 Monday afternoon for their first loss in the Suffolk AA Playoffs. Both teams now have one loss in the double-elimination tournament and will play each other on Tuesday.
Connetquot won behind another stellar pitching performance from Joey Savino. The junior, who has yet to commit to a college, was coming off a two-hit, complete game shutout against Newfield on Friday and picked up right where he left off on Monday. Our Digmi Player of the Game pitched a complete game, allowing one unearned run and three hits on 80 pitches, while serving up eight strikeouts.
The T-Birds got going on offense early. Alex Ungar led the bottom of the first off with a double before Ciaran McGinnis scored him on a fielder’s choice for the first run of the game. In the bottom of the second, Stony Brook-commit Jared Yalon brought home Matt Brown-Eiring on a single to bump Connetquot’s lead to 2-0.
Things started to look shaky for Savino in the top of the third. Bay Shore had two runners in scoring position with only one out and leadoff hitter Jayden Morales at the plate. However, Morales hit a hard line-drive to left field, right where Lucas Quinlan was able to make the catch. After catching the ball, Quinlan quickly fired a throw to Kyle Kiendle at second base to double up the Marauders and escape the inning unscathed.
Savino followed up a tough third inning with a spectacular fourth. He struck out the first batter of the inning before Joshuel Rodriguez reached on an error by Kiendle. Rodriquez stole both second and third base to get in prime position for Bay Shore to get on the board. But Savino’s mix of hard fastballs and buckling breaking balls retired the next two batters looking and kept the T-Birds in control.
In the bottom of the fourth, Connetquot’s bats showed up again. McGinnis doubled in the inning and tagged up on a fly ball to get himself to third. After getting within 90 feet of the plate, McGinnis took off for home when catcher Jake Lactera tried to gun a runner out at second. The Farmingdale-commit was beat by the throw, but used an acrobatic slide to avoid Lactera’s tag and extend the T-Birds’ lead to 3-0. Kiendle added on later in the frame, singling in a run with two outs.
That would be all the damage Connetquot’s offense did on the afternoon, but Savino’s dominance continued throughout. He got through the fifth and the sixth innings in just seven batters and in the seventh, one run got across only due to a throwing error with two outs. Savino sat down the final batter with his eighth strikeout of the day, allowing the T-Birds to see another day with a 4-1 victory.
This was the second time these two teams squared off in the playoffs this year, the first one being a 1-0 Bay Shore win on Thursday. They do battle once again Tuesday afternoon at Connetquot in an elimination game. Follow us on Twitter @Axcessbaseball for full coverage and updates throughout.
