Mike Grisanti talks about his dominant performance that led his team to victory. pic.twitter.com/UKScF9Ns66
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 22, 2018
The weather certainly wasn’t ideal for playoff baseball on Tuesday afternoon, but that didn’t stop Massapequa from coming out of the gates firing.
Thank to a six-run first inning, Massapequa prevailed over Plainview JFK by a score of 8-3 in game one of the Class AA Semifinals.
John Cooke got the start for Plainview on the bump, but the Chiefs wasted no time getting to him. Johnny Castagnozzi got the rally started for Massapequa by ripping a bases loaded RBI single to left field. Mike Grisanti followed up the Castagnozzi RBI with a 2 RBI double, and Mike Moreno delivered a sacrifice fly. All of a sudden, it was a 4-0 lead in the first frame of the game.
The bleeding wasn’t over yet.
To top it off, Wade Kelly launched a 2-run home run to left field to provide a six-run first inning and a huge cushion for the Massapequa pitching staff to work with. These were all the runs the Chiefs would need to prevail to victory.
Throughout the game, Plainview showed signs of crawling back into the game. However, they couldn’t scratch enough runs across to complete the comeback. Michael Cole and Max Braccia both drove in RBI in the bottom of the third inning. This was all the noise Plainview made until later in the game.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Hawks once again threatened but were held to just one run, thanks to Mike Grisanti. Immediately upon entering, Grisanti forced a 6-4-3 double play to get Massapequa out of the inning. He would close out the game for the Chiefs, earning the eight-out save.
However, this wasn’t all Grisanti did to contribute. At the plate, the senior went 4-for-4 with 3 RBI, all coming in tremendous spots.
“Throughout the game I was seeing the ball really well, I was able to barrel up some balls and get some runs in for the team,” said Grisanti. “On the mound I just tried to stay calm, Derek had some runners on but I just wanted to pick him up and get the job done for the team. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow, we’re ready to go,” he added.
When it was all said and done, Massapequa’s eight runs were too much for Plainview to match in the rain. With the victory, the Chiefs are now one win away from going back to the county championship in consecutive years. Expect tomorrow to be a closer game between the two powerhouse teams, as the weather is expected to be back to normal.
