The Road Warriors improve their record to 4-0 with a 4-3 victory over Southampton Breakers. The @DigmiNation Player of the Game is Sal Zafonte. He spoke with Justin Paura following the game pic.twitter.com/hTkOOyiLSc
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 6, 2018
When you’re a champion-level team, you don’t always have to play pretty to win ball games.
That was the case Wednesday evening for the defending HCBL champion Long Island Road Warriors (4-0). The squad opened up its season with three-run victories in each of their first three games. On Wednesday, the Road Warriors were only able to get four hits on the Southampton Breakers (1-2), but still squeaked out with a 4-3 win at home.
Southampton looked destined to snap Long Island’s win streak early. Brian Picone and Ryan Hatten each drew walks to set up clean-up hitter Davis Payne. Payne rifled a single to right field to score Picone and put the Breakers up 1-0 in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the second, things started to fall apart for Southampton. Starting pitcher Austin Cole just did not have his stuff today. He walked four batters, including three in a row with two outs, tying the game at one apiece.
It only got worse in the next inning. Cole retired two of the first three batters in the bottom of the third, but then walked the next five Road Warriors before Rob Cafiero was forced to take the ball from him. Michael Schwartz came in for damage control and got Patrick Lavgravinese out to stop the bleeding.
4-1 was the score up until the top of the fifth. The Breakers threatened in the inning when Jordan Schulefand and Hatten each got hit by pitches. Payne followed with his second RBI single of the game to cut the deficit to just two.
After the run scored, Head Coach Neal Heaton made the call to lefty Sal Zafonte. The SUNY Cortland junior faced eight batters on Monday, but Heaton had full confidence in his player saying Southampton “couldn’t hit his fastball.” That proved to be legitimate after Zafonte not only escaped the inning, but went all the way into the eighth only allowing one batter to reach base.
Brandon LaManna entered with two outs in the eighth to close the game out, but the Breakers kept trying to make it competitive. Daniel Alfonzo sent LaManna’s first pitch to left field and thanks to an error by Lagravinese, put two runners in scoring position for Michael Diodato. LaManna, who earned saves on both Sunday and Monday, kept his composure and got Diodato to fly out to left to end the inning.
The tension increased in the top of the ninth. Southampton still trailed 4-2 with only two hits entering the final frame. Oliver Campbell got a lead off, pinch hit single, but then Logan LeJeune grounded into a fielder’s choice, replacing Campbell at first with one out. Schulefand worked a walk in the next at-bat, then Brian Picone lasered a single to center field to load the bases. Hatten was up to face LaManna with an opportunity to extend the game for the Breakers. He hit a fly ball to center that Joe Rosselli easily caught. LeJeune tagged up and scored from third, but Schulefand also tried to tag up from second. Rosselli threw the ball into Garrett Heaton at second and the Road Warriors caught Schulefand in a pickle and eventually tagged him out to end the ball game.
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the Long Island Road Warriors stay perfect with the 4-3 victory. The team plays its fifth game in five days on Thursday when they host the Sag Harbor Whalers. Southampton looks to regroup at home on Friday against Shelter Island. Our @DigmiNation player of the game is Sal Zafonte, who earned the win pitching three clutch innings while not allowing a hit and striking out two.
