Joe Pizzingrillo talks about his six shutout innings in the Nor’easters 9-0 victory in the LICBL playoffs pic.twitter.com/vzMfDHGPDY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 30, 2018
With the bases loaded in the second inning and one run already in, Will Guteknust lofted a fly ball to deep left field. The left fielder turned tails and made an attempt to make a great play, but it landed just beyond his reach and rolled to the fence. With two outs, all three runners came around to score and with Guteknust’s speed, he was able to dive safely in to third base.
The triple was the biggest hit of the game, opening up a 4-0 lead for the LI Nor’Easters which was more than enough for their starting pitcher, Joe Pizzingrillo.
The RHP fired six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out five batters. He relied heavily on his slider, which was a swing-and-miss pitch but also induced several weak ground balls as well. Aside from the first inning, which featured an infield hit off his glove, there was no inning that featured more than one base runner against him. He worked quickly and settled into quite a rhythm from the second inning through the sixth inning. Had the game been closer, he most likely could’ve finished the job.
The LI Sound starting pitcher, Anthony Visconte, fired a 1-2-3 first inning and really appeared to feature not only a quality fastball but also a deceptive low 3/4 delivery. The East Islip grad and current SUNY Cortland RHP entered the game with a record of 6-2 and strong ERA of 2.39. He had walked 16 batters, though, and those command issues surfaced in the second inning in the form of three HBPs that ultimately contributed to the crooked number for the opposition.
He was relieved by Billy Wildeman after the bases-clearing triple, and he retired Evan Sinclair to end the jam.
Both teams would go quietly in the fourth inning, but the Nor’Easters struck again in the bottom of the fifth as Tom Neary led off the inning with an infield single to third base in which his hustle was the difference between being out or safe. The following batter, Guteknust, reached on a bunt single to third base. Evan Sinclair sacrificed them both to scoring position, which would set the stage for Harrison Treble. The Oyster Bay grad smoked one off the pitcher’s glove and through the middle for a two-run single. This was effectively the knockout blow with the outs dwindling for the LI Sound at the plate. Nor’Easter wasn’t done, though.
They added three more runs complements of an RBI single by catcher Dylan Judd and a two-run single by Guteknust–his third hit-0-bringing his RBI total to 5 for the day.
Pizzingrillo was lifted after the sixth inning, and he received an ovation from the crowd. He gave way to Eddie Guzman, a RHP from SUNY Old Westbury. He worked around a HBP and a single to throw up a zero to secure the 9-0 victory for the Nor’Easters.
They will advance to play tomorrow, July 31st, against the LI Storm at Queens College beginning at 5:30pm.
