Our Player of the Game is Eric Roubal. The Queens College righty came up huge in today’s win-or-go-home game, going 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs, including a three-run home run. He spoke with our @jpaura24 postgame. #RHvLI pic.twitter.com/nq37sLVqiB
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 31, 2018
The Long Island Road Warriors are accustomed to success. In their inaugural season, Head Coach Neal Heaton and his squad won the HCBL Championship without losing one game in the playoffs. This postseason has gone a lot differently as the team dropped its first semifinal game against Westhampton and game 1 of the Championship Series to Riverhead. Just like in the semis, Long Island bounced back from a game 1 loss, defeating the Tomcats 11-10 at home. The two juggernauts play a winner-take-all game 3 at Veterans Memorial Park Wednesday afternoon.
The scoring opened in the top of the first for the second straight game courtesy of some heads-up base running from Riverhead. With runners on first and third, Eduardo Malinowski attempted to steal second with Chris Stefl at the plate. Catcher Matt Codispoti went to throw Malinowski out to end the inning, but Luke Oliphant took off for home on his throw. Everyone was safe on the play, giving the Tomcats an early 1-0 advantage.
Long Island got going in the bottom of the second. Ben McNeill and Matt Stepnoski each got aboard to lead off the inning, then Eric Roubal, who had just two RBIs in his previous nine HCBL games, stepped up. The Queens College junior crushed a three-run homer over the left field wall to get his team their first runs since the first inning of game 1.
It did not take long for the Tomcats to respond. Stefl stayed hot with a double to score Louis Antos and Malinowski in the top of the third, giving him five RBIs in the series. The St. Johns rising sophomore was batted in by Trevor Fagan immediately after and Riverhead retook the lead.
The game really got out of hand in the bottom of the fifth. Stefl walked in the tying run with two outs before handing the ball to Andrew Mundy. The Road Warriors offense stormed with five runs off hits from Stepnoski, Roubal and Thomas Colombo. Long Island would get another run via walk to cap off a seven-run frame.
Each team would score one more run, making the score 11-5 before the ninth. Just when it seemed like the game was all wrapped up, the Tomcats made things interesting with a two-run blast from Malinowski. With two outs, Connor Echols ripped a RBI double, then Matt Daller mimicked Malinowski with a home run to make it a one-run game. Josh Greene kept the rally going with a single, but pinch hitter Miles Kelly struck out to silence the comeback.
FINAL: Long Island finally exhales as LaManna retires Miles Kelly on strikes to end the game. The Road Warriors force game 3 at Veterans Memorial Park tomorrow afternoon with an 11-10 victory. #RHvLI pic.twitter.com/D9vOmC42TT
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 31, 2018
The Road Warriors extend the HCBL season by one game. The series shifts back to Calverton for game 3, set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. Long Island is playing for its second championship in the team’s second year, while Riverhead eyes its first league title in franchise history.
Our Player of the Game is Eric Roubal. The Patchogue-native exploded with a 3-for-5 performance, including a three-run home run and four RBIs.
