Dylan Johnson delivers ! The sophomore rips an RBI hit and gets himself a 1-0 in a classic pitcher’s duel ! pic.twitter.com/jJEi1gFUYf
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 18, 2019
Baseball is a team sport, but on this day Dylan Johnson essentially was the alpha male for Newfield. The sophomore was a one-man show in a 1-0 victory over Smithtown East, delivering the walk-off single in the seventh inning and recording the win–an incredible 13-strikeout, three-hit shutout over one of the dominant teams in Suffolk County.
“Coming into the inning I knew I was coming up soon, and I wanted to help my team get the win,” said Johnson, younger brother of Stony Brook freshman Kyle Johnson. “Nick pitched a great game he had everything work for him,” he noted.
Nick being Nick Harvey, a senior right-handed pitcher committed to SUNY New Paltz. He was outstanding, in fact, his performance virtually mirrored that of Johnson–minus the strikeouts, but he had less than 80 pitches entering the seventh inning. He retired the first 12 batters to face him, before Johnson broke up the perfect game bid to lead off the fifth inning. He retired the next two batters to elude any damage.
Much of the story of the game was dominant pitching, and the biggest moment until the walk-off hit was the sixth inning.
Matt Wertheim led the inning off with a single that scooted up the middle. A sac bunt by Justin Harvey pushed him to second base, which Newfield countered by intentionally walking the dangerous Hofstra-commit Will Kennedy. With runners on 1st & 2nd, Nick Harvey hit a seeing-eye single that was kept in the infield by SS Anthony Hernandez. That was critical because it prevented the run from scoring. That brought up Nick Dagnello who struck out on a nasty slider down-and-away from Johnson. With two outs and the bases loaded, Johnson was able to bear down and record the crucial strikeout to end the jam and he let out a primal yell getting off the mound.
At that moment, it was pretty clear that Johnson was not letting this game get away from him.
In the bottom of the sixth, Rudy Cannevale was hit by a pitch to lead off and went to second on a wild pitch. The next batter, Andrew Roman, was sent up to sacrifice him to third, but the pinch runner did not advance to third on the bunt. Chris Bartho hit a ground ball back to Harvey in which the runner the caught going to third base. The Newfield coaching staff contested that interference should’ve been called on the shortstop–in which there was possibly contact–but it wasn’t called. In any event, the next batter popped up to the catcher to end the sixth.
Johnson went back out for the seventh inning with 97 pitches, working against the pitch-limit of 105. As per the rules, the pitcher is able to complete the batter if started before 105 pitches. After a soft fly ball to center, Anthony Weidtman lifted a long fly ball to center field that probably would’ve been a home run had there been a fence but the center fielder, Mike Manzolillo, made an outstanding running catch with his back to home plate that left most people in disbelief. With two outs, Johnson had a long at bat with ninth place hitter Jack Sanderson, and struck him out on his 112th and final pitch.
In the bottom of the inning, Will Kennedy made a terrific diving stop to prevent an extra-base hit and fired to Harvey covering first base to nab a diving Mike Prisco. It was a tremendous play and looked like it might force extra innings, but Manzolillo followed with a one-out double to get into scoring position for Johnson who promptly delivered the walk-off hit.
Newfield wins two of three from Smithtown East and it was not only impressive but also vastly important for their postseason chances. They have shown an incredible amount of improvement from a month ago when they appeared to be inexperienced on the mound and overmatched at the plate, but credit to the coaching staff and players for turning it on when the season began.
Coach Eric Joyner noted that the team features 10 underclassmen and they have really matured in the early going, and they have been in the weight room at 5:30am every morning.
“Each day we’re getting better, Coach Joyner, Coach Prisco and Coach Scura are always telling us we have to become a family and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
Newfield has overcome adversity already. Their projected Opening Day starter, Chandler Giovinco, and cleanup hitter tore his UCL last month which required Tommy Johny surgery. He is a hard-throwing battle-tested pitcher that would’ve gave them a proven ace. That was a deflating loss for the team. Rather than sulk, the team has rallied behind him and overachieved.
They will have another big series against Half Hollow Hills East next week beginning on Monday at 10am. Additionally, Johnson will certainly be on the radar of the local Division-I schools as his fastball has jumped from the low 80s to the 86-87 range which puts him in rare company as a sophomore.
