CJ Cumbo talks about his dominant performance at the plate today & what it means to give their ace a ton of run support. pic.twitter.com/0afqZb1sta
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 23, 2019
In a battle for the top spot in conference A5, Clarke dominated Island Trees by a score of 11-1.
Due to the rain out yesterday, both aces were handed the ball for the series opener. Brendan Turton took the mound for Clarke, and Greg Carita was on the bump for Island Trees.
Through the first two innings, it seemed this was going to be a pitcher’s duel. Nine of the first 12 outs of the ballgame were recorded via strikeout.
With the top of the lineup due up for Clarke in the third inning, they took advantage. CJ Cumbo began the inning with a lead off double. Tyler Cox stepped up to the plate with one out and drove an RBI up the middle, giving Clarke a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Cumbo had a monster day at the plate, going 3-4 with three doubles and two RBI.
“I tried to use all parts of the field, I saw pitches that I liked if it wasn’t there I wasn’t hitting it,” said Cumbo.
Clarke picked up right where they left off in the 3rd, and came through with another rally in the 4th. This time, Clarke put up a three-spot, thanks to RBI from CJ Cumbo and Chris Giardino. Going into the 5th, Clarke held a 4-0 lead, which was plenty of run support for their ace, Brendan Turton.
“We did a good job backing up Turton and we needed to back him up, we haven’t done that in the past,” said Cumbo. “It was a great game, team effort,” he added.
Turton did a fantastic job keeping the Island Trees offense in check. He went the distance, allowing one earned run, four hits and struck out eight.
Sloppy fielding and wild pitching from Island Trees was the story lines of the late innings.
Heading into the bottom of the 6th, Clarke held a four-run lead. An error, three HBP’s and two BB’s in the bottom of the 6th gave Clarke an opportunity they simply couldn’t miss. In the blink of an eye, Clarke put up a six-spot, triumphing to an 11-1 mercy victory.
With the win, Clarke now passes Island Trees in the standings, as they are now 5-1-1 on the season. Island Trees falls to 5-2 with the loss. They play game two of the series tomorrow.
