Coach Jason Spahn on the 5-3 victory pic.twitter.com/u1AzVqr3Rt
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 28, 2019
The Islip Owls, behind strong pitching by Ryan Barlow in Game 1 and Max Bergen, Kevin Mills and Jamie Yurcak in Game 2, swept a doubleheader over the Junior Ducks by scores of 2-1 and 5-3.
According to Owls head coach Jason Spahn, the team’s victories “came down to pitching and some timely baserunning.” A stolen base and induced balk by Ronan Montana helped start a rally in the second game, leading him to score the deciding run on an infield single by Mikey Tehan. “The kids got the job done today and I’m very proud of their performance,” Coach Spahn said.
Ryan Barlow threw a complete game in the first game of the doubleheader, with the only run he allowed coming on a wild pitch with two outs in the final inning. “I had good movement on my fastball,” Barlow said. “I had my catcher Michael Schwartz to help me a lot with that. I felt comfortable with my stuff.”
The Ducks’ starting pitcher in Game 2, Rocco Panaro, pitched very well after getting off to a rough start. He allowed two runs in the first inning on a RBI single by Jamie Yurcak and run-scoring wild pitch, but only allowed one run over the next four innings, with that lone run coming courtesy of a leadoff walk and stolen base from Michael Schwartz, who advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a squeeze bunt by starting pitcher Max Bergen.
The Ducks immediately cut the 2-0 deficit in half thanks to a two-out RBI single by TJ Coyle in the first. However, Bergen’s successful squeeze in the second put the Owls back up by two. It remained that way until the bottom of the fourth, where the Ducks put together a two-out rally.
A two-out walk by Sean Erdmann and single from Ryan Drewes set the table for Jacob Levy. Levy hit a line drive just beyond the reach of the leaping Owls’ shortstop, and Erdmann barely beat the tag on the play at the plate. Levy attempted to advance to second base as Erdmann was called safe, and beat the catcher’s throw to second. Drewes alertly broke for home upon the throw to second, and beat the throw home, allowing the Ducks to tie the game at 3-3.
It remained 3-3 until the Owls pulled together a two-out rally of their own in the sixth. After retiring the first two batters, Rocco Panaro walked Ronan Montana, who then stole second. Montana then almost got too aggressive on the base paths, breaking early in an attempt to steal third. However, his quick break was enough to cause a balk from Panaro. With the go-ahead run on third and two outs, Mikey Tehan hit a hard grounder down the third base line. While the third baseman was able to make a diving stop, he had no play, allowing Montana’s aggressive baserunning to pay off and putting the Owls up 4-3.
Tehan would wind up scoring later in the inning after stealing second and third base. Following a walk by Kevin Mills, Panaro attempted to pick him off at first, and Mills was caught in a rundown. Tehan ran home in the middle of the pickle, scoring the Owls’ fifth and final run of the game.
