Batting 1.000 receives their medals after a hard fought second game of the day. pic.twitter.com/7QRIL0yT7d
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 27, 2019
by James Ryder
Field 2 at Plainedge Park was the stage for this years 12U championship game of the Memorial Day Clash. The result was the Farmingdale Greendogs defeating the Batting 1.000 Seminoles out of Freeport, 8-7.
It was the second straight game of the day for Batting 1.000, but they came out looking fresh to start. Their offense scored a quick two runs in the top of the first starting with a walk from Danny Defonte, who also stole second and third base. Sammy Taubes hit a ground ball but reached first safely on a bad throw and advanced to second. This allowed Defonte to score the first run of the game. The next batter, Ben Krittman, hit a single which scored Taubes to make it 2-0 Seminoles.
The Greendogs offense, however, was feeling just as good. They responded right back with two runs of their own. Joe Tagliavia, the eventual Tournament MVP, got it started by beating out a grounder to shortstop for an infield single. Like Defonte before him, he too was able to steal second and third base before Angel Cartagona walked. Cartagona also stole second just before Jordan Welch drove the lead runner in with a groundout to second base. Dennis Tower followed it up with a bloop single to center field to tie the game.
A scoreless 2nd inning was succeeded by a huge third inning from both teams. Batting 1.000 scored their third and fourth runs thanks to Alex Bononno’s single to CF, Taubes reaching first on a ground ball to third, and Krittman’s double to left center field, respectively. Next, Jake Settani brought Krittman home on a single to LF, giving them a commanding 5-2 lead.
And yet, the Greendogs responded once again. This time, Farmingdale not only matched their opponent but took the lead, and they never looked back. They did so with a leadoff walk from Jack Molloy and an error on Joe Nicolo’s ground ball to the pitcher. The two runners each stole a base before Tagliavia drove them in on a two-run double to make it a 5-4 ball game. With Cartagona back up to bat, Tagliavia stole third and then scored on a pass ball. Cartagona walked again, which spelled the end for Courtney Jordan’s day on the mound. Jack Tate replaced him and allowed Welch to hit a ground ball which led to an error at first base. Both runners advanced to second and third. Tower hit a sacrifice fly ball to CF for the final lead change of the game making it 6-5 Farmingdale.
In the top of the fourth inning, Tagliavia was given the ball with the opportunity to help his team keep the lead. He started by throwing a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. This paved the way for the Greendogs to score themselves some insurances runs in the bottom of the fourth that proved crucial in the final box score. Despite Anthony Sarturi coming into pitch and recording two quick groundouts, Farmingdale rallied to rattle off their final three runs. Dean Pasolini hit a liner right at the left fielder, but it rolled past him allowing Pasolini to reach third base. Molloy hit an RBI single down the middle. He then stole second base and went to third on a pass ball. Nicolo hit an RBI single himself to expand the lead, 8-5 Greendogs.
Just as Farmingdale did the first half of the game, Batting 1.000 clawed back into the game in the top of the fifth inning. After retiring the first two batters, Tagliavia hit Bononno with a pitch and then gave up a deep hit to Taubes for an RBI triple. He proceeded to throw a wild pitch which scored Taubes. In the end, Tagliavia provided some badly-needed damage control by getting Krittman to hit a groundball to second base to end the inning. The score was now 8-7.
Trying to help his own cause, Tagliavia led of the bottom of the fifth by hitting a hard liner to CF for a single. He then, for the second time of the day, stole both second and third base. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The Seminoles reacted with some great defensive plays to keep it a one-run game. Defonte, who came into pitch back in the fourth inning, struck out Cartagona. Next, Welch hit a ground ball to SS and was thrown out. Additionally, Tagliavia was called out on a close play at the plate resulting in a clutch double play to end the fifth.
In the final frame, with two outs and the tying run on first represented by Ryan Conigliaro, Tagliavia struck out Tommy Wanderlich for the final out of the game and the 12U title. Tagliavia’s MVP performance on both sides of the ball and the Greendogs resiliency on offense gave them the win despite a hard-fought effort from the Seminoles.
Final Score: Farmingdale 8, Batting 1.000 7.
