Alex Ungar went 3-for-3 and Derek Yalon drove in 3 runs including a 2-R HR in Connetquot’s 7-2 victory pic.twitter.com/0pMIl6xXBo
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2019
With the forecast calling for thunder and rain, there was some doubt whether this game would be played today. It turns out the only thunder came from the bat of Connetquot LF Derek Yalon, who crushed a two-run HR and also ripped an RBI single in the first inning which game the T-Birds an early 1-0 lead.
With ace Joe Savino on the mound, they didn’t need much offense today as the T-Birds took Game 1 of the best-of-three Suffolk AA Semifinals over Longwood, 7-2.
The Elon-commit making his final start before next week’s MLB Draft was outstanding once again. He carried a shutout into the 7th inning, he struck out 11 batters without issuing a walk and touched 91 MPH with a devastating 77 MPH slider that he dotted on the outside corner all afternoon.
In the bottom of the first, Ungar ripped a one-out triple to right-center field and scored on Derek Yalon’s single through the middle. They added another run on catcher Josh McGee‘s RBI single to score Yalon.
Savino hit his stride in the middle innings, he struck out six batters over the first three innings and nine over five innings, with the only hit coming on an infield single that Ungar nearly was able to nab the runner at first.
In the bottom of the fifth, Ungar drew a one-out walk in front of Yalon who deposited one over the fence in left field to break the game open, 5-0.
Savino struck out another batter in a 1-2-3 sixth inning bringing his total to 10. The T-Birds added two more runs in the sixth against Steven Murphy on a two-run single by Ungar to make it 7-0.
In the top of the seventh, Matt Encizo ripped a lead off single to right field and scored on James Myler‘s triple to left-center field. Griffin Bell followed with a sac fly to make it 7-2, but Savino struck out the final batter on a fastball that dotted the outside black.
With the victory, the T-Birds improve to 18-4 on the season. They are looking to advance to the AA Finals, but they will have to travel to Longwood HS to face a hungry team looking to continue their season. Expect a competitive game with a projected match up of Matt Goodis against Danny Gargano.
