by James Ryder
The South Shore Chiefs played their second straight game of the day Saturday morning on Field three at Eisenhower Park. Facing the Manhasset Indians, they made a late push to try to walk off in the top of the sixth inning. Despite the rally, South Shore came up just short in a 7-6 game.
Both teams took turns gaining the lead and it all started in the top of the first inning. The Chiefs scored first on an RBI double by Tyler Baktis. He brought leadoff hitter Aiden VanNostrand to make it 1-0. In the bottom half of the inning, the Indians got their first lead and scored two runs. With Luka Santucci on second base and two outs, Andrew LaMarca pulled a line drive down the first base line for an RBI triple. Upon reaching third, a late throw went past the bag and LaMarca went home to make it 2-1 Manhasset.
This sequence didn’t shake South Shore though because they responded with two runs and an RBI triple of their own to start the second inning. Collin Doherty’s bloop single to right field led to MJ Reimers hitting the aforementioned triple. Next up to the plate was James Sullivan who hit and infield single to score Reimers and take the lead back 3-2.
In the bottom of the third, Manhasset scored the first of many runs to come thanks to timely base running. With two outs, Santucci was hit by a pitch. He stole second on a pass ball before LaMarca walked. With Ryan Napolitano at bat, another pass ball allowed the runners to take second and third. Napolitano hit a ground ball to third base, but the throw went past the first baseman. This allowed both runners to score and gave Manhasset another lead with the score now 4-3.
The third inning would be the last time in which the Chiefs would have the lead, but they didn’t go down easy. They responded right away in the top of the fourth by also stealing some bases. Kolsan Connoway hit a single to CF and proceeded to steal second on a pass ball and third base on his own. Reimers added another RBI, this one a ground out to first base, to tie the game at 4.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Indians took the lead once more, scoring their final 3 runs. Chase Valentine led off the inning by reaching first on a ground ball that the pitcher struggled to grab a hold of. He went to second on Mike LaBarbera’s ground out to 2nd. Max Bauer came to bat and scored Valentine on a single to RF. Then, the Indians once again scored runs by being quick on the bases. Bauer stole second and went to third on Dash Marcus’ infield single. Jack Kelly walked to load the bases and Guariglia hit a grounder to SS. With the infield playing in, the throw home made for a close play. However, the catcher dropped the ball allowing another run to score. One last pass ball allowed Kelly to come home and gave the Indians a 7-4 lead .
Chiefs score two late but still fall short. Indians win 7-6. Here is the coach on how his team was successful at the plate: pic.twitter.com/TocryJKzp3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 22, 2019
Neither team scored in the fifth, meaning the Chiefs last chance to win came in the top of the sixth. As mentioned, they scored two runs in the midst of a two-out rally. Baktis hit a ground ball to the pitcher and the throw to first was wide, allowing VanNostrand and DJ Bordi (who both reached base on walks) to score. Finally, the Indians put it away with a strikeout to end the game. The Indians did just enough on offense by hitting and running well to achieve victory. Final Score: Manhassett 7, South Shore 6.
