By Ethan Marshall
The Long Island Sharks overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Long Island Baseball 5-3. Sharks catcher Drew McGowan went 2-3 at the plate, scoring the team’s first run and tying the game with a two-run double. Joe Condon threw five shutout innings of relief to earn the win, and drove in the go-ahead run with a RBI single.
According to Condon, he felt like he had his best stuff on the mound in the game. “I felt like everything was working,” Condon said. “I was getting my curveball over, I was hitting spots and I was locked in today.”
Sharks head coach Jim McGowan like the way his team rebounded after a slow start to the game. “Joe Condon came in and allowed us to stay in the game until the bats came around mid-game,” Coach McGowan said. “His performance was key.”
Coach McGowan was happy to have his team come up victorious in the Brian Moore Tournament. “It’s greattournament, a great cause and we’ve been coming here for four or five years,” Coach McGowan said. “It’s always good to play well, it’s even better to come out on top in such a great tournament.”
LIB got off to a quick start against Sharks starting pitcher Danny Tiedemann, scoring two runs in the first inning thanks to a RBI single by Ryan Degan and bases-loaded walk from Ryan Robins. However, Tiedemann was able to limit the damage by retiring the next two hitters, stranding three baserunners. LIB took advantage of a throwing error in the second inning to scratch out another run thanks to a two-out RBI single by James Eden, but he was thrown out trying to take second on the throw home, stranding a runner at third.
The Sharks only managed to get one hit through the first three innings against LIB starter Sebastian Loor. However, Drew McGowan led off the fourth inning with a single, and, with one out, Tristan Gatchalian was hit by pitch then Jack Costello singled to load the bases. Danny Tiedemann was able to bring home a run on a RBI groundout, but Joe Condon followed with a hard grounder right at the third baseman, who made the play to end the inning.
The Sharks were again able to get to Loor in the fourth inning. After a leadoff single by Joey Derose followed by a walk to Nick Pompei, Rich Stanya executed a successful sacrifice bunt. Drew McGowan followed with a two-run double that one-hopped to the fence in right field, tying the game at 3-3.
It would remain tied until the bottom of the sixth. Against new pitcher Ryan Degnan, Danny Tiedemann laced a one-out triple into the right field corner. Joe Condon, who had been keeping his team in the game up to that point with four shutout innings of relief, put the Sharks in front for the first time in the game with a RBI single to center. Derose and Pompei followed with back-to-back singles before Stanya added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly. Condon then retired all three hitters he faced in the seventh to complete the comeback.
