Final: Molloy 11, Adelphi 4
WP: Joe Minucci (5 IP, 2 ER, 10 K) pic.twitter.com/3JVn9RFaC3— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 16, 2021
Garden City, NY — There was one critical moment in this game where Molloy needed to bear down and keep Adelphi from gaining the momentum and cutting into their lead. It was the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, one out and pinch hitter Matt Alifano at the plate. The Center Moriches grad came in hitting a robust .600 on the season, but wasn’t starting the game to rest his arm. He smoked one up the middle that appeared destined for an RBI single, but SS James Messina made a terrific sliding grab and flipped to second to start an inning-ending double play.
The moment was huge as it not only kept the Panthers off the board, but was a rally-killing moment. The Lions were leading 7-4 at the time and one run in the seventh and three runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Molloy bats were hot on a freezing day in March. Additionally, they had to face Adelphi RHP Tom Ambrosino, who was coming off four shutout innings in his season debut against Felician last week and registered his 100th career strikeout. His stuff was no match for the Lions offense – who routinely squared him up despite touching 92 MPH in the first inning.
In the first inning, Peter Theodorellis reached on an error with one-out (first of five Adelphi errors on the day). Sean Hogan singled through the left side to advance him to second. After a wild pitch advanced the runners, Matt Overton hit an infield single to get the Lions on the board. A strikeout ended the inning.
The bottom of the first featured two runs by the Panthers against Molloy RHP Joe Minucci. A leadoff walk to Anthony Cipri was followed by an RBI triple by Jack Ryan on a misplay by the CF. He came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 2-1.
In the top of the second, the Lions batted around. The rally was started with a leadoff walk – as it often is. Garrett Scavelli was hit by a pitch to advance Patrick Hoffman to second. A flyout to center advanced Hoffman to third, and Scavelli stole second base to get two runners in scoring position. Leadoff batter James Messina tied the game with a fielder’s choice to shortstop and they took the lead on a wild pitch. Sean Hogan continued his hot hitting with an RBI single through the middle. Jacob McCarthy followed with a single of his own, but the side was retired on a fly out to center field. It was a long inning, and not the type of rally that you see against Ambrosino. Additionally, Molloy was super aggressive on the bases as they continued to do all day – they stole 5 bases on the day.
In regards to his team’s offense, Coach Joe Fucarino said, “I was happy to see the lineup attack our game plan. The guys had a very good approach today which was good to see.” It’s pretty clear they planned to be aggressive against a strike thrower like Ambrosino who also has a devastating strikeout pitch and they chose to steal a base every chance they had.
Adelphi got a run back in the second inning on an errant throw by the third baseman to score Jason Romero, but Minucci ended the jam by picking off Anthony Cipri at first.
Ambrosino’s day was done after three innings – he allowed six hits, three walks and hit a batter. He also threw three wild pitches. He was tagged with the loss.
The Lions were not any kinder to LHP Carlos Acosta, who allowed five hits and three walks over 3.1 IP. They scored three runs in the fourth inning on an RBI hit by Thomas Brady and an E3. They continued to pile on with the knock out punch being delivered by Theodorellis in the eighth inning on a two-run single to center field to make it 11-3.
LHP Christopher Wiercinski was impressive in relief, showing good velocity from his low arm slot. He went three innings, allowing one run (unearned) with three strikeouts. Joseph Murphy came on in relief to throw a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts to bounce back from Saturday’s outing.
Molloy has a loaded offense and they will score runs on anyone this year. By hitting around Ambrosino, they showed they can score off even the best pitchers in the region. They will be back in action tomorrow against Bloomfield. After taking a back seat to Adelphi, New York Tech and LIU Post in 2019, it does appear that Molloy is the top Division-II team on Long Island.
