Final: Division 3, Manhasset 2
WP: Mike Knapp (5 IP, 13 K)James Sill had go-ahead RBI single pic.twitter.com/fzPt8dqAHd
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 11, 2021
Inning after inning, Division was able to narrowly hold onto their lead over Manhasset. First starting pitcher Mike Knapp and then reliever Frank Vespa made pitches when their backs were firmly against the wall. They left runners at the corners in the first inning and the third inning, stranded bases loaded in the fourth inning and the sixth inning and runners at 2nd & 3rd in the 7th. They held on by the skin of their teeth by the score of 3-2.
Division’s Head Coach Tom Tuttle said that’s what they expect from their staff:
“At Division that’s what our pitchers are expected to do – we talk about the mental game of pitching not just the physical game of throwing strikes and getting batters out but the mental game. Being in tough spots, tough situations – you have to be able to get out of it. You have to make your best pitch in the biggest moment, high leverage moment. We work on that a lot,” he added.
Reliever Frank Vespa who came on in relief of Knapp in the sixth inning loaded the bases after a leadoff single by Andrew Moy, a double to right field by Patrick Jarvis and a hit by pitch of Mikey Brunetti. He induced an inning ending pop out to 3B off the bat of Teddy Mouhlas.
In the seventh, he ran into trouble again when pinch hitter Josh DeLeeuw beat out an infield single to shortstop and advanced to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run by Brendan Trotta through the vacated SS hole. The next batter, Theo Zacharia, hit a grounder to short but DeLeeuw froze at third not wanting to get thrown out at the plate but Roselli went for the double play attempt. Zacharia beat out play avoiding the double play but it also prevented the tying run from scoring. Vespa struck out the next batter and induced a game-ending ground out to Roselli at SS to end it.
Mike Knapp, the starter for Division went 5 IP, he struck out 13 but his pitch count was elevated as he yielded five hits, four walks and hit a batter. But he limited the damage. The Indians offense got to him in the second inning for two-runs when Brendan Trotta led off with a walk, Jake Moss ripped a single to right past the first baseman and Patrick Jarvis tied the game up with a single to right. Justyn Park, who reached on a fielder’s choice, scored on the back end of a double steal to give Manhasset the 2-1 lead.
Manhasset’s starter, RHP Jake Moss, was not at his best. The hard-throwing UPENN-commit walked five batters, hit another and struck out five over 2+ IP. Tuttle stated that they planned to be aggressive against him but they were disciplined enough to be patient and take their walks which ultimately put them in a position to win.
Division’s first run came on a wild pitch in the first inning that scored Sacred Heart-commit Nick Roselli and they scored their second run on an RBI double by Mike Knapp to right field.
Reliever Andrew Moy did a great job of stabilizing the game. He struck out two in the third inning to avoid any further damage.
Ultimately, the story of the game was Manhasset’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position. They stranded 13 runners – most of which came from the third inning on. Knapp’s ability to bear down and locate when it mattered was huge. His knuckle drop – a staple of Division’s pitchers over the years – was deadly with 2 strikes that allowed him to compile strikeouts in the biggest spots. Between Knapp and Vespa, they struck out 15 batters. Additionally, Division’s mental toughness prevented any Manhasset rallies from resulting in unearned runs or game-tying hits.
For Manhasset, Jarvis went 3-for-4 and would’ve been the player of the game had they scratched across a couple of runs.
These two teams will be in action against tomorrow at Division.
