by Andrew Connors
Jack Temple’s 7th inning, go-ahead 3-R HR to propel South Side to the dramatic 8-7 win over Carey pic.twitter.com/ezbTx0uUnA
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2021
There are two magic words around this time of year and those two words are playoff baseball. The game between the South Side Cyclones and Carey Seahawks on Thursday night was the embodiment of those magic words as it was a back-and-forth dogfight the entire game that resulted in a dramatic 8-7 victory for South Side. Both sides had taken and lost the lead multiple times by the end of the game, but only one was strong enough to come together when it truly mattered.
Daniel Russell was the starting pitcher for South Side and he quickly realized that the intensity for this game would be through the roof as the Seahawks jumped on him for 4 quick runs in the first two innings. Russell was replaced by Daniel Fuentes to begin the third inning and Fuentes gave the Cyclones 1.1 innings of work while allowing three hits and only one earned run. However, reliever Thomas McCarthy was the one who earned the win as he closed out the final three innings of the game. In his appearance, McCarthy allowed five hits but only gave up one run while striking out three.
As for the Seahawks, Ryan Degnan was tasked with starting the game. He put on an impressive performance as he powered through 6.1 innings of work, despite a rocky start. He gave up 3 runs in the first two innings, but settled down to only give up 2 more earned runs for the rest of his time on the mound. When all was said and done, Degnan ended with 11 strikeouts and 5 earned runs allowed. Heading into the 7th inning, it looked like Degnan was going to go the distance and shut the door on the Cyclones, but he was taken out for Chris Murolo after Billy Talkin hit a leadoff single.
South Side Cyclones Head Coach Tom Smith shares with us his perspective of the game-winning home run, as well as his confidence in his team moving forward. pic.twitter.com/1iBJNcnPY2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 10, 2021
Murolo came on with confidence as he got the first batter he faced to pound the ball into the ground, but the shortstop bobbled it as he went to throw to first and the runner reached base safely. With two on base, Murolo got a weak fly ball to shortstop for the second out and things looked really good for the Seahawks. However, The Cyclones’ Jack Temple had different ideas. With 2 strikes on him and 2 outs in the top of the 7th inning, Temple hit a towering home run to left field that put them up 8-7. The Cyclones were as close as you could be to elimination and they fought back with everything they had in what was truly a miracle comeback.
Outside of Temple, some key contributors for the Cyclones included TJ Maher, Robert Pericolosi and Kyle Aromiskis. Maher went 2-for-4 for a double, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Pericolosi finished with 4 singles in as many at-bats, 2 steals and an RBI. Aromiskis ended up going 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored. As for the Seahawks, some notable contributors included Vin Rutiglano, Chris Murolo and Ryan Leimgruber. Rutiglano swung a hot bat all night, as he went 3-for-4 with 2 singles and a double to go along with a run scored and an RBI. Murolo also had an RBI, but he finished 2-for-3 with two singles and a run scored. Lastly, Leimgruber went 2-for-4 with a 7th inning RBI and he also threw out a runner trying to steal second base in the 4th inning.
This victory for the South Side Cyclones keeps them alive in the playoffs, while it unfortunately ends the season for the Carey Seahawks. For the Cyclones, they will have to start preparing for the second round of playoffs as they now have to travel to the #1 seeded Roslyn Bulldogs if they want to win the championship. It will be a tough road ahead against ace pitcher Hayden Leiderman and Jordan Zucker, but after showing the fight they did on Thursday, they should be ready for anything moving forward.
