by Ben Diamond
Post Game Interview: Nick Piazza pic.twitter.com/btuVTDYDaQ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021
The Batting 1.000 Seminoles and the LIB Tides played a close low-scoring game. Both starting pitchers set the tone of the game early. For the Seminoles sending out right hander James Weedon to start the game and the Tides sending out Robert Wagner. To start, it looked as though both starters could go far into the game. Wagner started by striking out 4 of the first 5 batters to come to plate. But it didn’t last long, in the fourth inning Wagner got into a jam where he ended up surrendering an earned run on a Richie Apollo single. That was all he would give up as the Tides coach decided to bring reliever John O’Hannon. His final line was 3.1IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K and 1 ER.
For the Seminoles, Weedon didn’t pitch past the 3rd inning, being replaced by Ryan Schechner in the 4th. His final line was 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K. Weedon was in line for the win until the game-deciding hit in the bottom of the 4th inning.
With the bases loaded and one out in the inning, Tides shortstop Nick Piazza sent a ball into the outfield clearing the bases and taking a 3-1 lead. After the game, when talking about his mindset going up to the plate with the bases loaded, Piazza said that he was “trying to just put the ball in play, and try and get something up the middle.” Piazza’s big hit was set up by a Joe Ricciardi single and two walks surrendered by Schechner. Schechner was able to escape the inning without any further damage but the damage was already done.
Apollo was the entire offense for the Seminoles in this game hitting a triple into the right center gap cutting the deficit to just one run in the top of the 6th inning. But during the next hitters at-bat, he was picked off at third on an attempted suicide squeeze, squandering the momentum the Seminoles had that inning. In this game Apollo went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Sal Velotti and Chris Bradley were able to sustain the lead out of the bullpen.
Other notable players from this game include Anthony Laietta who went 2-for-2 with a stolen base for the Seminoles, and of course Nick Piazza with his game deciding three run double was 1-for-2 with 3 RBIs. John O’Hannon picked up the winning decision from his 1.2 IP, 2 K, 2 H, 1 BB appearance out of the bullpen.
