Final: Bellport 10, Smithtown West 3
WP: Luke Russo (6 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 8 Ks)Marc Promutico: 2 hits, 4 RBIs
Bellport gets even in the standings with Smithtown West heading into rubber match of series pic.twitter.com/4Srl8cr3QA
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 12, 2022
(Photo Credit: Adam Rubin/ Smithtown CSD)
Following their loss on Monday to league rival Smithtown West, Bellport‘s head coach Joe Murphy told his team that the measure of a good team is how they bounce back from a loss.
“We talk about the three E’s; energy, emotion and execution – and we did it. They really buy-in, they’re a great group of kids and they responded,” he added. They came away with a 10-3 victory on the road in a game that was mostly decided by the second inning.
The first inning took roughly 40 minutes as both pitchers struggled with their command.
Will Caroli started things off for the Clippers and reached on an E6 and stole second. He advanced to third on a single to left by Logan Alberto, who also stole second to immediately put Smithtown West’s starter Jack Flood in a tough spot. Danny Rubin hit a sac fly to center to score Caroli and put Bellport up 1-0. After consecutive walks to Jake Russo and Marc Promutico, Evan Virno hit into a 6-4-3 DP to end the inning.
Bellport’s starter, Luke Russo, walked Ryan Setter to start the inning, but after a strikeout and flyout it appeared he would escaped without issue. But Smithtown West’s cleanup hitter, Dom Crema, ripped an RBI single to right center to tie the game and after a HBP of Adam Ginsburg and an E3, it was Smithtown West with a 2-1 lead. Russo struck out Ryan Conk to end the first inning.
The top of the second was a marathon. Bellport sent 10 batters to the plate and scored 6 runs. They chased Flood from the game as Smithown West turned to LHP Jason Zeller to put out the fire. Charlie Maragiolia led off the inning with a sharp grounder down the third base line but it was snagged by 3B Anthony Caravella on a diving play. Had that not been converted, there would’ve been even more damage in the inning. The following batter, Jacob Repper ripped one to the same spot but it got past Caravella for a one-out double. Jack Russo and Will Caroli walked and Logan Alberto ripped a two-run single to make it 3-2 in favor of Bellport. Danny Rubin walked and after a sac fly to center by Jake Russo, Marc Promutico cracked a two-run double to open up a 6-2 lead. They added another on an RBI double to left center by Evan Virno that was over pursued by the left fielder.
T2: Mark Promutico rips a 2-R double and Bellport extends lead to 6-2 pic.twitter.com/bji0EGHtJ2
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 12, 2022
Luke Russo settled down with the lead, working a 1-2-3 second inning. He allowed two singles in the third inning but a 6-4-3 double play allowed him to elude any damage.
In the top of the fourth, Bellport struck again – this time for three runs. Promutico stayed hot with a two-run single and Virno followed with an RBI single to make it 10-2.
“He’s been on a tear,” said Coach Murphy. “He started a little slow but he’s turned it on – he’s been barreling everything up. Everyone of these kids is a tough out. They get up and they hit the ball hard. We don’t strike out often, we put the ball in play and make you play defense.”
The only offense the rest of the game came from a solo shot in the sixth inning by Dom Crema, but Russo was able to strike out two batters to make sure Smithtown West did not mount a comeback. He was done after that inning, finishing with 8 strikeouts over 6 IP, yielding two ER.
Murphy stated that this was the first start for him, because he has been so valuable in the bullpen notching two saves and one win in relief.
These two teams will finish up their series on Thursday, they are currently deadlocked in the standings in League 4 with North Babylon also tied at 5-3.
