Trailing 5-3 entering the bottom of the 7th, Farmingdale comes storming back to win on a walk-off 2-R single by sophomore Jordan Welch to remain undefeated at 8-0! pic.twitter.com/saG202VjJ3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 21, 2022
Sometimes you need a little bit of luck.
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Farmingdale staged a rally with the game-winning hit coming on an 0-2 single through the left side of the infield by sophomore Jordan Welch. The Dalers shocked Port Washington, 6-5, who had led from the first inning of the game until the last batter. Farmingdale improved to 8-0 on the season.
Welch, who has been swinging a hot bat, fell behind 0-2 in the count, but he noted that since Port Washington plays on a turf infield, he was focused on putting the ball in play hoping that they might not be able to convert the final out. His plan came to fruition as he hit the ball just hard enough to get past the SS to score both runs and turn defeat into triumph. Port Washington had intentionally walked leadoff batter JoJo Burriesci who has been unconscious at the plate, going 15 for his last 19. It made sense from a strategic standpoint as the following batter nearly hit into a 4-6-3 game ending double play but he beat it out to prolong the game. Nick Napolitano, who was the starting pitcher and re-entered to pinch hit, drew a walk to load the bases. Welch had previously hit an RBI double in the first inning to get the Dalers on the board.
Port Washington got on the board in the top of the first with two runs. The runs came on an RBI single off the bat of Danny Alexander who scored Anthony Iuorio and Chris Carillo.
In the top of the third, Port Washington added another run on an RBI ground out to short off the bat of Carillo again, but the lead did not last long.
Farmingdale scored twice in the home half of the third off Hunter Trenaman on an RBI single + E9 but Joey Tagliavia to score Burriesci and Welch.
The teams traded zeros in the fourth inning before Port Washington regained the lead in the fifth on a bases loaded walk drawn by Jakob Bretstein and an infield single by William Chu to make it 5-3. They stranded the bases loaded to end the inning.
Neither team scored in the sixth, and Farmingdale was able to hold them scoreless in the top of the 7th to give their offense a chance to win the game, which is precisely what they were able to do.
Burriesci has been on fire of late, going 15-for-19 with 17 stolen bases. He will be a player to watch this season.
Sophomore Jordan Welch discussing his walk-off hit for Farmingdale pic.twitter.com/aga0D9YJ1T
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 21, 2022
It was a tough loss for Port Washington, but they proved they can play with a top-tier team like Farmingdale on the road.
