Paul DuLanto’s 2-R double in the second inning was the difference in Massapequa’s 2-1 victory in Game 1 pic.twitter.com/kiIQ0OIN28
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2022
Pitching for the first time since Massapequa‘s game against Freeport almost one month ago, Hofstra-commit Matt Hannon stepped up to answer the call in Game 1 of the Nassau County Class AA Championship against rival Farmingdale.
Legendary head coach Tom Sheedy told me after the game that Hannon was a huge X-Factor for the Chiefs, as they did not know what to expect from him. He told reliever Damian DiGiuseppe to be ready from the first inning on. Fortunately for the Chiefs, he was not needed until much later than that. The Chiefs came away with the 2-1 victory as Hannon settled in after allowing a first inning run to score on an RBI ground out by Joe Tagliavia to throw four shutout innings. He gave way to DiGiuseppe to entered with 0 outs and a runner on first in the sixth inning and retired six batters, allowing just a HBP of Anthony Licci with two outs in the 7th. Hannon was efficient, throwing just 76 pitches. The only real threat was in the first when he allowed back-to-back hits to Tagliavia and Jordan Welch but struck out Steven Licata, got a bunt popped up to him and a comebacker to the mound to escape the jam.
Speaking after the game, Hannon stated that he leaned heavily on his breaking ball to get ahead for first pitch strikes knowing that Farmingdale could handle the bats. He also said, “I don’t think I was in top form so I was definitely a little nervous going out there.”
His counterpart, Nick Napolitano, was close to top form. He had only one hiccup and that was in the second inning when he allowed a leadoff walk to Ryan Annunziato who advanced to second on a bunt single by Michael Vilardi. Sophomore stud Paul Dulanto followed with a two-run double to the left center gap to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.
End of 2: Massapequa takes a 2-1 lead on a 2-R double by Paul Dulanto pic.twitter.com/WaH2U9tOuz
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 29, 2022
Following the game, Dulanto said he was “just hunting fastball and he got to a 2-2 count and I got one and I drove it,” he said. Dulanto has filled in the big shoes of Bobby Stang incredibly well. Stang was slated to graduate in 2022 but transferred to a prep school in South Carolina. Dulanto was his backup last season but has performed admirably during his sophomore season. He has been getting recruited heavily by Division-I programs.
Napolitano settled in and was able to strand Dulanto at second to end the inning. He also worked out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning when he walked Tyler Young, allowed a single to right field by Annunziato and a single down the left field line by Dulanto but Young hesitated and was unable to score. The following batter, Nick Cooney, grounded out to SS to end the inning.
The rest of the game did not feature much offense. Massapequa did get a runner to third with two outs in the sixth and sent up pinch hitter Zander Tesoriere, but Napolitano struck him out to end the inning.
DiGiuseppe was able to render that meaningless as he showed toughness in working around that HBP to strike out Josh Behar to end it.
With the win, the Chiefs are once again on the verge of capturing the Nassau County Class AA Championship – which they have done every year since losing to East Meadow in the Finals in 2016. It would be an unprecedented 5th consecutive title.
The two teams will play Game 2 at 11am at Farmingdale State College. The Chiefs will likely send Stony Brook-commit Erik Paulsen Jr to the mound and the Dalers will likely counter with fellow southpaw Zack Zarrilli who actually defeated the Chiefs earlier this month. Expect a great game.
