by Nick Cipolla
Final: Calhoun wins the Nassau County Class A Championship 12-6 over Clarke.
PJ Kakalos strikes out the last batter of the game to secure the victory for Calhoun pic.twitter.com/56K7FXIOjN
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2022
Hitting with two outs is what separates playoff contenders from championship teams. Both Calhoun and Clarke displayed that ability in today’s Class A County Final, but it was Calhoun’s ability to do this almost at will that made all the difference and lead them to victory.
Clarke jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to two consecutive 2-out RBI singles from Giancarlo Rengifo and Zaim Deljanin. Clarke held Calhoun off the board in the bottom half despite a one-out double that went all the way to the wall by Calhoun’s Matt Kalfas.
In the second inning, Calhoun got a rally going and kept their foot on the gas. It started with one out, Charlie Imhoff had an incredible at bat, spoiling 2-strike pitches and working the count full. Imhoff eventually drew a walk, stole second and eventually scored from second on the first of many two out hits of the inning from Alec Edwards to make it a 2-1 affair.
Jordan Babbo saw what Edwards did and he followed suit with his own 2-out RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.
After an E5 and Matt Kalfas legged out an infield single on what seemed to be a routine ground ball on the infield, Brian Chin stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to take the lead. Chin fouled off a handful of 0-2 pitches until he was able to send a bullet line drive right back where it came from for a go ahead 2-out, 2-run single to make it 4-2 Calhoun.
The Colts still weren’t done scoring in the second inning. The very next batter, Andrew Schneir, crushed a 2-run triple to center deep into the left-center gap to push the lead to 6-2.
After another 2-out walk, Charlie Imhoff found himself up to bat again after he helped start this rally earlier in the inning. Imhoff joined the 2-out RBI party with a 2-run single to break the game open, making it an 8-2 lead for Calhoun.
Postgame interview with Matt Kalfas of Calhoun. He had 2 doubles, and infield single to keep a 2 out rally going in the second inning, sparking a huge 2 out rally that was the difference maker in this one. pic.twitter.com/Q8ADbuG2uk
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2022
Alec Edwards found himself up once again in a situation where he could knock in a run with 2 outs in the second inning. He, once again, capitalized on the opportunity with his second 2 out RBI single over the shortstops head to make it a 9 run second inning and a 9-2 Calhoun lead.
Matt Kalfas made it 10-2 in the third with an RBI double that landed just inside the left field line. Andrew Schneir knocked in Kalfas with a sac fly to make it a 11-2 advantage.
In the fourth, Clarke got 2 runs back when Giancarlo Rengifo hit a 2-out, 2-run single to make it an 11-4 game. However, Andrew Schneir got one of those runs back for Calhoun when he hit a sac fly that was a few feet from the left field wall to make it 12-4 Calhoun.
Clarke would get two more runs in the sixth inning to make it 12-6 thanks to a Sean Welsh sac fly that was also just feet away from the left field wall and a Jacob Dandic RBI double.
In the top of the seventh, Clarke would see its comeback hopes come to a halt as PJ Kakalos struck out two batters in the innings, including the last batter of the game, securing a 12-6 victory in the Nassau Class A Championship.
Up next for the Calhoun Colts is the Long Island Championship where they will take on the red-hot Rocky Point Eagles who are riding a 17-game winning streak dating back to April 14. They will play on Saturday at 4pm at St. Joseph’s.
