Daniel Madsen fired a 2-hit CG shutout against rival Center Moriches as the Panthers improve to 7-0 on the season. Madsen is our Player of the Game @GCsports pic.twitter.com/r5Shr1NQpZ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2023
Hanging prominently from the center field fence are two massive banners highlighting Center Moriches incredible back-to-back New York State Championships in 2018-2019. During that time, Center Moriches was absolutely loaded with the talent and determination that we may never see again from a Class B team.
Opposing teams step onto the field and sometimes get an extra jolt as they would love nothing more than to defeat a team with the track record of the Red Devils. We saw that on display as Babylon is looking to chase history themselves – the Panthers have gotten off to a great start to the 2023 season and are looking to unseat Center Moriches as the reigning Class B Long Island Champs. They entered day with an unblemished record of 6-0 and have aspirations to capture their first County Championship since 2012.
They sent ace Daniel Madsen to the mound against Center Moriches ace Joey Hiller. Madsen is known for pounding the strike zone and working deep into games things were no different on this day.
The pace of the game flew by like each team had a plane to catch and before you knew it, the game was scoreless after four innings.
*Bonus interview* Nick Crone on his go-ahead RBI single in the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/EcKTL6lsJ3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2023
Hiller retired the first two batters of the fifth inning, but before he could record that third out, he allowed a two-out single to his counterpart to keep the inning alive. Babylon sent in a pinch runner, and initially it was almost disastrous as Hiller made a quick move to first and nearly caught him napping with a pickoff. Nevertheless, he was called safe and promptly stole second base to get himself into scoring position. Eighth-place hitter Nick Crone capitalized with an RBI single to score the first run of the game and the Babylon faithful went into a frenzy. With their ace on the hill, they knew there’s a very good chance that one run would be sufficient.
Madsen went out for the fifth inning with the lead, and Center Moriches leadoff batter, Riley Morris, dropped down an excellent bunt up the third base line for a leadoff single. A sacrifice bunt got him into scoring position with one out. The next batter grounded one out to Mattingly Goldstein at third base for the second out, but Morris was able to advance to third base. Hiller stepped up with an opportunity to exact revenge, but Madsen was able to induce a harmless fly out to center for the third out. This was a significant moment because it really felt that Madsen would not be allowing much of anything on this day.
Final: Babylon 4, Center Moriches 0
WP: Daniel Madsen (CG shutout, 2 hits)Nick Crone’s RBI single in the fifth was the difference. Babylon improves to 7-0 on the season pic.twitter.com/bCMiMaZY5n
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2023
In the sixth inning, once again the first two batters were retired and Center Moriches was hopeful to get back into the dugout. A HBP of John Harkins thwarted those plans and an opposite field double down the left field line off the bat of Aidan Kistner scored the second run of the game and made it 2-0 in favor of the Panthers.
If a 1-run lead felt safe, then 2 felt like plenty. Madsen retired the side in order including a strikeout for the third out of the inning.
In the top of the 7th, a leadoff single by Joey Hanson started a rally as Rohan Brown ripped an RBI single and Andrew DiPalma followed with a well-struck RBI triple into the right center field alley. That broke the game open at 4-0 and Madsen knew there was nothing going to hold him back from the CG SHO.
After the first two batters were quickly retired, Madsen briefly battled a bout of command issues as he walked consecutive batters to give C Mo a glimmer of hope. That did not last, though, as the next batter grounded out to SS where George Washington-commit Cristino Tufano showed his strong arm to end the game.
