Final: Wantagh 2, North Shore 1
WP: Colin Crispyn (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 Ks)Wantagh improves to 12-3 pic.twitter.com/lsEYrfeXWo
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 5, 2023
Wantagh did not qualify for the postseason last year for the first time since 1994. That one-year hiatus was a brief one as the Warriors have came storming back and are now 12-3 to begin the 2023 season. They were able to take a critical series against North Shore today by the score of 2-1 – as they displayed some of the key components to Wantagh baseball.
They did face a tall order in facing hard-throwing southpaw Garret Gates on the road – and he showed what he was capable of with 9 strikeouts and just one hit allowed over 6.1 innings, but they were able to grind out at bats, draw 6 walks and ultimately score two runs which was enough.
Top 1: Garret Gates starts this game off with a strikeout of Maine-commit AJ Bardi pic.twitter.com/JHLwQMy43n
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 5, 2023
No offense, but early on there was no offense for either team.
Gates started off the game by striking out the side against Wantagh’s talented top of the lineup which features two Division-I, All-County commits in AJ Bardi and Tim Hennig. He also struck out two batters in the second inning, the only non-strikeout was a soft liner back to him. It was clear he was not only overwhelming but the game time meant shadows for the hitters early in the game and darkened conditions later in the game.
Colin Crispyn was just as effective early on – just minus the strikeout total. He worked around a two-out walk to Matt Ryan in the first inning, and worked around a catcher’s interference in the second inning. He ran into a bit more trouble in the third inning when he allowed back-to-back walks to Nick Livoti and Matt Ryan before allowing a single to center field to Matt Nochowitz. The CF charged it and fired a strike to Bardi at home, who executed the tag on Livoti to end the inning.
End of 3: High level play all around here as Matt Nochowitz singles to center but Jack Tate makes a perfect throw and AJ Bardi executes the tag of Nick Livoti
North Shore 0, Wantagh 0 pic.twitter.com/4gIjZTQr5T
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 5, 2023
In the fourth inning, Wantagh took an extremely patient approach which led to a HBP and three walks – one of which brought in the game’s first run.
Crispyn walks the leadoff batter in the fourth inning, but was able to escape unscathed, as he did in the fifth inning when he walked the leadoff batter but he was erased as he attempted to steal and was thrown out by Bardi.
Wantagh added a run in the top of the sixth on a strange sequence. Vinny McCartney was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Joe Legovich bunted in front of the plate and the catcher attempted to throw to third, but the 3B was not looking as it went down the left field line to score a run. Gates was able to avoid any other damage, as he got a fielder’s choice, a bunt popped back to him, his third HBP of the game and a ground out to short. That caused some commotion as the first baseman may or may not have came off the base but it was not overturned.
In the bottom of the sixth, Binghamton-commit Tim Hennig came on in relief. A one-out single by Sean Maldonado, a wild pitch, and an E3 put runner’s on the corners. North Shore attempted a steal of second and the throw got away from the SS and allowed Maldonado to score and make it a 2-1 game. Hennig was able to strike out the next two batters to end the jam there.
In the home half of the seventh, Hennig didn’t want any drama and struck out the side to close the door.
With the win, Wantagh keeps their conference title hopes alive, but they will have to defeat Clarke next week in what should be an outstanding match up.
