Final: Plainedge 11, Clarke 1
WP: Dom Pannitti (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 Ks)Zach Rosenzweig: 3-for-4, 3 RBIs, 1 Run
Plainedge eliminates Clarke and will face Mepham tomorrow pic.twitter.com/b5ol2TJbt5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2023
Fifth time’s a charm.
Plainedge, having been swept by rival Clarke during the regular season and lost early in the week during the playoffs, finally got their revenge and eliminated the Nassau powerhouse on Thursday by the score of 11-1.
The game was uncharacteristic of Clarke, who suffered some defensive miscues including two costly ones in the first inning that allowed the inning to be extended and Plainedge batted around scoring 5 runs. The inning started with back-to-back well-struck doubles by Nick Gerardi and Zach Rosenzweig, both narrowly missing home runs, to make it 1-0. The next two batters were retired on fly outs which looked like Sarrantonio would escape without further damage but Doug Davies ripped a single up the middle to score Gerardi to make it 2-0. Anthony DiChiara drew a walk and Jack Kregeloh hit an RBI single to make it 3-0. Ryan Anderson hit a routine pop up to second that was dropped to bring in a run and the next batter, Nick Andersen hit a ground ball to third that was thrown away to bring in another run. The brought back up Gerardi who popped out to end the inning finally, but not before Clarke made a pitching change.
Plainedge’s starter, Matt Rosenberg pitched well to keep Clarke from sustaining any momentum. Clarke did have two runners on in the first inning as they attempted to chip away, but he got a strikeout of Nick Berasti and fly out of Tom Roche to strand both runners.
They also got a leadoff single in the second inning off the bat of Dylan Vikara but a 6-4-3 DP wiped out the base runner. AJ Cumbo flew out to end the inning.
On the opposite side, George Neofitidis did do a good job of holding the fort as Plainedge was kept off the board in the second and third innings which kept Clarke’s hopes alive. They were able to get on the board in the fourth inning against Rosenberg on an RBI single to right by Liam Fonal. It was a crucial moment in the game because there was bases loaded with 1 out, the game was not out of reach and Plainedge was already going to the bullpen. They called on senior Dom Pannitti who fell behind in the count but was able to coax a huge infield pop out against Giancarlo Rengifo and another by JJ Palumbo to end the inning. That was a huge out as Clarke had squandered a golden opportunity.
End of 4: Dom Pannitti does his job – stranding the bases loaded with 2 infield pop outs
Plainedge 6, Clarke 1 pic.twitter.com/DJd24Q7Frt
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 18, 2023
Plainedge made it hurt as they put up a run in the fourth and 2 runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of the reach. Rosenzweig was the catalyst on offense, as the talented junior catcher went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
He noted that Clarke is a tough team because they do not give away at bats, they fight until the end and you can’t relax against them. This was the rare game that a team was able to put Clarke away early and not suffer any sort of letdown. Clarke, a team that reached the Nassau County Class A Finals last year and took Calhoun to three games, has won 39 League Championships and 2 NYS State titles. They’ve won around 80 percent of their games since Tom Abruscato took over 2 decades ago. These types of early exits don’t have very often and Plainedge was able to use a balanced offensive attack to pile on runs and certainly their familiarity with the team helps.
Plainedge will be back in action today against another loaded team, Mepham and that will be on the road at 4:30.
