Farmingdale takes Game 1 of the Nassau Class AA Semifinals
Farmingdale 4, Plainview JFK 2
Michael Craig went 3-for-4 and also records the save with a 1-2-3 seventh inning
Game 2 will be on Wednesday at Farmingdale pic.twitter.com/FwJA8wy8Px
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2023
Trailing 2-0 against a pitcher that has allowed virtually nothing all season, things weren’t looking great for the Farmingdale Dalers. But baseball is a funny game that doesn’t make sense sometimes.
After notching his 12th strikeout of the game, Mike D’Ambrosio hit Farmingdale’s No. 9 hitter, Behar, to bring the top of the order. JoJo Burriesci ripped a single to put runners in scoring position and No. 2 hitter, Michael Craig, followed with an RBI double into the right center field gap to bring home their first run of the game and put the tying run 90 feet away with 1 out. The next batter, Joe Taglivia was hit by a pitch on two strikes to load the bases for the cleanup batter, Jordan Welch. D’Ambrosio showed his mettle and struck him out for his 13th strikeout of the game and it certainly appeared that he might be able to escape with the lead.
Farmingdale’ next batter, Anthony Licci, had other plans. He lined a two-out, two-run single the other way to send his fans into a frenzy and turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. D’Ambrosio was able end the jam on a pop up that he handled himself.
Mid 6: Farmingdale mounts a furious rally with Anthony Licci notching the go-ahead 2-R hit to take a 3-2 lead. D’Ambrosio has 13 strikeouts pic.twitter.com/POC1kcVC8S
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2023
Earlier in the game, it was all Plainview JFK – and more specifically, it was all Mike D’Ambrosio. He has been outstanding all season and got the ball in Game 1 in front of his home crowd. The junior answered the bell and you could see he was fired up for this one. He showed plenty of emotion on the mound, including Trevor Bauer’s patented “sword” motion. After allowing a leadoff walk to Burriesci, he struck out 7 of the next 8 batters – with the only exception coming on a ground out to shortstop by Licci. He yielded a single to Michael Craig to start the fourth inning but easily worked out of trouble. He struck out the final batter of the fourth inning and four of the next five – bringing his total to 10 through 5 innings.
In addition to his dominance on the mound, D’Ambrosio was the only one to break through against his counterpart, Carmine Scardina. Farmingdale’s RHP was nearly matching him pitch-for-pitch. He struck out the side in the first inning and stranded the bases loaded in the second inning with a huge strikeout looking.
Sebastian Lippman singled and advanced to second on a HBP of Andrew Lenski. D’Ambrosio ripped an RBI single through the left side to bring home Lippman and make it a 1-0. That was all they were able to scratch across in the third inning. Scardina was able to fire a scoreless fourth inning, but allowed a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Peter Bounogias.
End of 5: Peter Bounogias drives in Sebastian Lippman to extend Plainview JFK’s lead to 2-0 pic.twitter.com/7hgTTwkXTs
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2023
Even the most ardent Farmingdale fan had to be concerned about their chances, but to their credit, they were able to rally and take the lead in the sixth inning. Additionally, they were able to add an insurance run in the top of the seventh for good measure. that came on an RBI hit by Michael Craig – his third of the game.
Speaking of Craig, the southpaw came on to pitch and close it out in the 7th. He was able to fire a 1-2-3 inning for his Long Island-leading 6th save of the season.
It was an incredible show of resiliency for Farmingdale who now sit in the driver’s seat with Game 2 on their home field. Plainview JFK will be looking to stave off elimination, they will be sending Georgia Tech-commit Sebastian Lippman to the mound – who possesses a fastball in the low to mid 90s.
