by Max Edelman
FINAL: Wantagh 8 – Garden City 4
Wantagh spoils Garden City’s home opener. pic.twitter.com/J7AUE7Lliw
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2024
The Wantagh Warriors spoiled the Garden City Trojans home opener with an 8-2 victory on April. 1. Despite a strong start by East Carolina commit Gabriel Beschloss, the Warriors were able to use a five-run fifth inning to take down the Trojans.
Wantagh starting pitcher Jack Tate shined both on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, Tate pitched 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. At the plate, Tate went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, one of which was a key hit in the fifth inning, which helped the Warriors pull ahead in the contest.
“I knew I had to come out and throw strikes.” Tate said following the game. “I had to work good at bats, I started slow early. But got around by the end.”
TOP 5: Wantagh starting pitcher Jack Tate helps himself! Driving in two with a big two out single.
Wantagh takes a 2-1 lead over Garden City. pic.twitter.com/KOJAYGcDXW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 1, 2024
Following Tate’s two-RBI single which made the game 2-1 in the fifth, Ryan Conigliaro brought Tate home with an RBI single of his own two batters later. The scoring in the fifth was capped off one batter later when Louis DeLuca drove in two with an RBI double. By the end of the fifth inning, the Warriors had a commanding 5-1 lead over the Trojans.
In the sixth inning, the Warriors tacked on another run on a solo home run by Maine-commit Aidan Bardi. The final two Wantagh runs were scored in the top of the seventh inning off the bat of second baseman Shane Russo.
Although they were able to score early, the Trojans were silenced offensively for much of the game, they were able to string together runs, although once they did, Wantagh was already too far ahead. Garden City did strike first in the contest, however, when junior Evan Cabral brought in the first run of the game with an RBI double in the third inning.
The rest of the Trojan runs came in the sixth and seventh innings. Tyler Gorman drove in a run with an RBI single in the sixth. And in the seventh, Cabral and Braden Soutar each drove in a run.
For the Trojans, Beschloss had a strong start on the mound up until the fifth inning. In 4.2 innings, Beschloss struck out 10 to only one walk and allowed five runs on seven hits. Xander Palmer and Joe Carey both featured on the mound in relief of Beschloss in the contest. Palmer tossed only a third of an inning, while Carey tossed two innings, struck out three, and allowed three runs on five hits.
After Tate’s strong start for the Warriors, he was relieved by Conigliaro who pitched the final inning and a third of the game. In relief, Conigliaro allowed two runs on three hits.
One big difference between the two teams was in the stolen base department, as the Warriors stole six bases to the Trojans three, as well as in total hits, as the Warriors had 13 to Garden City’s seven.
Wantagh takes a strong road victory into their next game against Farmingdale on Thursday, while Garden City will hope to rebound following their difficult loss when they travel to Clarke on Wednesday.
