End of 1: Joe Galeotafiore rips a 2-out, 2-run double to left center
St. Dominic 3, St. Anthony’s 0 pic.twitter.com/2Baqv8pfub
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 9, 2024
While St. Dominic has a young team, it doesn’t necessarily mean 2024 is a rebuilding year for them.
Head Coach Joe Fusco said “these are not your typical freshman and sophomore type players, they are some of the best players in their class at that age.”
They have backed up that talk and the Bayhawks defeated a tough St. Anthony’s team, 9-3, behind their ace, Victor Frederick.
The St. John’s-commit went six shutout innings, allowing just three hits, issuing two walks and striking out six. He retired the first 10 batters to face him before sophomore CJ Alfano lined a single to get the Friars their first hit of the game.
By that point, the Jayhawks had already taken a 4-0 lead and with the Preseason Pitcher of the Year on the mound, that was more than enough.
The St. Dominic offense jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning off Friars’ starter John Didden. Freshman Dom Muccia started things off with a single to center field and Jordan Ynoa moved him up to second with a walk. Matt Cruz flied out to right field and Victor Frederick lined out to left field for the second out of the inning. Catcher Thomas Garrett hit a chopper that got underneath the glove of the third baseman allowing the first run of the game to score. The following batter, Joe Galeotafiore, ripped a two-run double to center field to make it 3-0. The inning ending with a strikeout of the next batter.
Working with the lead, Frederick induced three harmless ground outs to get his offense back in the dugout.
They went back to work, with a leadoff double by Jordan Ynoa, a flyout to right that advanced Ynoa to third and a wild pitch to score him and make it 4-0.
The Friars did threaten in the fourth inning which was really their best opportunity to make it a close game. After the leadoff batter struck out, CJ Alfano got on base with a single and moved to second on Phil Mazzola’s walk. Alex Bono hit a grounder that advanced both runners into scoring position. With two outs and 2 runners on, Frederick proved his mettle with a strike out on a nasty breaking ball to Gianni Pipia to end the jam. At that point, it essentially felt like St. Dom’s had the game in hand.
Mid 4: St. Anthony’s had an opportunity to score with runners on 2nd & 3rd but Victor Frederick fans Pipia to end the threat
St. Dom’s 4, St. Anthony’s 0 pic.twitter.com/1scMPzIjVI
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 9, 2024
They went on to score four more runs in the home half of the fourth inning to make it an 8-0 game. Matt Cruz and Thomas Garrett added two-run singles to break it open.
Adrian Tavarez got St. Anthony’s on the board in the top of the seventh with a two-run shot and Brendan Howard scored on a wild pitch for the third run of the inning, but it was too little, too late as McMichael recorded the final out to seal the win.
St. Dominic improved to 4-1 in league play while St. Anthony’s drop to 2-4.
Coach Fusco was pleased with his team’s performance but he noted that it was just the first game of the series and they have to come back out tomorrow in Game 2.
