by Max Edelman
FINAL: North Shore 4 – Clarke 3
In a darkness shortened game, the Vikings pull off a huge upset win on the road. Taking down the now 11-2 Clarke Rams. pic.twitter.com/rI3LC76SQo
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 7, 2024
In shocking fashion, the North Shore Vikings went on the road and shocked the Clarke Rams 4-3 in a shortened six-inning game. Entering the game with an 11-1 league record, this may have looked like another win for legendary head coach Tom Abruscato’s team. However, starting pitcher Garret Gates and the Vikings had other ideas.
After six innings of a game that took nearly three hours to complete, the umpires were forced to call the game due to impending darkness. The length of the game was due in large part to the numerous walks in the game, as both teams’ combined for 13 walks.
The starting pitcher for the Rams was Nick Berasti, who started strong for the Rams, shutting down the Vikings offense in the first inning. In the bottom half of the first, it was Clarke who got on the board first, when a pair of errors scored booth AJ Cumbo and Matthew Kurz to give the Rams an early 2-0 lead. Although Clarke did strike first, there offensive struggles showed throughout the game, as they only had two hits in the ballgame. Clarke batters also struck out 12 times, with five of the 12 being strikeouts looking.
And North Shore has the lead!
A high throw on an attempted pick off allows Rosen to score from 3rd, and gives North Shore a 3-2 lead. pic.twitter.com/WhB3CRwoVq
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 6, 2024
The Vikings cracked the scoreboard for the first time in the third, when Antonio Barbetta scrambled home on a wild pitch. Much like on offense, the Rams struggled to play defense, as the team made three errors, including a number of wild pitches. What made the Vikings so successful, was their ability to take advantage of those mistakes, and that’s exactly what they did in the fourth inning, when a Justin Rosen single ate up Clarke right fielder Jaret Sarrantonio, which scored North Shore’s Matthew Ryan from first and helped Rosen end up all the way at third. While Clarke would cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the third, it was too little, two late for the Rams, who dropped to 11-2 in league play.
Despite allowing seven walks, North Shore starter Garret Gates shined, allowing 3 runs (0 ER) on one hit to go along with 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Berasti was unable to keep the momentum from his strong start in the game. Berasti allowed four runs on two hits to go along with eight strikeouts and five walks.
The two hits for the Rams were picked up by the teams one and two hitters in the order. That being leadoff man Giancarlo Rengifo and second hitter AJ Cumbo. The RBIs for the Rams were picked up by Dylan Vikara, Berasti and Sarrantonio. For the Vikings, Barbetta led the way with two hits. Barbetta, along with Rosen, had the team’s only two RBIs.
North Shore jumps to 7-6 in league play, while Clarke drops to 11-2.
