B3: Carey 0 | MacArthur 2
Chase Palma rips a 2-RBI single to give MacArthur the lead. pic.twitter.com/MKhHcXzjk5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 13, 2024
by Tucker Terranova
The Nassau County AA Quarterfinals kicked off with a showdown between the No. 9 Carey Seahawks and the top-seeded MacArthur Generals at MacArthur High School. MacArthur is amidst an impressive spring, boasting a 16-4 record that secured them the No. 1 seed. On the other hand, Carey wrapped up their season with a 15-6 record and earned themselves a spot in the quarterfinals after a convincing 10-1 victory over Mepham in the play-in round.
In Game 1 of a best-of-three showdown, the story of the afternoon was the ace of the MacArthur staff, Tyler Bonsignore. Although the southpaw will be heading to Adelphi this fall, Bonsignore has unfinished business as a General and attended to it this afternoon, going the distance while only surrendering two runs, allowing seven hits and issuing one free pass, leading MacArthur to a crucial game 1 victory by a score of 7-2.
“My changeup was huge for me today, being able to execute it inside and outside was big for me,” Bonsignore said in a postgame interview with Axcess Baseball after being named the GameChanger Player of the Game.
The first true threat of the afternoon occurred in the bottom of the second after Carey’s starter Tristan Hickis worked himself into trouble by issuing consecutive free passes to Bonsignore and Nick Albert, bringing up Eric Sharp with a chance to open the game’s scoring. Hickis, however, locked in and induced a 6-4-3 double play before forcing the following batter to ground out, shifting the momentum to the Seahawks dugout.
However, it wouldn’t take long for the potent MacArthur offense to strike. Dan Reynolds got the party started with a single before swiping second, followed by Dylan Tripi adding a single of his own. Chase Palma came up with a chance to get the Generals on the board and did just that, ripping a line drive into right field to drive in the game’s first two runs. They weren’t done there, as Nick Albert added an RBI single of his own through the 5-6 hole to put MacArthur up 3 after 3 innings of play.
B3: Carey 0 | MacArthur 3
Nick Albert adds a RBI single of his own to add to a big inning for the Generals. pic.twitter.com/iVrw6pjamM
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 13, 2024
“Once we put up three in one inning, I was able to settle down and pitch to contact knowing the boys were behind me,” Bonsignore said.
The bottom of the fifth provided the Generals with a chance to add insurance after Palma reached on a single. Bonsignore would help himself and add a single of his own, bringing up Sharp with a chance to redeem himself and put the game away for MacArthur. He did just that, ripping a 2 RBI single. In the sixth, MacArthur would add two more, one courtesy of Palma’s 3rd RBI of the afternoon and the other off a Reynolds’ steal of home, giving the Generals a 7-0 lead after six innings of play.
This would be all MacArthur needed.
Carey threatened Bonsignore in the seventh by loading the bases for Jayden Gigante. Down to their final out, Gigante crushed a ball into deep left-field for a 2 RBI double, ending Bonsignore’s shutout. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, it was too little too late, as Bonsignore forced a groundout to seal a Game 1 victory for the home team.
The two teams will meet again today for game 2, with MacArthur looking to close out the series.
“We’re ready to take the series tomorrow, hopefully finish this off in two.”
