by John Sullivan
Postgame interview with Chase Bocchi, who went 4 and a third with no runs, 3 hits and 6 strikeouts, and John Brown, who went 2 for 2 with a single, double, and 2 RBIs pic.twitter.com/BmSlcMeCIj
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2024
B1 Ghost knew they had a challenge ahead of them on Tuesday night, as they went up against Mike Cuomo’s talented Long Island Elite team who entered the game 5-0-1 in league play. Although the Ghost were underdogs and only 2-3 coming into the game, they knew they had a fighting chance because they sent Jonathan Moya, a hard-throwing right hander with a great breaking ball and solid command, to the mound.
Unfortunately for B1, Moya didn’t have his A+ stuff at the beginning of the game and Elite took advantage of that. After Chris Barling and Luke Chekmayan worked walks to lead off the game, John Brown took a fastball on the outside corner into the left center field gap for a great piece of hitting and to score Barling. Now with second and third and no outs, Elite looked poised for a huge inning, but their momentum was slowed after Chekmayan tried to score from third on a wild pitch and was tagged out by B1 catcher, Ben Bonadio. John Brown advanced to third on the play and fortunately for Elite, Micheal Agostino put the ball in play for an RBI groundout and to extend Elite’s lead to 2-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
Elite scores 2 in the first, including 1 on this RBI groundout from Michael Agostino pic.twitter.com/Xl1mDyrblu
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2024
In the bottom of the first, Chase Bocci was given the ball by coach Cuomo and it was clear that Bocci had everything going for him early on, as he started his day with two strikeouts and a weak groundout for a quick 1-2-3 inning.
After Moya’s shaky first inning on the mound, he seemed to settle in in the second. Although he walked the lead off guy, he struck out the next two and catcher Ben Bonadio once again made a play and threw out Dom Peluso attempting to steal third for the last out of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Bocci continued his success with a consecutive 1-2-3 inning where he notched another strikeout. In the top of the third, Moya responded with a 1-2-3 inning of his own, which saw him get a strikeout looking, a pop out, and groundout.
B1 seemed to be getting the bats going in the bottom of the third after Ryan Jacobs ripped a double down the right field line to lead things off. But, Bocci shrugged this off and induced a popup and then a strikeout against the next two batters. With two outs, Nick Paluzzi hit an infield single and stole second to put two runners into scoring position. But, Bocci blew a two strike fastball by the next batter to end the inning and keep Elite’s lead at 2-0
Moya continued to keep B1 in the inning in the top of the fourth, as he threw a third straight scoreless inning where he picked up a fourth strikeout. With B1’s top of the order due up and Boccio having a shaky previous inning, it seemed like they were meant to start making a comeback, but Bocci continued to be very effective and he threw another very quick 1-2-3 inning with two groundouts and a popout.
In the fifth, the Elite bats finally got going again after Dom Peluso led the inning off with a single into left field. Justin Walsh followed this up with a walk on a great at bat. With first and second, Anthony Muscatelli laid down a great bunt, and B1 threw it away into right field, which allowed for Peluso to score and make it 3-0. Moya did strikeout the next two batters, but John Brown laced one off his again, this time for an RBI single into right field that scored Justin Walsh. Elite took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth. After Chase Bocci struckout the lead off hitter, he was taken out and Michael Agostino came in relief. Agostino did give up a single to Ben Bonadio in his first batter, but he struckout the next two to bring a 4-0 lead into the sixth.
Elite went quietly in the sixth with a fly out and two groundouts. Despite an error on the first batter of the bottom of the sixth, B1 also went quietly, after a strikeout, pop out and another strikeout. In the seventh, Elite went scoreless again after two baserunning miscues and a popout.
After Agostino struckout the lead off batter, Micheal Scotto ripped a fastball over the right fielders head for a double and then advanced to third on a balk. Cole Zukerman hit a ball hard, but the Elite shortstop, Brady Love made a great play for the second out. With two outs, Ben Bonadio tacked on a second hit to give B1 some life. But, the next batter, Tyghe Rowland popped up to right to end it. Micheal Agostino successfully shut it down and Elite won 4-1.
Elite’s win came in big thanks to Chase Bocci and John Brown. Bocci went 4.1 innings with 6 strikeouts, three hits, and no runs allowed. Brown went 2-for-2 with a walk, RBI single, and RBI double. We spoke with the two after the game and both seemed very confident in their approach.
