by John Sullivan
Postgame interview with Vance Kane, who was 2 for 3 with the go-ahead two run inside the park homer in the seventh inning pic.twitter.com/B4gRdVPzvW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 9, 2024
The matchup on Tuesday night at Mitchel field featured the top team in the league, LI Titans Crema, who were 12-0 entering the game, facing off against the bottom team in the league, CPD East, who were 0-10 going into the game. CPD would go on to prove that they’re a much better team than their record shows, and they can beat any team on any given day, especially when Steven Quiroz is pitching for them.
Quiroz, a consistent strike thrower who pitched to contact, started off the game in the top of the first with a scoreless inning, despite issuing a walk and a base hit. In the bottom of the first, Titans starting pitcher, Gregg Giannitsas, responded with a shutout inning of his own where he hit a batter and recorded a strikeout.
The very talented Titans offense wouldn’t be held scoreless for long though, as a two out rally put a run on the board for them in the second. Aidan Hughes started it off with a single into left field and a stolen base. Brady Almeida followed this up with a single of his own to make it first and third. Almeida then stole second and on the throw down from the catcher, Aidan Hughes scored from third to make it 1-0. In the bottom of the second, Giannitsas had another scoreless inning with help from his catcher, Brady Almeida, who threw a runner out at second for the third out.
The top of the third inning was very quick, as Quiroz got a weak groundout and two pop outs for a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom of the third, Vance Kane ran into trouble after giving up back to back singles to Andrew Campon and Michael Coticchio to start the inning. After a sac bunt moved the runners over, Kane walked the next batter to load the bases with 1 out. Kane then made a great pickoff move to first for a huge second out and got a popup to himself for a third out and to escape the jam and keep the score at 1-0 Titans.
Steven Quiroz had yet another quick inning in the fourth, despite a lead off single from Dylan Donofrio. Quiroz picked off Donofrio, then got a strikeout and a groundout to himself for the three outs. The bottom of the fourth was Jacob Valenti’s first inning of work and it was a great one. He got a popup and groundout to start the inning, and he induced a fly out to right after an E6 to end the inning. The Titans led 1-0 heading into the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, the Titans got a much needed insurance run. Vance Kane led off the inning with a single and Aidan Hughes followed it up by ripping a double down the line to make it second and third. Brady Almeida then did his job with a sac fly to center that scored Kane, but Hughes was thrown out at third on the play. Quiroz then got the final out of the inning via a fly out to center on the next batter. Now down by 2, CPD East was desperate to scratch across at least one run in the bottom of the fifth. Thankfully for CPD, Andrew Campon was in their lineup and he singled, stole second, advanced to third on a single from Francesco Iadevaia, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-1. Jacob Valenti was able to get out of the inning with only 1 run given up to make the score 2-1 Titans.
In the top of the sixth, Steven Quiroz continued to be excellent. He was able to work around a lead off single and got three consecutive outs via a sac bunt, groundout, and fly out for a scoreless sixth inning of work. In the bottom of the sixth, things finally started to break CPD’s way. Richie Rajo was hit by a pitch and Steven Quiroz worked a two out walk to put the tying run on second. Antonio Ramirez then hit a ground ball to short that seemed like was going to be an easy force out at second, but the second baseman dropped the ball to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Matteo Parrinello worked a great at bat for a walk to tie the game at 2. Andrew Campon then came up clutch with his third single of the day to give CPD a 3-2 lead. Michael Coticchio was then hit by a pitch to make it 4-2 going into the final inning.
Clutch! After Greg Giannitsas hit an RBI single to make it 4-3, Vance Kane rips a ball in the gap and legs out an inside the park homerun! Titans now lead it 5-4 pic.twitter.com/PRSe3Di2lw
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 9, 2024
On the verge of losing their undefeated season, the Titans bats got hot in the seventh. Dylan Donofrio led off with a line drive single into center and a steal of second. After a groundout to first, Greg Giannitsas ripped a single into center field to make it a 4-3 ball game. Down by 1 one with one out, Vance Kane stepped up to the plate. Kane delivered in the biggest way possible by scorching a ball in the right center field gap and then legging out a go ahead two-run inside the park home run that sent the Titans dugout into a frenzy!
Final: Antonio Conte leaves the tying run at second and the Titans win it 5-4! pic.twitter.com/f9WlYab4or
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 9, 2024
But, the Titans still had three outs to get, and they sent out Antonio Conte to get the job done. Conte struck out the first batter, but walked the second batter. He then got a groundout to first for the second out, but Nick Merolla worked a great at bat for a walk to make it first and second. Steven Quiroz then stepped up to the plate and ripped a ball into center field, but it was caught for the final out and the Titans won it 5-4!
Overall, it was a great team win for the Titans, but they couldn’t have done it without the hero, Vance Kane. After the game, we caught up with Vance, who explained his simplified approach at the plate and his mindset to treat his at bat in the seventh just like any other at bat. Expect to see a lot more of Vance and the Titans going forward, as they look to continue their undefeated season in Boys of Summer.
