TJ Santiago
Santiago, Adelphi Down New Haven 8-5
When TJ Santiago is on the hill, the Adelphi Panthers are a tough team to beat. The Panthers’ ace fired 5.2 IP, allowing zero earned runs with five strike outs in Adelphi’s 8-5 win over NE-10 rival New Haven. “Fastball and splitter were the duo today,” said the Linden, N.J. native. The Panthers offense got off to a quick start against Vincent Aprea (Comsewogue ’13) with a three-spot in the first inning. Eric Hassell ripped an RBI single to drive in Rob Vani. After the Panthers got an unearned run across the plate, Brett Malm drove in Brandon Morse with an RBI single. Santiago was very sharp out of the gate, allowing only one hit through four innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Panthers broke through with four more runs. Kory Cassara smacked an opposite f...
Insider Notes: February 28
Through out the season, I will be posting my observations from the games I attend from a scout’s perspective. It will not always feature positive reviews, but they will be what I gather from my years of watching the game. Here’s a rundown of a few of the top players in yesterday’s game: TJ Santiago: It was the first time I’ve watched him in-person. He was every bit of the hype. He has a 3/4 delivery but is no gimmick. Velocity was 87-89, his splitter is a true weapon at 82 MPH and his slider was 77 MPH. He sustained his velocity through 7 innings–which is even more impressive that it’s his first outing of the season and it was February 28. Santiago also showed a lot of fire. There was a lot of intensity after his big strike outs. The one downside was tha...
T.J. Santiago Dominates in Adelphi’s 5-2 Win on Opening Day
More than one player referred to Opening Day as a holiday during pregame warmups. Adelphi’s starting pitcher, TJ Santiago, had the energy of a kid on Christmas morning but his splitter acted more like the Grinch. The senior RHP was lights out (7 IP, 9 K, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB) in Adelphi’s 5-2 win over perennial powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas. It was a tremendous match up between a member of our 2016 All-Long Island team and Frankie Moscatiello (Rocky Point ’14), who hit 92-MPH with his first pitch of the game. Both pitchers have a chance to get drafted this year. “I was able to use all my pitches in various counts,” said the Panthers’ ace. “First game of the year is always a little more special,” he added. The offense got off to a slow start, but in...
Three Crooked Numbers is the Formula For Adelphi
Photo Credit: Michael Parchinsky The Adelphi Panthers split with Felician in their DH on Sunday. It brings their record to 13-14 on the season.In the first game, they fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first on a double play that allowed the run to score. It didn’t last long, as they responded in the next half inning.John Fogarty hit a sac fly which scored Robert Vani. In the fourth inning, a wild pitch scored Donato Signore and advanced Eric Hassell to third. Later in the inning, Mike Stack hit a sac fly to score Hassell and increase the lead to 3-1.The Panthers added two more in the fifth inning on RBI hits by Signore and Fogarty.Felician scored two in the seventh to briefly put a scare in the Panthers, but Adelphi opened it up with three in the ninth on an RBI single, wild pit...
Long Island Native Jack Zagaja Wins It Against Adelphi
Photo Credit: Vinny Messana The New Haven Chargers came back from a 2-0 deficit against Adelphi and won it on a walk-off single by St. Dominic’s graduate Jack Zagaja.“I had a long at bat,” said Zagaja. “I fouled off curveballs and fastballs. Saw a changeup, smacked it up the middle,” he added.The victory, plus the second game of the double header put Adelphi further in a hole. They now stand at 4-9 on the season.The Panthers got off to a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a single by Alex Zykoff which scored Donato Signore and Robert Vani.Starter Jonathon Mulford was solid as usual–six innings, two ER, two BB, four K’s. He gave way to Nick Batas after allowing a leadoff double in the seventh inning. Batas got an out in the seventh inning. Ricky Van A...
Adelphi Closes Out Florida Trip With Comeback Victory
Photo Credit: Adelphi Athletics Sometimes a win can represent more than just a single W in the standings. For a team that had lost five games in a row, a five-run comeback can mean turning a season around.The Panthers had ace Jonathon Mulford on the hill, but he was pulled with two outs in the third inning in favor of TJ Santiago with the Panthers trailing. The lead ended up getting extended to 6-0 when the Owls added two runs in the sixth inning.Freshman Kory Cassara got the Panthers on the board with his first career HR–a two-run shot to left field. They inched closer when Eric Hassell reached on an error by the 3b that scored their third run of the inning. The big blow came on a two-run double by Alex Zykoff to tie the game at 5.Ricky Van Allen came on relief in the seventh inning...
Adelphi Loses Despite Sharkey’s Torrid Streak
Photo Credit: Adelphi Athletics When Adelphi lost Cliff Brantley and Rich Mejia to pro ball and graduation, respectively, it appeared they would have a hole in the lineup. Well, after two games Vincent Sharkey is making his case to fill those tremendous shoes. In Saturday’s 7-6 loss to Nova Southeastern, the Lynbrook native went 3-for-5 with three RBI to bring his season total to seven hits in just two games. He drove in two of those runs with a bases loaded single in the sixth inning to cut the deficit from 6-0 to 6-4. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not manufacture the runs to tie up the game. Nova, who improved to 18-4 with the victory, teed off on sophomore starter TJ Santiago. He lasted 3.2 inning, allowed seven hits, walked four and was responsible for six runs (5 ER). The bu...
