Clarke stopped in semifinals

Clarke fell one series short of having a chance to defend its Nassau County Class A baseball crown, dropping the deciding game of a best-of-three semifinal showdown with No. 2 North Shore, 7-1, last Saturday.

The game, originally started last Friday afternoon, was suspended due to heavy rain in the bottom of the second inning with the Vikings already ahead by two runs. North Shore tacked on three more runs in the fourth — all unearned against senior All-County pitcher Mike Turton — on a pair of doubles and advanced to the championship round to face No. 1 Division.

“The kids did a great job,” Rams coach Tom Abruscato said, noting that his team overcame an early five-game losing streak yet still won the regular-season conference crown for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons. “We bounced back to get within one game of a county championship. They did a great job and they’re such great kids.”

Clarke (18-7 overall), seeded No. 3, had its best chance for a scoring outburst in the series finale against North Shore pitcher Nick Daley in the third. No. 3 hitter and All-County honoree Jesse Russo had runners at first and second with no one out and worked the count full. Daley, however, induced the senior to ground into a one-hop double play to second. The Rams scored their only run of the game on a single by junior John Dellolio. “We had runners on base and we had opportunities [to score],” Abruscato said.

Before the drizzle that started in the top of the second inning turned into a full out torrential downpour and finally a thunderstorm that led to the umpires suspending play, North Shore scraped together two runs in the first with two outs and one hit--a bunt single down the third base line. Clarke’s starting pitcher for Game 3, junior Ray Winans, issued two walks with two outs and a runner on first, then hit the next two batters to force two runners to cross the plate. “Ray’s been good all year,” Abruscato said. “I think the nerves may have gotten to him, but he settled in in the second and got the first two outs [before the rain].”

The final game showdown was forced when Clarke blasted the Vikings, 12-0, in the second game of the series on May 21, to back the pitching of junior Hasan Deljanin who went the distance and allowed just three hits and three walks and struck out five. The offense banged out 16 hits against North Shore’s ace, Ryan Perro. “We had 16 hits,” Abruscato said. “We went the other way, we were aggressive at the plate and ahead in the count.

“I didn’t expect that we’d score 12, but I didn’t expect that we’d give up seven [the following game],” he added. “We capitalized in Game 2.”

Clarke stormed into the semifinals riding a nine-game winning streak, earning three of them in the playoffs, including two over Floral Park in back-to-back games prior to facing North Shore. Along with Russo and Turton, senior catcher Peter Falgiano earned All-County honors, while senior first baseman was named to the All-Conference team and senior Tyler Constantine was named All-League.

“The [Class] A’s are so tough,” Abruscato said. “To consistently win in a league that has great coaching and great teams in Nassau County is a great accomplishment.”