Clutch hits, defense lifts Kennedy over Seaford

Posted

It was clear from the first inning that runs were going to be at a premium in the third-round Nassau County Class A baseball playoff game between No. 3 Seaford (18-6 overall) and No. 11 Kennedy (15-8-1) last Friday.

Runners were aggressive on the basepaths — the Cougars had a pair of steals, the Vikings took advantage of a walk and a pair of wild pitches in the first inning alone — as both coaches looked to manufacture runs. Staked to an early one-run lead after the first inning, Kennedy sophomore Jason Coules tip-toed his way out of trouble several times in his longest outing of the season (six innings), allowing just a pair of runs in a 5-2 victory that pushed the Cougars into the semifinals and a best-of-3 matchup with top-seeded Carey.

“[Jason Coules] pitched a beautiful game,” Seaford coach Mike Milano said after his team managed just four hits.

“When you’re playing against such a good pitcher, [scoring] runs is like pulling teeth,” Kennedy coach Eric Passman said after his team managed just three hits and two walks while striking out five times against junior starter AJ Cain in six innings. “[AJ] Cain was a bulldog and it was a grind.”

A one-run game into the seventh, run-scoring hits by senior Greg Goeller and senior Tyler Griffith finally gave Kennedy some breathing room. But as important as Goeller’s single to centerfield was, it was his head’s up play in the field that kept Kennedy in position to win.

He shook off consecutive errors in the bottom of the fifth to throw out Vikings’ senior Mike Perez at home on attempted stolen base. With junior Mike Tito breaking from first, Goeller took the throw from senior catcher Reid Orestes and ran Tito back to first as Perez broke for the plate. With his eyes locked on Perez the entire time he chased Tito back to the bag, Goeller fired home when Perez made a run for it. Oreste caught the throw and applied the tag for the second out of the inning. Seaford then loaded the bases on a walk and hit by pitch, but senior Keith McHugh grounded into a fielder’s choice to Griffith to end the threat.

“For a high school kid to make two errors in a row it’s very difficult for kids to keep their composure,” Passman said. “But he made the perfect throw. It was very important to keep the tying run from coming to the plate.”

Goeller and Oreste also teamed up to throw a runner out at home in the first inning on a single that ricocheted off Goeller’s glove and into short left field. Goeller never have up on the ball and nailed Anthony Pristera, at second after a booming double, at home. Oreste was a huge force on defense behind the plate, also throwing out a runner on an attempted steal. “Give their catcher credit,” Milano said. “He needed to make plays and throws in critical moments, and they got some really big outs from the position [defensively].”