Calhoun knocks off East Meadow

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Calhoun downed East Meadow, 10-4, in the rubber game of a best-of-three Nassau Class AA baseball quarterfinal playoff series last Friday, avenging a postseason loss last year.

Junior Tim Fine smacked a fastball over the centerfield fence to snap a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the fourth inning, after which the Colts blanked the Jets.

“Tim probably only had about 20 bats all year and going into the game I had a hunch he would match up real well against East Meadow’s pitchers,” Calhoun coach Art Canestro said about penciling in the catcher as the designated hitter.

Junior utility infielder Jack Pugliano tacked on a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and sophomore shortstop Anthony D’Andrea went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, hitting a home run over the scoreboard in the sixth.

East Meadow struck first when senior Joe Franzese knocked in two baserunners with a two-out single off Calhoun starter Mike Porcelli in the first inning. Sophomore Jake Edwards pitched four scoreless innings in relief, striking out five batters and relinquishing one hit to notch the win.

“Jake’s got a pretty good curveball, and he tends to get ahead of batters in the count, so I made that move and it worked out,” Canestro said. 

Entering the series, Calhoun had enjoyed a bye while East Meadow had to rally from a five-run deficit against Long Beach in an 11-7 opening-round single-elimination game. The Jets used several relievers who in turn were unavailable to pitch or limited the next day for game one against Calhoun.

“We were on short rest, it was a hot day, and we had a stretch of four games in five days, and we just ran out of gas,” East Meadow coach John Marciante said about losing both game one and the series.

East Meadow, which defeated Calhoun in the semifinals en route to winning a county championship last season, scored two runs in the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead in the opening game. Calhoun answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning when junior second baseman Kevin Hannon hit a two-run single scoring Edwards and D’Andrea. Calhoun senior pitcher Mike Losak started and gave up seven hits and two earned runs in six innings to earn the win.

In game two, East Meadow evened the series with a 9-1 win at home. The Colts scored an unearned run in the first, and the Jets answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning.

East Meadow sophomore Charlie Cucchiara pitched a complete game. He struck out nine batters and allowed five hits while giving up no walks or earned runs. Justin Reyes went 3-for-5 and scored two runs as the leadoff batter, while fellow senior Sal D’Onofrio went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

“If my team had a losing record, everyone would have said ‘it was a rebuilding year,’” Marciante said. “But my players bought in and wanted to have another good season, so we’re really happy and proud of them.”