CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Tuesday, May 5, John Jay resumed its rivalry with Somers, and the matchup lived up to the hype.
With the tying run on third and the winning run on second in the bottom of the seventh, John Jay pitcher Jackson Moreo sealed a 5-4 complete-game victory by striking out Matteo Goulart looking on the outside corner.
The game opened with dominant pitching on both sides. Somers starter Gavin Kelly struck out the side in the first inning, retiring Aidan Chernick, Ben Kalish and Amogha Bhat without a swing.
Moreo answered in the bottom half. After Ryan McAuley led off with a double, the John Jay right-hander retired Lorenzo D’Ambrosio, Tyler Venturini and Jake Hopper on fly balls to keep the game scoreless.
In the second inning, Kelly worked around trouble after Luke Fisch singled up the middle and Nate Summer reached on an infield hit. With two outs and the bases loaded, Chernick grounded out to third to end the threat.
Moreo continued to match Kelly pitch for pitch, recording three more outs in the air before Kelly worked through the third inning with the help of two strikeouts and a pop out.
The pitchers’ duel finally broke in the bottom of the third. James Radding opened with a line-drive single up the middle, and Matteo Goulart followed with a hard-hit ball to right field that was turned into a sliding catch by David Storch.
After McAuley flew out, D’Ambrosio delivered an RBI single to score the game’s first run. Venturini followed with a single to center, and Hopper added another RBI hit to right field for a 2-0 Somers lead.
John Jay responded immediately in the top of the fourth. Eli Tubbs was hit by a pitch, Storch singled to left and Moreo tied the game with a double down the left-field line.
The Wolves kept rolling. Kalish reached on an infield single and, after a double steal, Bhat lined a two-run single to right field to give John Jay a 4-2 advantage.
Kelly settled back in by striking out the side in the bottom of the fourth, but Moreo continued to work efficiently. Despite issuing a walk and hitting a batter in the fifth, he recorded three more fly-ball outs to keep the lead intact.
John Jay added an insurance run in the sixth when Chernick led off with a triple and scored on a Kalish double for a 5-2 lead.
Somers threatened in the bottom of the inning after Giudice reached on an infield hit and McAuley later walked to load the bases with two outs. However, D’Ambrosio grounded out to Fisch at second base to preserve the three-run margin.
Radding retired John Jay in order in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for a dramatic final inning.
Hopper started the rally with a one-out infield single, and after Summer reached on an error, Giudice singled to right to cut the deficit to 5-3. A wild pitch later made it 5-4.
Radding then hit a sharp ground ball to third that Bhat made a diving stop on, but the infield single loaded the bases and brought Goulart to the plate as the potential hero.
Moreo, however, stayed composed and froze Goulart with a called third strike to end the game and secure the complete-game victory.
John Jay could not complete the season sweep, however, as Somers responded with a 7-3 win in the rematch on Thursday.
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