Highway Hammers rally past Cobbling Rock

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Wednesday, August 5, Cobbling Rock Construction faced the Highway Hammers at Reis Park, and a low-scoring game had Cobbling Rock ahead 3-1 in the top of the fourth. So the Hammers needed a boost, and a grooved pitch did the trick.

“It was right there,” said Scotty Pires, and his two-run homer that tied the game propelled the visitors to an 8-4 victory.

The eventual winners started small, though. Steve Danko and Mikey Pires led off with singles, and Matt Pires moved Danko 60 feet away with a sacrifice fly to left-center. Joe Veca’s one-hopper to short was then gobbled up by JT Genovese, but the snare was not good enough to keep Danko at third.

1-0, and Cobbling Rock took its turn. Joe Festo led off with a single, and Brendan Smith tripled him in with a shot to deep center.

Genovese proceeded with his own laser. Only his blast went off the pitcher’s glove, and on the overthrow, Festo came home.

With the lead changing hands, the next three half-innings kept the game status quo, and two more great plays by Genovese did their part. His mishit base hit to left also had a say, and with Smith moving to second, Joe Andriano’s single made it 3-1.

Onto the top of the fourth, Veca set the table. The third baseman’s single to right brought up Scotty Pires with one out, and his drive over the very long left-field fence was more than unexpected. “I’m not supposed to ever hit a home run,” he joked.

All tied, Cobbling fought back. Tom Watson singled to left, and Festo singled in a 4-3 lead.

Of course, the Hammers weren’t done nailing Smith’s high arc. Tommy Mullin smoked a line drive past third, Alex Carson reached on an error, and Danko and Matt Pires added singles to retake the lead. A little luck came next. Erick Carazza’s fly ball to center looked like easy pickins, but Festo didn’t put the squeeze on.

Now 6-4 in favor of the Hammers, Tommy Mullins had the complete confidence of his team. “He’s the best pitcher in the league,” said Michael Mariani. “We call him Shohei O’Tommy.”

So after Genovese led off with a single, the winning pitcher forced a pair of popups in the fifth, but he did get some help from his third baseman on a one-hop laser down the line. “He’s a monster,” said Mariani, and the highlight-reel play took care of the fifth.

As for the sixth, Mullins did it all himself. Three popups made for three outs, and after singles by Danko and Matt Pires led to two more insurance runs, the Highway Hammers were three outs away.

A one-out walk by Baranowski offered hope, and so did Smith’s line drive into the left-center-field gap. But giving chase was a state champion. “Matty Pires is a first team all section football player,” said Mariani, and the former wide receiver made up the ground like he hasn’t lost a step since 2016.

Pires got the last one too, and at 9-5, the one-half-game separation from first place wasn’t hard for Mariani to explain. “It’s good defense and all the high fives,” he jokingly concluded.