Fast start lifts Somers over John Jay

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Thursday, May 7, Somers got the revenge it was looking for after falling 5-4 at home to John Jay two days earlier. But early on at John Jay, both teams threatened to break the game open.

Somers loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first, while John Jay put runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom half. The Tuskers delivered the bigger blow — and ultimately controlled the game — in a 7-3 victory.

Things initially looked promising for John Jay starter Jack Garneau, who struck out Gavin Kelly to begin the game. But Somers quickly turned the inning around. Garneau walked the next four batters to force in a run, Justin Thomas followed with a two-run double, and Matt Giudice capped the five-run inning with an RBI single to center.

John Jay answered right away. Aidan Chernick reached on an error and Jackson Moreo singled to center before Somers starter Ryan McAuley settled in. McAuley struck out Ben Kalish and got Amogha Bhat to ground into a fielder’s choice, though a balk allowed John Jay to get on the board and cut the lead to 5-1.

Somers kept the pressure on in the second. Kelly singled to left, Tyler Venturini reached on an error, and a wild pitch brought home another run for the Tuskers.

McAuley then found his rhythm. He retired John Jay in order in the third on two popups and a fly ball, giving the offense another chance to add on.

John Jay threatened again in the fourth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Eli Tubbs singled home a run, but Kelly prevented further damage by throwing out the trailing runner at the plate.

Somers nearly answered immediately. Thomas tripled with one out in the fifth, but Giudice and Radding were unable to bring him home.

Kelly continued to make his presence felt defensively behind McAuley. After Henry Barbagallo made a strong play deep in the hole at second on David Storch’s ground ball, Lorenzo D’Ambrosio completed the play with a scoop at first.

A pair of errors later in the inning helped John Jay create another scoring chance, and Bhat delivered an RBI hit to cut the deficit in half. But with the momentum building, Kelly came through again. Luke Fisch drove a ball deep to center field, where Kelly tracked it down for the inning-ending out.

From there, McAuley closed the door. Backed by Venturini’s seventh-inning insurance homer, the Somers right-hander retired the final six batters he faced as the Tuskers bounced back from Tuesday’s loss.