Somers finds its swing, cruises past Carmel

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Monday, April 6, spring break wasn’t quite over, and Gavin Kelly looked like he was still shaking off a little rust.

“I couldn’t find it at first,” he admitted after working out of a bases-loaded jam in the opening inning. A wild pitch allowed a run to score, but Kelly managed to limit the damage.

“I knew Justin (Thomas) would make a perfect throw,” he said of a key tag play.

With only one run crossing the plate, Kelly settled in and went on to lead Somers to an 8-1 victory.

A strikeout ended Carmel’s early threat, and Somers regrouped at the plate. After Ryan McAuley drew a walk and Tyler Venturini was hit by a pitch, Kelly had a chance to help his own cause.

Though he struck out looking, he quickly regained his rhythm on the mound, retiring the side in order in the next frame with a groundout, strikeout and flyout to keep the game within reach.

Somers broke through in the second inning. With one out, James Radding wasn’t intimidated by Carmel’s tall right-hander, Casey Lowndes.

“Nothing really crazy—he just comes at you from a higher release point,” Radding said.

There was no major adjustment needed.

“I was just looking for a fastball, and I got it,” he added.

Radding drove the ball deep into left-center for a double, then aggressively stole third base. A wild pitch brought him home to tie the game.

By the third inning, Kelly and his catcher had made the necessary adjustments.

“We got everything sorted out,” Kelly said.

Aside from a bunt single, Carmel’s offense was quiet the rest of the way.

Kelly helped his own cause again at the plate in the third inning.

“We actually had their signs,” he revealed.

Anticipating a curveball, Kelly didn’t miss.

“I put a good swing on it,” he said, driving in two runs to give Somers a 3-1 lead.

After allowing a leadoff double in the next inning, Kelly responded by retiring the next three batters to maintain control.

In the fifth, after a leadoff single and two strikeouts, a walk brought Lowndes to the plate.

“He’s a great hitter,” Kelly said.

But the matchup never materialized. Jack Noreika came on in relief and delivered.

“Fastball up, slider down—you’ve got to go get them,” Noreika said.

He struck out the batter swinging to end the threat.

Somers’ offense took over in the bottom of the inning. Jake Hopper and Venturini led off with singles, setting the stage for Lorenzo D’Ambrosio.

“I told the guys I was going to hit the ball hard somewhere,” D’Ambrosio said. “If you’re in the right mindset, that’s the only way it’s going to happen.”

Looking for a fastball, he got exactly what he wanted.

“That’s my favorite pitch,” he said.

D’Ambrosio ripped a double to deep right field, driving in two runs to make it 5-1.

Somers kept the pressure on. Thomas followed with an RBI single, and after Radding walked, another run scored on a double steal.

With a comfortable lead, Radding took over on the mound, and Kelly later returned to close things out.

“Today was great,” Kelly said. “We all did a great job.”