Moreo pitches out of last inning jam to earn win

Jackson Moreo delivers to the plate in victory at Somers. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

The tying and winning runs were on base, but Jackson Moreo was determined to get out of the jam and close out the victory for John Jay as the Wolves faced rival Somers on the road May 5.

Moreo got the strikeout to end the game as John Jay held on for a 5-4 win, with Moreo going the distance and hurling 112 pitches overall. He helped his own cause at the plate, delivering a two-run double in a two-out, four-run rally in the fourth, and the Wolves staged another two-out run for the win as Aidan Chernick drilled a triple and Ben Kalish brought him home with a double for what proved to be the winning run.

Somers battled and made it interesting, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh as the Tuskers tried to rally for a win on senior day, but Moreo was not going to let that happen.

“That was the most pitches I’ve thrown, but I’m glad coach let me stay in,” Moreo said after the win. “I really wanted this one bad, Somers is a team I struggled against, not being able to finish games, so I really wanted to get this one done. It just goes to show how resilient this team is, two outs, down two, we’re never out of any game.”

With the win John Jay improved to 12-6 overall on the season as the Wolves continue to find ways to pull out a victory, but this one would not be easy.

Somers struck first as the Tuskers put together four hits and scored two runs to take a 2-0 lead in the third inning. It could have been more, but David Storch made a diving catch in the outfield to help Moreo and the Wolves get out of the inning.

And John Jay answered right back in the top of the fourth. Eli Tubbs was hit by a pitch to lead off the rally, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Nate Summers. Storch hit a single to make it first and third, and Moreo delivered with two outs as he hit a double to score two runs and tie it up.

The Wolves were not done as Ben Kalish followed with an infield single and stole second, and Amogha Bhat delivered a two-run single to make it 4-2.

It stayed that way to the top of the sixth when the Wolves struck again. Aidan Chernick drilled a shot to the wall in the gap and legged it out for a triple. With two outs, Kalish delivered again with a double to score Chernick and make it 5-2.

Moreo was in control, but the Tuskers would put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh with three hits and an error to score a pair of runs and cut the lead down to 5-4 with two runners on and two outs. Nobody was warming up for John Jay as coach Ted Lawrence made a trip to the mound to talk it over with Moreo, who responded by striking out the final batter for the win.

“Not at all, he wasn’t coming out,” Lawrence said of the decision to let Moreo finish the game. “He was commanding, still making his pitches, and he was staying in. I just told him go get this guy. He’s come a long way, freshman year against Somers I pulled him, but I wasn’t pulling him today. He’s turned into an ace.”

It was a big win on the road against a league rival with contributions up and down the lineup for the Wolves. Kalish, Storch, and Luke Fisch each had two hits to lead the way.

“Huge win for us, on their home field, senior day, you know they wanted this one bad, they threw their number one at us and our kids responded,” said Lawrence. “Second time through the lineup we got to him, that’s what our guys have been doing all year, they make adjustments and they battle up and down the lineup, I love it. They have a will to win, they just keep coming at you.”