‘Small ball’ 7-run inning crushes John Jay playoff hopes

John Jay starting pitcher Jacob Storch fires to the plate for the Wolves in playoff game vs. Pearl River. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

By JIM MACLEAN

Baseball is known for the big blows, the home runs, the strikeouts, the big hits, but in the end it comes down to who scores the most runs. And sometimes “small ball” can make the difference to come out on top.

A perfect example of that strategy was turned in by Pearl River as the No. 9-seed Pirates came to John Jay on Saturday to face the No. 8-seed Wolves in the first round of the Section 1 Class B playoffs.

Locked in a 3-3 tie entering the sixth inning, Pearl River sent 12 batters to the plate and didn’t hit a single ball out of the infield, but somehow managed to score seven runs. Four bunts, four infield rollers, a couple of walks, an error, and the Pirates were on their way to a 10-3 victory to advance.

“Can you believe that? In all my years of coaching I’ve never seen anything like that,” John Jay coach Ted Lawrence said. “Even the balls that they didn’t bunt were little infield hits that found a hole and we just couldn’t get to them. It’s amazing, but that’s baseball, I’ve just never seen so many bunts in a row. Bases loaded, bunt and run — that was a great play. They put the pressure on us and it worked.”

Even before the big inning, Pearl River was using the bunt to make a difference in a three-run rally in the top of the third inning. The Pirates had a bloop single and three bunts combined with a two-run double to take a 3-0 lead.

John Jay answered back in the bottom of the fourth inning as senior All-Section star Jackson Moreo led off with a double and senior Ben Kalish followed with an RBI single. Luke Fisch followed with a single and Luca Maiuolo drilled an RBI single to score Kalish and make it 3-2.

Starting pitcher Jacob Storch settled in on the mound for the Wolves and then he helped his own cause at the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning. Aidan Chernick was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice by Moreo, and Storch lined an RBI single to score Chernick and tie it up at 3-3.

The momentum didn’t last long as Pearl River struck back in the top of the sixth with its seven-run rally. The Pirates closed out the victory to advance as John Jay finished the season at 12-9 overall

Jackson Moreo connects for a single.

Storch came into the season as the ace on the mound for John Jay, but missed about half the season with a hamstring injury. It was his first game back and it was not the ending he was hoping for after four years as a varsity starter for the Wolves. Storch will play next year at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

“It was his first game back after five weeks, and we were confident with him on the bump and he made great pitches,” Lawrence said of Storch. “I’ve loved him since I first saw him as a freshman. As an infielder he attacks the ball and he can hit and drive the ball. He’s been doing it for four years for us.”

Moreo finished with two hits in the game, including a single in his final at bat in the seventh inning for the Wolves as he closed out an impressive senior season both on the mound and at the plate as he earned All-Section honors.

“He did it all season long right to his last at bat, he never hiccupped. When he was on the bump he threw strikes at the plate, he just had a great year,” Lawrence said of Moreo. “Overall, we had a great season with a young team, five sophomores and a freshman starting, sprinkled in three seniors and we missed Jacob for a bunch of the season. Hopefully, they learn from this and will be back. That’s what life is, you learn from your disappointments and hopefully turn it into success.”