Crowley's grand slam leads Friends Academy to Long Island title

Chris Crowley changed the game with one swing.

His grand slam in the third inning snapped a 1-1 tie and Friends Academy went on to beat Mercy, 7-2, Sunday in the Long Island Class C baseball championship at Farmingdale State College.

The 350-foot shot over the leftfield wall by the catcher was a no-doubter and helped the Quakers advance to the regional finals.

"It's a momentum game," Friends pitcher Sam Harrington said. "Once our team got that lead after Crowley's grand slam, it knocked the wind right out of them."

Though Crowley provided the big blast, it was the sure hands of Chris Campbell at second base, Alek Kucich at shortstop and Peter Kaplan at first that steered Mercy off course.

With a run in and a runner on first with no outs in the first, Pat Stepnoski grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to take the early pressure off Harrington.

With the bases loaded in the second, Mercy's Joe Crosser grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to keep Mercy off the board.

SEE PHOTOSClass C LIC: Mercy vs. Friends Academy

"Those plays changed the complexion of the game," Friends coach Marshall Lindner said. "It settled us down and let us relax. If [Mercy] would have scored in the second, it would have been a different [game]."

Friends tacked on two more runs in the fourth with back-to-back RBI hits from Campbell and Harrington.

Mercy threatened in the fifth. Connor Stepnoski's RBI single made it 7-2 and then the Monarchs loaded the bases with two outs. But Harrington struck out Rocco Pasquale to prevent further damage.

Meanwhile, Friends, which scored in double digits in two of its previous three games, continued its hit barrage. The Quakers had 11 hits and committed no errors.

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"We had a lot of doubters in the beginning of the season," Crowley said of Friends, now 9-12. "We're such a small school . . . but [my teammates] were unbelievable."