Matt Bolton's walk-off hit lifts Division past Calhoun in Game 1 of Nassau 'A' finals
Division teammates mob Matt Bolton (third from right) after his ground rule double wins the game 3-2 in Game 1 of the Nassau Class A baseball championship against Calhoun at Farmingdale State College on Sunday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Matt Bolton unloaded on a 1-and-2 curveball with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, sending a drive well over the rightfielder’s head. By the time Bolton had rounded first base, Kaolis Delacruz had scored the winning run from third and the celebration was on. The Division baseball team poured out of the third-base dugout and charged across the infield to mob Bolton.
His two-strike drive with the bases loaded gave Division a walk-off 3-2 win over Calhoun in Game 1 of the best-of-three Nassau Class A championship series on Sunday afternoon at Farmingdale State College. Division (26-1) can clinch the county title in Game 2 on Monday at 10 a.m. at the same location.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard somewhere,” said Bolton, a Binghamton commit. “I sat back and hit it well.”
Delacruz drilled a double down the leftfield line with one out in the seventh and moved to third on a two-out infield error. Calhoun starter Danny Goodman then walked second baseman Tyler Diez on a 3-and-2 pitch to load the bases for Bolton.
“Matt’s been clutch all season,” Division coach Tom Tuttle said. “I was not surprised he put such a charge into that game-winner.”
Bolton’s big hit made Division starter James Sill (9-0) the winning pitcher. He threw a three-hitter and struck out four.
His biggest out, in a game filled with big moments for both teams, came in the top of the seventh. Calhoun (25-3) loaded the bases but couldn’t push the go-ahead run across. The righthander struck out the Colts’ hottest hitter, Charlie Imhoff, for the final out of the inning.
“We played travel ball together and Charlie is a great hitter,” Sill said. “I got him with a 2-and-2 fastball a little up in the zone.”
Sill was perfect through 3 2⁄3 innings before Imhoff lined a double into the rightfield corner. With two outs and Imhoff representing the potential tying run at second base, cleanup hitter Ryan Pucella lined a shot between first and second. Diez ranged far to his left, made a diving stop, got up and rifled a throw to first that barely beat Pucella for the final out of the fourth.
The significance of the defensive play was not lost on Tuttle. As Diez got up to throw out Pucella, Calhoun third-base coach Steve DiMarco was sending Imhoff home.
“Tyler made a great play and kept them scoreless,” Tuttle said. “That’s what he does. Tyler makes those Jeter-esque types of plays — the key play in the big spot.”
Division took a 1-0 lead in the second when Chris Clune doubled and scored on Cody Brush’s two-out single.
Calhoun was able to break through with one out in the fifth. Sill walked Brian Sanchez and Joey Goodman before Tyler Marcus lined an RBI single to rightfield to tie it at 1.
The Colts’ rally was cut short by another strong defensive play by Division. With runners on first and second, Sean DiPaola squared to bunt and sophomore Aidan Quinn charged in from first base. Quinn fielded the grounder and cut down Goodman at third. Sill fielded a comebacker to end the threat.
“The players have to believe our bunt defense is important when we go over it in practice,” Tuttle said. “We take our defense very seriously and it shows in games.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Brush reached on a one-out infield throwing error and moved to third on a groundout.
With a 2-and-2 count on Diez and the lefthanded Goodman continuing to keep Division off-balance with an array of off-speed pitches, Tuttle decided to send Brush for an attempted steal of home. Goodman was alert and fired to Pucella, nailing Brush at the plate for the final out.
Calhoun took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Matt Kalfas scored on a fielder’s choice. A sacrifice fly by Joe Yovino in the sixth drove in Diez to tie the score at 2.
“It was a back-and-forth game and every play was huge,” Sill said. “It was a battle like most of our playoff games.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
