Logan Diaz's RBI bunts lift Centereach baseball past division rival Newfield
Logan Diaz of Centereach bunts in the fourth inning of a Suffolk League III matchup against Newfield on Monday in Selden. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Logan Diaz has mastered the art of the bunt.
The Centereach junior came up clutch not once but twice playing small ball.
Diaz dropped two perfectly placed RBI bunts in the fourth and sixth innings to give Centereach a 2-1 win over intra-district rival Newfield in a Suffolk League III baseball game Monday in Selden.
Diaz's first conquest came as a pinch hitter in a scoreless game in the top of the fourth inning. He came off the bench with a 2-1 count on Nicholas DiDonato. A one-out walk to Donovan Gilmartin, a single by Kamryn Garcia and a wild pitch had moved the runners into scoring position at second and third base.
Right in the middle of the count to DiDonato, Centereach coach Pete Cammarata called on Diaz, his bunt specialist. The move was brilliant as Diaz dropped a well-placed squeeze bunt between charging first baseman Anthony Morelli and starting pitcher Anthony Ricchetti to score Gilmartin for the 1-0 lead.
As the bunt rolled toward second base, Cammarata wheeled Garcia around third base to try and steal a second run on the play. The lefthanded Ricchetti chased the bunt down, made a barehanded pick and threw perfectly to catcher Christian Rivera to deny the second run.
“We’re playing small ball to win games,” Cammarata said. “It must be this way right now because we’re not hitting. We need to manufacture runs, and I didn’t think it was a gamble trying for that second run. The pitcher had to make a great throw to get him, and he did.”
Newfield (6-4) tied the score in the fifth. Aydin Walker hit an infield single and moved to second on the ensuing throwing error. He went to third on a wild pitch. Ryan Scarglato lifted a high popup to short right and second baseman Tristan Robles Jr. battled the sun while backpedaling to make the catch, stumbling backward and falling to the turf. Walker scored on the sac fly to tie the score at 1.
Centereach (3-4) answered in the top of the sixth against Ricchetti, who finished with nine strikeouts in six and 1/3 innings. Gilmartin singled, and Garcia doubled down the leftfield line putting runners at second and third. Diaz dropped another fantastic bunt, this one on an 0-1 fastball, to score Gilmartin for the 2-1 lead.
“We practice our bunting a lot,” Diaz said. “I’m always ready to go in. This was for bragging rights in the district.”
Centereach starting pitcher Michael Buonagura scattered four hits and struck out six for his third win.
“The first inning I challenged them with the fastball, and they hit the ball hard,” Buonagura said. “We mixed it up from there and kept them off balance. And we played great defense. This is a great rivalry, always chippy. Big win for us.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
