Carle Place's Tommy Schoch gets both win and save in Game 1 of Class B semis
Thomas Schoch of Carle Place celebrates with head coach Stephen Laurino after reaching third base during Game 1 of the Nassau Class B baseball semifinals against Cold Spring Harbor on Monday. Credit: Anna Sergeeva
Tommy Schoch figured his day on the mound was done.
The Carle Place junior righthander had delivered six strong innings, striking out eight and allowing only four hits and two earned runs. He moved to shortstop in the seventh inning with his Frogs holding a comfortable six-run lead.
But that six-run lead dwindled to three with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh inning. It is common for position players to get subbed out and re-enter into the game. But pitchers? It is legal, though Schoch had no clue.
“I found out when Coach came to the mound and said, ‘Can you come back in and win this game?’” he said. “I said, ‘Yeah. Absolutely.’”
Schoch faced one batter, throwing six more pitches for his ninth strikeout to earn the save – and preserve his own win – in No. 2 Carle Place’s 8-5 home win over No. 3 Cold Spring Harbor in Game 1 of the best-of-three Nassau Class B baseball semifinals Monday.
“He stepped on the mound, he got the ball, I was like, ‘This is allowed?’” catcher Colin Driscoll said. “I was confused, and even the ump didn’t know. He came up and he's like, ‘Yeah, I want it.’”
Despite entering with the potential go-ahead run at bat, Schoch was not allowed to throw warmup pitches because he had already pitched.
“I was a little foggy on it, I'm not going to lie,” coach Stephen Laurino said. “Both of our assistant coaches, Sal Delio and Christian Pellegrino, brought it up to me. And so I said, ‘Well, I got to go double check with the umpire just to make sure.’ He confirmed it, and we did it and it worked out.”
Was he timid to bring Schoch back in?
“Honestly, not with Tommy,” Laurino said. “He's such a gamer, and when I told him I was taking him out, he was a little bit mad at me. He would never give me an attitude – he's the best kid ever – but I could see in his eyes, he was a little frustrated. He wanted to finish that game. I knew it. I knew he was going to come in and get this guy.”
Carle Place (15-6) will look for the series win in Game 2 at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cold Spring Harbor. If CSH (8-11-1) wins, there will be a Game 3 at Carle Place at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
CSH took a 1-0 first-inning lead on Bryan Goldstein’s RBI groundout. Carle Place scored four runs in the bottom half of the first, all with two outs; Ryan Kang had a two-run single, and Roman Sandonato and Driscoll each had an RBI double.
Schoch’s two-run triple highlighted a four-run fourth inning to give the Frogs an 8-1 lead after two innings.
Alex Leidy had an RBI sac fly in the sixth to cut CSH’s deficit to 8-2. Connor Sheridan’s RBI double, Goldstein’s RBI walk and Leidy’s RBI hit by pitch gave CSH its seventh-inning runs before Schoch re-entered.
“We got two outs,” Schoch said. “We still got a three-run lead. We’re still in a good spot to win a ballgame. Attack with fastballs and get the job done.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
