Clarke baseball's Matt Kurz hits go-ahead three-run HR in sixth inning in win over Division
Clarke's Matt Kurz is surrounded by his teammates after his home run in the sixth inning of a Nassau Conference AA-3 baseball game against Division on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Levittown. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
If you like clutch hitting, the baseball teams at Division and Clarke have plenty of it. The teams traded big hits in a wild Nassau Conference A-3 game Wednesday in Levittown.
The final blow came in the top of the sixth inning when Clarke centerfielder Matt Kurz crushed a three-run home run to leftfield break a tie at 6 in the Rams' 9-8 win, moving them into sole possession of first place.
And he did it on a 3-0 count.
“It was a fastball down the middle, and I just sat on it,” Kurz said. “Love that the coach gave me the green light.”
With the score tied at 6 and one out, Clarke’s Nick Buffolino stepped in to pinch hit and doubled into the gap. Speedy leadoff hitter Mike Iadevaia chopped an infield single to put runners on first and third before the Kurz blast.
“We haven’t been hitting but today we had some good swings in big spots,” Clarke coach Tom Abruscato said. “Our guys responded time and time again. Division kept the pressure on and they kept coming back. That’s what good teams do.”
Clarke’s Jimmy Beckworth gave the Rams a 1-0 lead with a run-scoring double in the first. Division answered with a two-out Luca Hafner RBI single to tie it at 1.
Clarke (8-1, 4-1) took advantage of four Division errors to score three times in the second inning for a 4-1 lead. Division (6-3, 3-2) answered again. The Blue Dragons batted around in the bottom half of the inning to score four times and take a 5-4 lead. The inning included two walks, a hit batsman, two hits and a sacrifice fly by Luca Hafner for the one-run lead.
Both starting pitchers, Jefferson Biener of Division and Clarke’s Rich Luke settled down through the third and fourth innings. In the fifth, Clarke regained the lead when first baseman James Millman smoked a two-out, two-run homerun for the 6-5 lead.
“It was a first pitch fastball, and I was looking to hit it out,” Millman said. “I knew it was out right away.”
Division tied the score at 6 when Jason Perez singled and moved to third after two walks. He scored on a wild pitch.
That set up a wild sixth inning. The Kurz blast gave the Blue Dragons the three-run lead and then Division, showing all kinds of resiliency, answered with two runs keyed by an RBI double from Aidan Susi to get within 9-8.
Clarke reliever Jimmy Beckworth came on for the save. He got the last out of the sixth and fired a scoreless seventh.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
