Medeiros, Donoghue are clutch at the plate in South Side win
Aidan Medeiros of South Side makes it safely to third after teammate Gavin Donoghue singles during a Nassau baseball game on Thursday in Glen Cove. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Just put the ball in play.
It’s easier said than done, but it’s the approach Aidan Medeiros took in the top of the seventh inning. He entered the batter’s box with the bases loaded and one out in a tie game.
Medeiros hit a short fly ball to rightfield, initially thinking it wasn’t enough for a sacrifice fly. However, Robert Pericolosi raced home to give South Side the lead.
“That at-bat, I’ve been in it before,” Medeiros said. “I just got to get the ball in play. I got to get a good piece on the ball, get a run in. We needed a run there. The offense got the job done to get on, so I just had to get them in.”
Gavin Donoghue followed Medeiros’ sac fly with a two-run double to pad South Side’s lead. The Cyclones held on to win 7-4 over Glen Cove in Nassau A-II at Glen Cove High School.
“The biggest thing with them was us telling them ‘Stay within yourselves,’ ” coach Tom Smith said. “ ‘Stay calm, be patient.’ Going into the bottom of the seventh, you gave yourself the cushion, go make the plays.”
Thomas McCarthy closed it out for South Side (7-2), pitching 1 ⅓ innings with two strikeouts, including one with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.
Shortstop Drew Aromiskis knew the offense had to come through in the seventh to help McCarthy close out Glen Cove (2-4).
“We were able to manufacture a couple runs and that gave T Mac the confidence,” Aromiskis said. “He knew he had the defense behind him. And we put up three, so he had a lot of confidence going on the mound.”
South Side’s offense controlled the pace, always forcing Glen Cove to answer. Chris Rosenbaum went 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Donoghue was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. The Cyclones led 4-1 after the top half of the fifth inning.
“That’s been Chris all year,” Smith said. “Chris has been the guy … He’s not fooled. He’s not shook. He stays within himself and knows with two strikes, he’s going to stay short and look for something to drive.”
Trevor Marigliano started and pitched 5 ⅔ innings. His first three were scoreless, however, Glen Cove tacked on four runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
