A turbulent few weeks in the CHSAA have shuffled Holy Cross to the top of Queens baseball as the postseason approaches on May 23.
The defining moment came on Wednesday, May 13, when the Knights swept St. Francis Prep in a hard-fought doubleheader. In Game Two, with two men on, no one out, and the score tied in the fifth, Holy Cross starter Derek Lamacchia struck out three Terriers, then watched teammate A.J. Morena come home on a wild pitch the following inning to score the decisive run.
That doubleheader tipped the scales. Prep entered the game with the best record in Queens and emerged at .500. Cross went in at 6-4 and left with twice as many wins as losses. As of Monday, May 18, the second-place Knights (9-4) are a half-game ahead of the third-place Terriers (8-4).
Both teams trail Xaverian of Brooklyn, which has lost only once all season long, and have fourth-place Bishop Ford (9-5) on their heels.
Since their May 13 showdown, Holy Cross and St. Francis Prep have been hot. Prep buoyed its playoff-ranking hopes with back-to-back wins over Christ the King and McClancy on Saturday, May 16. In Game One, Sal Minichino threw a complete game and gave up no earned runs; in Game Two, Lebro Burnette conceded just one.
“In our league, if you want to get into the playoffs, you have to have pitching,” said Terriers head coach Bro. Robert Kent. “You can’t win without pitching in this format.”
Cross, for its part, stayed one step ahead with a 3-1 Thursday win over McClancy. The game may not have carried the vendetta implications of Wednesday’s “Battle of the Boulevard,” but Doug Manfredonia and his Holy Cross players knew a win over McClancy would do wonders for the team’s standing.
“This game was just as important,” the head coach said. “We’re in a position [where] we can still get second place.”
His feelings became immediately clear in the fourth inning, when Cross’ Mike Galati was caught dancing off of third base with the bags loaded and a 3-0 count on the hitter. Manfredonia, from the third-base coach’s box, let off some audible steam.
One inning later, a Kevin Smith single up the middle and a Michael McManus sacrifice fly drove in the only two runs Holy Cross would need. Justin Tableman, representing further strength on Queens mounds this season, allowed just one run all afternoon.
