Crush M.V. Hand Car Wash 11-1
Rienzi and Sons won their first round playoff game against Middle Village Hand Car Wash by a 11-1 margin to advance to the semifinals in RGMVM play.
Sam Navarra pitched 2 2/3 strong innings for Rienzi and earned his first playoff victory. He allowed only a first inning run and left Middle Village with the bases loaded. Overall he struck out six and yielded only a single hit. His work was limited by the league’s pitch count rules and the coach’s decision to limit the pitchers in preparation to advance into further rounds. Aidan Mooney faced two batters to finish the third; striking out the last batter to end the inning. With a 10-run rule in effect during playoffs, the team needed only four innings for the victory.
August Larsen struck out three batters in the fourth to earn the save.
Aiden Mooney, Sam Navarra, Frank Navarra and Kyle Conlin wielded big bats for Rienzi in the victory. Sam Navarra was 2-2 and hit by a pitch while scoring three of the Rienzi 11 runs. Frank Navarra added a bases clearing triple in the second driving in two and later coming around to score.
Kyle Conlin hit a two-run home run deep to left center to get the second inning rally started; scoring AJ Leggio and himself when he aggressively turned his would be triple into a home run.
Mooney, in the cleanup spot, was 2 for 3 with four RBI and two runs scored with two doubles in the first two frames. Matthew Moussa, Massimo Todaro and Derek Portalatin added eight walks to the offensive efforts and provided the base runners for the big bats. Portalatin drove in the winning run with a walk off bases loaded walk in the fourth.
Rienzi now advances to the semi finals against Seaview Printing to see who will face off with Cutrone’s Lawmen in the finals. Seaview beat Rienzi early in the season, but the two were unable to meet again due to a rainout. Seaview is the only team they have not beaten on their 11-game winning streak.
