Lawrence holds off Hewlett

In a baseball game both teams had circled on the calendar, Lawrence took a three-run lead into the bottom of the seventh inning at Hewlett on April 19 and needed every bit of the cushion it built behind some timely hitting and nine stolen bases.

Junior relief pitcher Mike Pappalardo struck out two Bulldogs with the tying run on third base to preserve a 6-5 victory for the Golden Tornadoes in an intense Conference A-II/III crossover game played at Hewlett Elementary School. Pappalardo saved it for senior A.J. Gallo, who allowed only two hits and struck out seven in six innings.

“This was exactly what we needed,” Lawrence coach Dennis Leonard said. “We still have to kick some bad habits in the waning moments, but the guys showed something today. It’s nice to be on the other side of a close game.”

Lawrence (2-6), which lost three games by a combined five runs, pushed across two key insurance runs in the top of the seventh on the strength of five steals including a swipe of home by Gallo after a leadoff triple. Sophomore Joey Capobianco made it 6-3 after stealing third and scoring on a throwing error.

“We always look to be aggressive,” Leonard said. “The way we ran the bases today led to some big runs.”

After Hewlett (2-7) took a 1-0 lead in the first, the Golden Tornadoes pushed across three runs in the second with three hits against junior pitcher Luciano Morello, who allowed seven hits and fanned seven. Junior Flory Capobianco and senior Steven Komisarjevsky highlighted the rally with run-scoring singles.

Both Gallo and Morello cruised into the fifth when Lawrence extended its lead to 4-1 when Komisarjevsky drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third and scored on Joey Capobianco’s single. Hewlett got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Morello drove in junior Jason Cecchetelli with a sacrifice fly.

“I liked the way we battled for seven innings, but we can’t keep digging early holes,” said Bulldogs coach Andy DeBernardo, whose team has suffered four defeats by a combined six runs.

Hewlett rallied with two outs and nobody on base in the sixth to scratch across an unearned run to get within 4-3. Senior Pat Pasculli singled home senior Eddie Zaloba and was one of two runners in scoring position when Gallo recorded a huge strikeout on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat. 

“A.J. gives us the same gritty effort every time he takes the mound,” Leonard said. “Whether it’s against Garden City, Division or Hewlett, he’s fearless. He made some critical pitches today.”

Gallo was lifted in the seventh after walking the first two batters. “I’m sure he didn’t want to leave, but he understood it,” Leonard said. “He gave us everything he had.”

The Golden Tornadoes face Bethpage in a three-game series this week, while the Bulldogs meet South Side for a three-game set.