South Side back on winning track

After allowing 41 runs in a three-game losing streak, South Side got a much-needed shot in the arm when junior Ed Farington made his first varsity start and went the distance to lead an 8-3 victory over Glen Cove last Thursday at Barasch Field.

Farington, an everyday infielder and relief pitcher, yielded three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out one as the Cyclones stopped the bleeding. David Hawley (3-for-3, two RBIs, three stolen bases) led the run support for Farington, who could find his way into the rotation on a permanent basis according to coach Keith Lessuk.

“It’s a big win and hopefully something we can build on,” Lessuk said. “Ed showed command and pitched fearlessly. We played with intensity and played well. We had no errors and no mental mistakes.”

South Side, which opened the conference schedule with an 8-5 victory over Garden City April 2 but then fell to New Hyde Park, Bethpage, and Plainedge, trailed Glen Cove 3-0 before exploding for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and tacked on a run in the fifth. “We’re a young team going through some adversity with injuries, and basically we’ve faced everyone’s No. 1 pitcher so far,” Lessuk said.

The Cyclones’ biggest offensive inning of 2012 began with a leadoff single by Lou Laupheimer. Glen Cove pitcher Bobby McDonald then hit Vinny Tyers with a pitch, and the bases were loaded with no outs after Mike Gutman reached on an error. Chris Figueroa drew a walk to score Laupheimer, and Hawley brought South Side within a run with a single to score Tyers. Farington then helped his own cause with a single to right that cleared the bases for a 5-3 lead. The go-ahead and insurance run scored on an error. Lou Matarazzo and Ben Hoefer drove in runs to cap the rally.

“Everyone fed off each other,” Lessuk said. “We got some timely hits and caught a couple of breaks. It was about time the bounces went our way.”

Farington, who was a starting pitcher at the JV level, blanked the Big Red over the last three innings. “He wasn’t afraid to throw any pitch and really went after the hitters,” Lessuk said. “We always knew Ed could pitch. We’ll see how he bounces back from throwing roughly 100 pitches.”

Senior Christian Colletti picked up the win against Garden City and was strong in doing so. The southpaw scattered six hits and struck out nine over five innings. He came back last Monday to dominate Lawrence with 15 strikeouts in a one-hit, 12-2 victory that moved the Cyclones to 3-3 in conference play.

Injuries have triggered a defensive carousel, Lessuk said. Farington started at shortstop before moving to third base, Matarazzo went from the hot corner to first, Laupheimer from first to center field, and Hawley from center to shortstop. The only fixtures have been Gutman behind the plate, Tyers in left field, and Eddie Tammaro in right.