Rams capture conference crown

Clarke continued its long-term run of dominance last Monday, capturing its 15th regular season conference baseball crown in 16 seasons with a 10-2 victory over second-place Seaford.

Two games remained in the regular season after press time (both against the Vikings), and the Rams (15-2 overall, 14-1 in Conference A-VI) had several potential postseason perks still in play. Having already earned one of the double elimination slots in the upcoming Nassau Class A playoffs, a second win over Seaford would secure the No. 2 seed; a third win would give Clarke a chance to be the top seed, should Plainedge lose one of its final two games and the tiebreakers fall into place.

Senior pitcher John Jarosz was backed by another well-balanced offensive effort that included a home run from senior Mark Cvitan and a run batted in by sophomore Joe Fusco. It stretched Clarke’s string of 10-run offensive efforts to four games (all wins) and the strong showing by Jarosz put the opponents’ total run count during the winning streak at just eight.

“Seaford’s always tough,” Clarke coach Tom Abruscato said. “The last series means a lot with enrollment [based leagues]. It’s kind of nice to have the last week of the season be for the league championship.”

A three-game sweep of Valley Stream North last week was highlighted by senior Kevin Mackey’s 3-for-3 performance that included a home run and six RBI that propelled the Rams to a 12-4 victory in the series finale on May 5. The offense generated 32 runs in the three games, and the pitching staff allowed just six, thanks in large part to the combination of Jarosz, senior Tim Ingram and junior Chris Appel allowing four total walks. The sweep also erased a two-game losing streak Clarke entered the series with.

“With cutbacks the [regular] season is only 19 games rather than 24,” Abruscato noted. “It’s such a short season you’d like to get back on track as soon as possible.”

Ingram pitched a two-hitter, struck out 13 and allowed just one walk in the second game of the Valley Stream North series, a 10-0 victory on May 3. Senior Mike Alosio blasted his third homer of the season, a three-run shot in the first that helped Clarke jump out to a 4-0 lead, and senior Rob Henderson also drove in a pair and scored twice in the win.

The playoffs begin Saturday, and a win would propel the Rams into a best-of-three quarterfinal round series beginning May 18. The Class A championship series will be held at SUNY-Farmingdale on May 30-31, and if necessary, June 2.

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