The New Hyde Park varsity baseball team capped off their final game of the regular season with a 7-0 win over Roslyn on Wednesday afternoon, May 11.
A great pitching performance from senior starting pitcher Greg Haynes and an offensive attack allowed the Gladiators to pull off the series sweep of the Bulldogs and get themselves geared up for the playoffs.
“We have a lot of guys stepping up on this team” said Haynes. “We have a lot of veterans, leaders and quality players.”
For Bulldogs head coach Daniel Freeman, the offense was stymied by the top pitcher in their conference as they struggled to get some runs for starting pitcher Spencer Shores.
“We could have been more aggressive at the plate and made more out of the opportunities that we had” said Freeman. “Spencer pitched great for us and we were unable to provide him with the run support.”
The Gladiators got the bats going in the second inning with an RBI single from Haynes to take an early 1-0 lead. The Gladiators struck again in a mistake-filled third inning.
They would add three more runs on the scoreboard by taking advantage of some miscues from the Bulldogs. In the fourth, the Gladiators would tack on another run and they would round out the scoring by scoring two more times in the fifth.
Haynes, who came off a big injury, struck out nine batters, walked one, and allowed four hits and no runs. He was able to locate his pitches and throw some strikes, which has been a big deal for him all year. He also had two hits and an RBI at the plate. Head Coach Doug Robins praised Haynes for his impressive performance on the mound.
“He worked his fastball, threw strikes and had a real nice curveball” Robins said. “He hasn’t pitched in 21 days. It’s nice to see him have his stuff today.”
Seniors James Messina and Mark Chambers each had two hits against the Bulldogs.
Chambers had two doubles and an RBI while Messina reached on base in all four at bats.
“We got to go out and set the tone” Chambers said. “We just put some runs on the scoreboard and from that point on we carried on from there.”
The Gladiators would finish the season 11-8 overall, which is good for third place in the Nassau A-II Conference. This would set them up for a first round matchup, which was scheduled for Saturday on the road against Jericho.
“Jericho is a really strong team” said Robins. “We played them the last couple of years. They know us and we know them.”
