Floral Park outduels North Shore 2-0

Gregory Giaconelli
Floral Park starting pitcher Chris Stefl (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)

The Floral Park Knights defeated the North Shore Vikings 2-0 in baseball on Wednesday afternoon, led by starting pitcher Chris Stefl and catcher Justin Rahaman.

Stefl struck out seven North Shore batters through 6 ⅓  innings pitched while Rahaman’s two run single broke a scoreless tie.

Floral Park head coach Paul LaMarca said team defense and timely hitting backed up Stefl’s outstanding pitching.

“We played well defensively,” LaMarca said. “We committed a couple of errors but made up for it right away. Our defense has improved a lot and there was some timely hitting for sure.”

In the bottom of the third inning, Floral Park had an opportunity to take the lead with two men on and two outs.

North Shore starting pitcher David Aufiero got Chris Leary to fly out to centerfielder Matt Lewin to end the inning.

In the top of the fourth inning, North Shore threatened to score with two outs.

Stefl struck out Michael Tedesco to end the inning, stranding runners at second and third.

Jack Dixon and Mike Baldini led off the bottom of the fifth inning by reaching on an error and an infield single.

After a wild pitch took away the double play, Rahaman smacked a single to right, scoring Dixon and Baldini to give Floral Park a 2-0 lead.

With runners in scoring position, Rahaman said he was just looking to put the ball in play.

Floral Park catcher Justin Rahaman (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)
Floral Park catcher Justin Rahaman (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)

“I sat back and choked up on the bat a little bit,” Rahaman said. “I was struggling early on, especially in the last couple of series. I hit the ball, got it in play and it turned out good.”

In the top of the sixth inning, North Shore tried to mount a comeback with runners in scoring position.

Stefl got Tedesco to ground out to Leary to end the inning and keep it a two run game.

While working in and out of jams, Stefl said he was throwing as hard as he could and knew who to pitch to.

“I was pitching around a couple of hitters,” Stefl said. “I knew who to pitch around and who to pitch to. It might of looked like jams, but I knew what I was doing.”

In the top of the seventh inning, Stefl recorded his seventh strikeout and walked the next batter before exiting the mound.

Leary came in for the two out save and retired the next two batters to end the game.

Baseball Recaps

Monday, Apr. 3

Carey defeated New Hyde Park 10-4. Dom Rutigliano led Carey with 10 strikeouts through five innings. Tyler DeMeo went 2-for-2 with two walks and a grand slam while Vic DeNicola went 1-for-3 with a home-run and two RBIs for Carey.

Floral Park defeated North Shore 9-1. Kyle Bacchus led Floral Park by tossing a one hitter and striking out five through five innings. Bacchus also had four RBIs while Chris Stefl went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk for Floral Park.

Great Neck North defeated Roosevelt 5-3. Joey Jacobs led Great Neck North by striking out eight and not allowing an earned run in a complete-game effort. Josh Rubin and Jared Kaiman each singled in a run in the top of the eighth for Great Neck North.

Great Neck South defeated Bellmore JFK 3-2. Jason Goldstein led Great Neck South in which he threw a one-hitter and struck out six while Brett Figelman’s single scored Eric Maddenberg to break a 2-2 tie.

Jericho defeated Roslyn 1-0. Michael Maola led Jericho by pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings while giving up four hits and striking out two. Ben Solomon recorded the last four outs of the game while right fielder Ryan Boico made a game-saving catch in the fourth inning.

MacArthur defeated Manhasset 11-0. Bobby Lewis led MacArthur in which he allowed two hits in six innings. Lewis hit a two-run homer while Chris Moustouka went 3-for-3 with a run for MacArthur.

Massapequa defeated Port Washington 10-1. Johnny Castagnozzi, Matt Pinto and Nick Fossari each led Massapequa with two-out RBI singles to give them a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Massapequa pitcher Dan Gdanski allowed one hit over five innings.

Seaford defeated Mineola 3-1. AJ Cain led Seaford by striking out five and allowing three hits in a complete game. He also went 1-for-2 with a run while Mike Tito had a two-out RBI single to score Carter Skretch to open the scoring for Seaford.

Hewlett defeated Sewanhaka 9-0. KJ Lantigua led Hewlett by striking out 11 and allowing three hits in six innings. Harrison Fink went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs while Jesse Metz went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and four steals for Hewlett.

Herricks defeated Valley Stream Central 10-2. Peyton Maier led Herricks by allowing one run on four hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked one. John Bono went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Herricks.

Wheatley defeated Carle Place 3-1. Steven McCleary led Wheatley by allowing five hits, three walks and striking out seven in six innings. Matt Cristina’s RBI single in the sixth inning put Wheatley up 2-1. James McPhillips pitched the seventh inning for the save.

Tuesday, Apr. 4

Hewlett defeated Sewanhaka 9-0. Matt Kim led Hewlett with six shutout innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven batters. J.J Lantigua went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs while Jesse Metz went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs for Hewlett.

Wednesday, Apr. 5

St. Dominic’s defeated Chaminade 4-1. Adam South led St. Dominic’s with five strikeouts in seven innings, allowing one run and three hits while Matt Malone went 3-for-4 with a triple. Kevin Duffy’s two run double with two outs in the top of the eighth gave St. Dominic’s a 3-1 lead. Jared Paladino added an RBI single later in the inning to put St. Dominic’s ahead 4-1.

Kellenberg defeated St. Mary’s 10-0. Andrew Williams led Kellenberg by allowing one hit while striking out seven through five innings, while Chris Cappas hit a three-run home run in the first inning.

Wheatley defeated Carle Place 15-9. Steven McCleary led Wheatley by going 4-for-4 with four singles, four RBIs and four runs scored while Will Feil had a home run and four RBIs.

Carey defeated New Hyde Park 5-1. Chris Pile led Carey by going 2-for-4 with a home-run and two runs. Zach Dente went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while Mike Worsley went 2-for-3 with an RBI to lead Carey.

MacArthur defeated Manhasset 3-2. Joe Keller led MacArthur by going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Peter Zielinski’s single drove in Matt Boltuc in the bottom of the fourth to break a 2-2 tie.

Seaford defeated Mineola 16-5. Vincent Pecora led Seaford by going 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, while A.J. Cain went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Carter Skretch’s two-run homer in the top of the second gave Seaford a 5-0 lead.

Herricks defeated Valley Stream Central 11-8. Eric DelValle led Herricks with seven strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk through 4 2/3 innings. Jason Agosto and CJ Marciano each went 2-for-3 for Herricks.

Roosevelt defeated Great Neck North 16-10. Idris Carter led Roosevelt by going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs. Jason Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with a home-run and three RBIs while Frank Cruz recorded his first varsity win for Roosevelt. Joey Jacobs led Great Neck North with a home-run.

Massapequa defeated Port Washington 6-1. Dom Kriegel led Massapequa by striking out four and allowing four hits through four shutout innings while Mike Cottone went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.

Roslyn defeated Jericho 7-4. Robbie Pomerantz led Roslyn with two doubles while Josh Liepper added two hits.

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