John Jay Puts up Ten in Quarterfinal Victory over Briarcliff

John Jay Video

Briarcliff Slideshow

After coming one batter short of a perfect game last week, Nick Fassert took the mound for the quarterfinal round versus Briarcliff and got into a little jam in the first inning. A one out single and a walk looked like a run when James Mulligan slapped a liner to the right side. But Nick Russo had the snare for the double play, and four batters later, the first baseman was at the plate to set the tone for the rest of the game

“I was looking for the fastball,” said Russo, and over the wall, the two run homer had the Wolves on their way to an easy 10-0 victory.

The bottom of the first began as small ball as it gets, though. On a swinging third strike, Jacob Storch reached first on the passed ball, and Will Civetta squared to bunt. Down the third base line, the sacrifice bunt looked an awful lot like the batter was going for a hit.

Either way, the Bear third baseman knew he had to hurry, and his throw ended up in right field. Storch coming around to score, an actual accounting was not forthcoming. “I don’t want to give away my secrets, but we have a plan in place,” said Coach Ted Lawrence. “It depends on the count and what the situation is.”

The howls heading skyward, Fassert stayed grounded at the plate. His bouncing ball to second moved Civetta to third but Russo ended up going large. “I thought it might go off the wall. It’s the deepest part, he said, “rounding first, I saw it go over.”

Up 3-0, Fassert returned to normal. Three up and three down, the bats resumed and Storch now produced the old fashioned way. After Benson lined a single to right and Jackson Moreo walked, the sophomore first looked at wild pitch and then stroked a two run single.

Five runs to work with, Fassert didn’t waste any time. He retired the side in order, and the slugfest continued.

Gavin Bisignano led off with a single, Troy Wood walked and Nick Benson’s two run single cashed in Lawrence’s hunch to give this senior a shot. “At the beginning off the season, he struggled a little bit. But he never really put his head down and worked hard,” said Lawrence. “The last four or five games, we kept him in there with his reliability and experience, and he’s come through.”

Not done, Moreo knocked in a run with a grounder to second, and Fassert’s single had the Wolves one run away from mercy. Three more in a row for the starter, the bats returned to hopefully tally the total to ten.

Unfortunately, John Jay left runners on first and second. So Fassert just went out there and did his thing in the top of the fifth. Three quick outs and then he took matters into his own hands.

Storch walked, stole second and Fassert was primed. He was also disappointed when the umpire signaled a ball and off to first the senior went. “I was kind of upset because I wanted to swing,” said the number three hitter.

Then the future economics major realized the numbers didn’t add up and heard the best words of the day. “Nick, the count is 3-1,” he conveyed the umpire’s words.

Back to the plate, Fassert lined a single, and Russo tipped his cap on behalf of the entire pack. “Nick is the G.O.A.T.,” the senior boasted.

Onto the next round, the pitching line isn’t set for Monday yet. Under the pitch count, Fassert is eligible, so Lawrence is weighing his options. And there’s more good news.

Nolan Rhodes may be back from injury, but the coach was still savoring this one. “Scoring ten runs in a sectional game says a lot about how our guys came ready to play today,” concluded Lawrence.