Pirates 20U Rams alumni team drops a deuce but Lovallo walk-on sparks a win over Harrison
July 20, 2023 at 12:14 a.m.
Ex-Ram All-League centerfielder/pitcher Nic Lovallo plans to walk on as a tryout candidate for his Florida college baseball team in the fall, but his late walk-on as a fill in on the depleted Pirates 20U mostly Rams alumni baseball team won him a quick start during their Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League summer season.
Nic the Quick wasted no time in jump-starting the Ram alums, most of whom are either working or home on a summer sabbatical after playing college ball during the regular season.
'Ton of plays'
Lovallo reached base in all four at bats, made what player-manager AJ Marini called "a ton of plays" in center field and helped power the slumping Pirates to a 6-1 home win over Harrison last Saturday (7/15) after the local U team dropped a deuce earlier in the week away against Hawks Collegiate (7/11) and the Shore Road Sluggers (7/13).
Lovallo's bat, glove and hustle turned out to be just what the Pirates needed because they had been held to one and two hits respectively in their two previous games.
The sleeping bats
In the 6-0 Hawks loss, ex-Ram All-Section third baseman Nick Dorazio (Russell Sage) got the Pirates’ only hit during what Marini described as an off day when "the bats weren't awake, the fielding wasn't good and while the pitching was solid, Bryan Fuse was on the wild side and the walks cost him and us."
In the 5-0 defeat against the Sluggers, it was more of the same when it came to the hitting because the Pirates’ only hits came from Jack Mutino (Utica) and AJ's kid brother Matt (SUNY Cortland). That lack of hitting undermined a strong pitching outing by Mutino and reliever James Moore. Mutino, an assistant Rams varsity coach taking a year off from college to build up his arm strength, allowed just one earned run over five innings while Moore (a recent Brunswick grad headed for collegiate ball at Ole Miss) gave up one run as the closer.
Errors prove costly
"Errors cost us a well-pitched game," said AJ Marini (Mitchell), a former All-League Rams shortstop who is playing that position for the Pirates despite a shoulder injury.
But Lovallo provided the spark that lit the fuse under the dormant Pirates bats in their 6-1 home win over Harrison. RJ Thalheimer (Washington and Lee) went two for three with a walk and an RBI to lead the hit parade that included Matt Marini's double, two walks and an RBI and Gavin LaDore' two RBIs. Lovallo reached base during all four at bats and made several highlight reel plays in centerfield while Thalheimer, Sebastian Alvarez and Matt Marini also came up with defensive gems.
That was all the support Ishmael (Ish) Jimenez (CCNY) needed because Ish looked like the former Rams ace he used to be, allowing just two hits while striking out five batters and allowing only one earned run. Will MacAllister, better known as Willy Mac (SUNY Cortland), closed out the game, getting the final two outs.
Season winding down
That leaves the Pirates going into their final three scheduled games with a record of 5-8, meaning if they win all their remaining games, they could close out their season with a .500 record going into the GHVBL playoffs. But that will be easier said than done because they play the Rockland Pirates away Thursday (7/20) at 6 p.m. in Thiels and wind down their season with two home games at Rec Park against the EC Cardinals Saturday (7/22) at 2 p.m. and the Ardsley Heat next Tuesday (7/25) at 6 p.m.
After that, it's a whole new ballgame because the GHVBL playoffs start Aug. 1. And while that won't be a walk in the park, late walk-on Lovallo has given the Pirates the kind of lift that makes them a better team. And you can't ever rule the Ram alums out no matter what the record says.
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