Rams tie Mamaroneck thanks to a last-ditch clutch homer
April 18, 2024 at 12:02 a.m.
It was just a matter of time. And Rams senior slugger John (Tommy) Tomassetti didn't disappoint.
He saved his breakout swing for exactly the right time.
He had struck out with the bases loaded in the first inning against Section 1 powerhouse Mamaroneck.
But fellow senior heavy hitter Josh Virella followed with a base hit that scored the Rams’ first two runs.
The seesaw effect
The game last Wednesday (4/10) had seesawed back after that with Mamaroneck on the upswing and leading by a run and the game coming down to the Rams’ last outs.
The shadows were lengthening, the Rams trailed 5-4, and the game would be official if it had to be called because of darkness if Port Chester failed to score.
That's when Tomassetti stepped up to the plate looking to start a rally. And did he ever!
He did what the Rams have been waiting for him to do all season long.
With one swing of the bat, he sent the ball rocketing off Mamaroneck High School's main building around 390 feet away for the home run that tied the game with a shot that left the Rams ecstatic.
Because that home run tied the game at 5-5. And that was the score when the game was called because of darkness.
Ordinarily a tie game isn't a cause for celebration.
No ordinary game
But this wasn't any ordinary game.
Because the young, inexperienced Rams came into the Mamaroneck game reeling from three straight losses in which they had scored just three runs against Section 1 powers Arlington and Suffern by scores of 7-0 and 13-0 respectively with their lone score coming in a 11-1 loss against a beatable small school team in Dobbs Ferry during what figured to be an easy win on the Rams’ schedule.
So tying Mamaroneck was something special. Because they are one of the state's top ranked teams.
And the way the Rams tied them was exactly what they needed.
It gave them a badly needed lift from their most experienced players.
The upperclassmen deliver
Tomassetti and Virella, the team's senior leaders, finally got the key hits in the same game.
Senior Ryan Gagnon laid down the sacrifice bunts that led to the comeback rallies.
And junior pitching ace Jordany German struck out 11 Mamaroneck batters while scattering just four hits. He stayed cool and calm and refused to fold when the Rams’ wild throws and shoddy defense cost him unearned runs.
"When German is on and his stuff is working, nothing bothers him because he knows he can handle whatever happens," Rams head coach Sean Burke said after the game. "That's why I call him 'King of the Hill.'"
And German is living up to that billing. Because he is leading Section 1 in strikeouts in a division that has two genuine Major League Baseball pitching prospects—Fox Lane's 6-4 fire balling Tyler Renz, a St. John's University commit, and Blind Brook's Andrew Rogovic, who has been throwing 95-mile-per-hour heat, led the section in strikeouts last year and is an athletic scholarship Division 1 commit to Northeastern.
The Foxes up next
The Rams may be coming up against Renz and Rogovic down the line as the season progresses.
But with Renz it will be sooner rather than later because he is scheduled to start against the Rams Thursday (4/18) at home at 4:30 p.m.
Renz will be coming off a dominant pitching win against Suffern, the same Mounties team that recently beat Port Chester by almost two touchdowns and an extra point during that 13-0 romp in which the Rams got just three hits.
So that game should be extra interesting because the Foxes’ coach Matt Hills got his milestone 400th career win in that game against Suffern last Saturday (4/13) and Renz should be well rested and will be raring to go.
Rams sophomore shortstop Bryan Sachs will get the start pitching against Renz and the Foxes.
When that happens, eighth-grader Adam Castaneda moves over from second base to fill in as shortstop.
And that weakens the Rams’ defense up the middle.
Infield/outfield drills
That's not good because wild throws and errant pickoff moves almost cost the Rams the Mamaroneck game.
So Burke had the Rams working hard on infield and outfield fielding and throwing drills in practices leading up to the Fox Lane game.
Other drills focused on bunts, steals, trick plays and doing all the other small ball things that make the Rams a threat when they are going good and their young players show signs of coming of age.
About that coming of age: Freshman Roy Morris got a clutch base hit against Mamaroneck while filling in as an outfielder for senior leftfielder George Pagnotta who is out with a shoulder injury. Sachs followed with a base hit. Junior catcher Scott Sullivan walked with the bases loaded. And German scored a runner with a sacrifice fly RBI that kept the Rams in the game.
"It's what you do when you get back up after getting knocked down that really shows what you are made of," Burke said in describing the Rams’ comeback against Mamaroneck.
The zip code uniforms
It also helped that the Rams were wearing their uniforms with the Port Chester zip code 10573 across the back of their jerseys where their names would ordinarily be. But this was no ordinary game, and the zip code uniforms help motivate the Rams as a reminder that they not only represent the school and themselves but the entire Port Chester community.
And they did them all proud by never quitting and coming back to tie against one of the top-ranked teams in the state.
Those are the uniforms they will be wearing when German gets the ball pitching in their next game Saturday (4/20) at 11 a.m. at Mount Vernon, Burke's alma mater back in the day when he was a base-stealing All-Section infielder who went on to Hall of Fame stardom at Dominican College before becoming Port Chester's coach. And since the names won't be on the backs of the Rams’ zip code jerseys, here's an advance look at the Rams starting lineup for that game: Tomassetti at third base, Sachs at shortstop, Castaneda at second, Virella on first with Sullivan catching, Morris in right field, Gagnon in center and Billy Villanova in left.
The home run derby
Tomassetti became one of the few Rams to ever homer over the distant left field fence last season in an upset win over White Plains that clinched a playoff berth. Virella did it this season in a win against Roosevelt with Villanova hitting a rare inside the park home run down the left field line in that same game. And Burke hopes they do it again to supplement the Rams’ traditional small ball approach against Mount Vernon, one of the top basketball teams in the state but nowhere near as much of a threat in baseball.
And, who knows, maybe Tomassetti can hit one off the building like he did against Mamaroneck while Virella and Villanova stage a repeat performance of the homers they hit against Roosevelt. But, whatever happens, Burke wants the Rams to emerge with a win, not a tie, no matter how prestigious a tie may be against a state-ranked team.
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