Seaford Baseball Shocks Clarke To Advance to Quarterfinals

The baseball team's offense exploded with a seven run fourth inning during a 10-5 road win  yesterday that abruptly ended second-seeded Clarke's season and sent the Vikings to the Class A quarterfinals.

After coming out of the gate with three runs in the first, Clarke was stifled, and the big hit was impossible to get for the rest of the game.

Chris Appell scored the first run for Clarke after a Seaford throw got away. Mark Cvitan added two insurance runs later in the inning with a two-out single. Clarke added yet another in the second when John Jarosz singled in a run for some insurance.

From that point on, the game belonged to Seaford.

Fourteenth-seeded Seaford (13-8) got on the board in the third when Chris Trotta smacked a two-out single to net a run. Mike Kalista added a two-out knock of his own to make the score 4-3.

"It was important to be patient," Kalista said. "We couldn't get down just because we fell behind."

Seaford then took advantage of some wild pitching to jump on the Rams. Keith Degeorge singled in a pair, and Kalista walked to score a run. Mike Lasher singled in a run as well, and Steve Szobesky added a sacrifice fly to cap off a seven-run frame, which included four walks from Clarke pitching.

"You don't win games like that," Clarke Coach Tom Abruscato said. "This is not like our program. We shouldn't go two-and-out two years in a row."

Now down 10-4, Clarke needed to start chipping away, but chances were squandered. In the fifth, Clarke got another run Kevin Mackey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but they stranded three runners and couldn't get any closer. Clarke stranded whopping 14 runners on base in the game.

"We just didn't do enough," Abruscato said. "You need to get the big hit."

Seaford Coach Michael Milano was proud of the patience his team showed in the seven-run fourth inning.

"We have been waiting for that plate discipline all year," Milano said. "I am very proud of how they handled themselves in the second half of the game."

Seaford is next scheduled to face top-seeded Plainedge in a best-of-three quarterfinal series starting Wednesday on the road.

Box Score

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

Seaford

0

0

3

7

0

0

0

10

7

3

Clarke

3

1

0

1

0

0

0

5

6

2