JFK Holds for 1-0 Thriller over ’Pac

MAHOPAC—In a game that featured solid pitching and strong defense, it was the Gaels of Kennedy Catholic who broke through first—scoring a run in the top of the sixth—and then escaping a huge jam in the bottom of the seventh to walk off with a 1-0 victory over Mahopac in a non-league game Monday at the Mahopac Falls School.

Kennedy pitcher Tom Baroni delivers Monday at Mahopac. SKIP PEARLMAN The Gaels (1-0) picked up the gamewinning run when Ryan Patterson singled in the sixth, then scored on a JT Flanagan RBI single to right, giving JFK a 1-0 lead.

Mahopac (0-1) loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh—with no out. But Tanner Diebold hit a fly ball to center, where Kennedy’s Joe Smith caught it, then fired a bullet home to snag Alex Petrone, who tried to score on the play.

“You don’t know what’s going happen, but with bases loaded, a ground ball to shortstop at least gets the run home,” Indians manager Chris Miller said. “It’s what we talk about in practice - get a fly ball to the outfield, sacrifice fly … unfortunately the center fielder made a great throw, and it was bang-bang at the plate - he was out.”

Kennedy’s JT Flanagan picked up the game-winning RBI for the Gaels in the sixth inning. SKIP PEARLMAN Kennedy starter and winner Tom Baroni then got a strikeout to end the game.

Baroni (1-0) went the distance and struck out eight, without a walk. He allowed no runs on six hits.

“Every year he’s the same,” Kennedy manager Bob Fletcher said. “He throws strikes. He hits his spots and mixes well, and he was on today.”

The Kennedy win spoiled a complete game gem by Mahopac pitcher Chris Erker, who only allowed two hits, with eight K’s.

“He pitched a great game, said Mahopac manager Chris Miller. “He gave up one run, and he let up two hits in the entire game. He was on all day, he was sharp, he was excellent. When you hold a team to one run, you expect to win that game.”

Mahopac’s Chris Erker went the distance and took the loss Monday against Kennedy. SKIP PEARLMAN Jim McGowan went 2-for-3 for Mahopac, and Keith Mattos doubled.

“I was very happy with the way we played today,” Fletcher said. “Pitching and defense is the key, and today we got both. I think we were a bit tentative with the bat—we took a lot of third strikes and a lot of first-pitch strikes. But Flanagan got a big hit for us, Smith made a tremendous throw, and Remy Fields was outstanding at second. And our catcher, John Giordano, did a very nice job behind the plate, and he threw out a runner.”

Kennedy Catholic was scheduled to host Lakeland Friday at 4:30pm.
Paul Harnish of Mahopac takes a rip Monday against Kennedy. SKIP PEARLMAN