Panthers Take Game 1 Of D-II Finals

In Game 1 of the Division II baseball finals at McCoy Stadium on June 6, the Panthers racked up 14 hits and benefited from multiple errors by The Prout School on their way to an 11-7 victory.

"They out-hit us, they played better defense, and they out-pitched us, so hey, hat's off to them," Prout coach Mike La Barbera said. "They're a good hitting team, and they showed it — they hit the ball real well."

Johnston's offense — which compiled a team .388 batting average and .546 slugging percentage during the season — took a 5-1 lead after the first inning on the way to racking up 14 hits overall and chasing Prout starting pitcher senior Spencer Stall off the mound after 2 2/3 innings (9 runs on 10 hits, 3 walks).

Prout's Mike Fortin provided a Crusader score in the top of the first before the Panthers responded in the home half. Johnston sophomore Steve Perfetto hit a 2-RBI single through shortstop to cap off the early rally.

The Panthers added four more runs in the second and third innings and took a 9-1 lead into the fourth, aided by four errors by the Crusader defense. Prout catcher Brendan Natal couldn't handle a  Stall pitch with two out in the bottom of the third, allowing Johnston's Chris Pistacchio to score on the passed ball.

"We put the ball in play," Johnston coach Steve DeMeo explained in an interview after the game. "When you put the ball in play, it causes teams to make mistakes."

Johnston (23-2 in Division II, including playoffs) dealt Prout (20-5) a scoreless top of the fourth, and the Crusaders responded by shutting the Panthers down in a 1-2-3 bottom half of the inning behind senior reliever Brendan Fogarty.

Natal put Prout on the board again in the fifth, bringing home senior Matt Dowd and Jack Lambrecht before Johnston starter Dylan Pingatore closed the door with a strikeout, leaving one Crusader stranded on base.

Pingatore pitched six complete innings, holding Prout to 4 runs on 5 hits and notching 8 strikeouts.

"Ping kept us in the game as long as he possibly could," DeMeo said. "I didn't follow Prout all year, but I can't imagine them striking out eight times."

The Panthers tacked on two more scores in the bottom of the sixth on a senior Danny DeSimone grounder that helped senior captain Nick Loffredo across the plate and a senior Steve Almagno shot down the third base line that brought in sophomore Mike Pennacchia.

Freshman Joe Bongiovanni took the mound for Johnston in the top of the seventh and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 2/3 of an inning. Sophomore closer Steve Perfetto allowed one more run by Crusader senior Tom Schubert on a passed ball before striking out Lambrecht to end the contest.

"I remind everybody when we get to this level: 'The opponent you're playing is an extremely talented baseball team, and they want to beat you bad,'" La Barbera explained, "and you can see how bad they wanted to win today."

Prout Declines Postgame Handshake

After the final out, La Barbera waved off the postgame handshake, with Johnston assembling on the first base line. Several Johnston parents still in the stands jeered La Barbera as he approached the Johnston dugout on his way off the field.

La Barbera tried to explain his actions to the parents — to no avail — and paused to speak with DeMeo.

"Some of your parents are getting on me for not shaking hands," La Barbera told DeMeo. "We thought 'It's a series,' so we didn't shake. I apologize to you."

"That's fine — and don't listen to my parents," DeMeo replied.

The two teams are scheduled to play Game 2 at McCoy Stadium on June 8 at 3:30 p.m.