South Side Routs Hewlett, 11-0

After throwing 83 pitches over five innings and striking out nine batters, junior southpaw Christian Colletti was six outs away from a no-hitter. But with a 9-0 lead, South Side head coach Keith Lessuk chose to pull his ace to keep him fresh for Saturday's playoff game.

Stud closer Griffin Wagner came on in relief in the sixth and tossed two hitless innings with three strikeouts to combine with Colletti for the team's first no-hitter of the season. The South Side Cyclones (11-4) are now two wins away from a Conference A-II championship after shutting out Hewlett on Monday, 11-0. 

"Playoff game Saturday," Lessuk said of why he pulled Colletti. "There's no first-round bye, everybody's got to play Saturday. We had a comfortable 9-0 lead and we had capable hands on the bench to pitch."

South Side's seeding is dependant on if they win the next two games against Hewlett. The Cyclones could be anywhere from a four to a six seed.

It was an inconspicuous start for the Bulldogs ace Spencer Prusak. With two outs and two on in the first, South Side's Louis Matarazzo (2-for-4, RBI, run scored) blooped a fly ball to right, but Hewlett's right fielder misplayed the ball and two runs scored.

The wheels came off for Prusak in the third.

After Matt Sollin (1-for-3, RBI, run scored) led off with a single, Matarazzo laced an RBI single to right to make it 4-0. Andrew Talbot (2-for-3, run scored) singled, and after Dylan Leary and David Hawley walked (3 BBs, RBI, 3 runs scored), Thomas Kane (2-for-3, 3 RBIs) drove in two more with a single to centerfield. Joe Geraci followed with an RBI single to give South Side an 8-0 lead.

Bulldogs head coach Andy DeBernardo said that Prusak didn't have his usual control, and a heavy-hitting team like South Side will make a pitcher pay for not commanding the strike zone. "He wasn't commanding his three pitches," he said. "He was not throwing strikes with his curveball or changeup, and any good team, which South Side is, will hit the fastball."

Asked what he wants his team to work on for today's game against South Side, DeBernardo had one word. "Hits," he said.

In the seventh with most of the bench in, Cyclones back up catcher Vinnny Tyres laced a two-RBI triple to give South Side an 11-0 edge.

How the Playoffs Work

For seeds 1-8, it's double elimination. The No. 1 seed will play No. 8, No. 2 will play No. 7, etc., on Saturday. The winners of those games receive a bye on Monday and advance to a best of three series that starts May 18. The losers of those games play the winners of the No. 9 through No. 16 matchups, who also play Saturday, on Monday.

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