South Side's Two-Out Rally in Seventh Falls Short, Lose to Roslyn 11-10

Down 8-3 in the fifth inning against Roslyn, the Cyclones rallied for seven runs in the final three frames to set up yet another comeback victory. Unfortunately, South Side fell one run shy of a final-inning, come-from-behind win and lost to the Bulldogs, 11-10 on Tuesday at Barasch Field.

James Howard (4-for-5, 3RBIs, 3 runs scored) and Andrew Talbot (3-for-4, 5 RBIs) did the heavy lifting for South Side, but every time the Cyclones rallied to within a run or two, the Bulldogs responded with runs of their own. 

Down 11-9 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, South Side's Matt Sollin ripped a double down the right-field line and Howard followed with an RBI single to center to make it 11-10.  Matarazzo (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) however, struck out to end the game. It would have been South Side's third, seventh-inning comeback victory in the last six games.

After scoring three runs in the bottom of the first via an RBI single from Howard and a two-RBI bloop single from Talbot, South Side appeared primed to continue what it had done in its previous 14-3 win against Roslyn on Monday.

Cyclones starting pitcher Evan Singer, however, couldn't command the strike zone or locate his secondary pitches and Roslyn took advantage. In the second inning, Roslyn sent 11 batters to the plate, pounding six hits (two for extra bases) for seven runs to give the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead. Singer only lasted three innings, giving up nine hits and eight runs. 

Griffin Wagner relieved Singer in the fourth and pitched well, giving up five hits and two earned runs with five strikeouts over the final four innings.

Roslyn added another run in the fourth before South Side began to rally. In the fifth, after Matt Sollin led off with a walk and Howard followed with a single, Louis Matarazzo scorched a two-RBI single down the third-base line. Talbot then drove in his third run of the game with an RBI double to cut Roslyn's lead to 8-6.

The Bulldogs, however, added two more runs in the sixth inning to increase its lead to 10-6. The Cyclones, who throughout the season have come back from deficits as large as five runs, once again went to work with the bats in the bottom half the inning. After Joe Geraci reached first on an error and Sollin worked his second walk of the game, Howard drove in Geraci with a blast to left that one-hopped its way to the wall to cut the lead to 10-7.

Talbot then ripped a two-RBI single — his fourth and fifth RBI of the game — to bring South Side within one at 10-9. With runners on first and second and two outs, David Hawley flied out to center to quell the rally.

As if on cue, the Bulldogs scored one more in the top of the seventh to take an 11-9 lead. South Side scored with two outs in the seventh to make it 11-10, but Matarazzo struck out with the game-tying run at first base.

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