2011 South Side Cyclones Baseball Wrap Up

The South Side High School Cyclones finished the regular season at 12-5 and were the Conference A-II champs for the first time since 2008. The playoffs ended prematurely for South Side though, getting eliminated in the quarterfinals by Division, who the Cyclones had beaten two of three times in the regular season.

Let's look back at some of the highlights from the season and hand out some much-deserved awards.

On April 6, the South Side Cyclones were winless. At 0-3, they traveled to rival Garden City on a cold and rainy afternoon with Evan Singer on the mound. The Cyclones exploded for 17 hits and 12 runs,  and were led by catcher Matt Sollin, who went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and finished a triple shy of the cycle. It was arguably Sollin's best game of the year, and the Cyclones went on to win the next six games after the 12-2 win.

On April 7, the Cyclones found themselves down 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh against New Hyde Park. South Side couldn't touch Gladiators starter Rob Scatorchio, but it all changed when NHP head coach Doug Robins put in his closer, Nicholas Perrone, to get the final three outs. The Cyclones batted around on Perrone, and Louis Matarazzo and Casey Cameron each had RBI triples in the rally. Matt Sollin roped a liner down the first base line for the improbable, 7-6 walk-off victory.

2011 Awards

Team MVP — James Howard. The senior captain/cleanup hitter was tied for the team lead in batting average (.410), led the team in RBIs (31), was second in doubles (5), runs scored (25) and finished tied for the team lead in hits with 32. Howard reached base in more than 50 percent of his plate appearances and only struck out 10 times.

The Big Bopper — Louis Matarazzo. The sophomore third baseman also batted .410, led the team in homeruns (4) and sported a whopping 1.169 OPS (on base plus slugging). He finished with 26 RBIs and 32 hits. Matarazzo also had two jacks in the playoff loss to Island Trees, and launched a 400-foot blast into the parking lot at Barasch Field against Hewlett.

The Unsung Hero — David Hawley. The sophomore centerfielder batted .297, and led the team in steals (9). He ended the season on a five-game hitting streak and played an outstanding centerfield.

Mr. Clutch — Matt Sollin. With a .377 batting average and a team-leading 1.219 OPS, Sollin also led the team in walks (23) and runs scored (28). Sollin had both walk-off, game-winning hits against New Hyde Park and excelled in the tight spots.