Jets Best South Side in Season Opener, 11-4

Down 6-4 with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth and one out, the South Side Cyclones were in prime position to regain the lead during Monday's season opener against East Meadow.

With the help of an infield error, two walks and a single, the Cyclones had loaded the bases against East Meadow pitcher Rob Franzese, who had only given up five hits and three runs over 5.1 innings. South Side had the heart of its lineup coming up and East Meadow head coach Ken Sicoli called for junior left-handed hurler Greg Girsch to quell the rally.

Girsch punched out back-to-back batters to escape with the lead intact, and the Jets blew open the game in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring five times en route to a 11-4 victory.

"We were just sloppy defensively," said South Side head coach Keith Lessuk. "We were better offensively, but I think our hitters were being too selective and not attacking the curveball. We had our opportunities."

South Side jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning with four of its first five batters reaching base. After lead-off man David Hawley scored on an error by East Meadow's Rob Bocchetti, right fielder James Howard ripped an RBI single to give the Cyclones a 2-0 lead.

The lead didn't last for long, however, as the Jets scored three times in the bottom half of the first to take a 3-2 lead. South Side tied the score at three in the top of the third on an RBI groundout by Howard. In the bottom of the fourth, Lessuk pulled Colletti for Evan Singer, who gave up back-to-back doubles and two runs to give East Meadow a 5-3 lead. The Jets added another run in the bottom of the fifth to increase its lead to three.

East Meadow’s five-run outburst in the bottom of the sixth started with a double by Rich Renkl sandwiched between two walks by Joe Gismondi and Anthony DiTomasso.  With the bases loaded, Matt Castaneda laid down a squeeze bunt to score Gismondi. Franzese hit a two RBI single down the first base line, Kyle Berger singled in another and Chris Mancino worked a bases loaded walk.

South Side committed four errors in the game, and Lessuk said that playing timid in the field needs to change. "We need to sharpen up defensively," he said. "We have to attack ground balls and not let the ball play us. We've got to be more aggressive."

South Side starting pitcher Chris Colletti pitched three innings and gave up three runs — all in the first inning. Colletti settled down after that and only gave up one hit in his final two innings and finished with six strikeouts.

"He didn't have his best stuff," Lessuk said. "He settled down after the first, but he was ahead of batters and they got a couple hits off him."

East Meadow plays again Tuesday against Freeport at Cleveland Avenue Field. Start time is 4:30 p.m.