PLAYOFFS: Bulldogs Rally in Sixth, Seventh for 4-3 Win Over South Side

The Island Trees Bulldogs rode the arm of ace Mike Jeannetti in its Conference A playoff game against South Side on Saturday, and then rallied in the sixth and seventh innings to beat the Conference A-II champs, 4-3.

The Bulldogs now advance to a best-of-three series that starts Wednesday.

Jeannetti hurled a 122-pitch, complete game gem with 11 strikeouts to silence a potent South Side offense. Besides the Cyclones 4-5 hitters — who went 4-for-6 with 3 RBIs — Jeannetti owned the other seven hitters, who finished 2-for-20. He also didn’t walk a batter.

“That was a tough South Side team,” head coach Joe D’Auria said. “I knew coming in they would score runs. We got good starting pitching from Mike Jeannetti.”

Asked if he considered pulling his starter in the seventh after throwing more than 100 pitches, D’Auria said there was no debate. “We monitor pitch counts,” he said. “We didn't see him dropping his arm angle so he wanted to stay in, so we left him in.”

With the score tied at three with one out in the bottom of the seventh and two runners on, Bulldogs Mike Manganiello hit into what looked like an inning ending, 6-4-3 double play.

Cyclones shortstop Andrew Talbot tossed it to second baseman Joe Geraci for the first out, but Geraci's throw to first was off line, and the ball trickled away from first baseman Matt Leach. Ryan MacDonald then broke for home and scored the game-winning run to top South Side, 4-3.

The Bulldogs scored first after MacDonald and Chris Cutrone (2-for-3, run scored) led off the game with back-to-back singles. After Dom Raucci grounded into a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners with one out, cleanup hitter Mike Manganiello hit a groundball  to short. First baseman Dylan Leary dropped the relay throw from Geraci that would have completed the 6-4-3 double play, and Cutrone scored to give Island Trees a 1-0 lead.

South Side's Louis Matarazzo (2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBIs) tied the score in the second with a 400-foot solo blast to center. He followed that with a two-run jack in the fourth to give South Side a 3-1 lead. 

Island Trees pulled within one in the fourth off an RBI single by James Ragusa (1-for-3, RBI) to cut South Side's lead to 3-2. In the sixth, sophomore Louis Mele (1-for-3, HR, RBI) launched a solo homerun to dead center to tie the game at 3.

"We needed a little offensive juice and he provided that for us," D’Auria said about Mele.

After pitching six quality innings, South Side starter Christian Colletti walked MacDonald to start the seventh. The Cyclones went to closer Griffin Wagner, who made the first out of the inning on a spectacular diving catch on a popped-up bunt by Cutrone.

Wagner then hit Raucci to put runners on first and second. Manganiello hit a grounder to short, but South Side couldn't turn the 6-4-3 double play. The ball got away from Leach, and MacDonald scored the game-winning run.