Mepham Baseball Falls in Error-Filled Loss to MacArthur at SUNY Farmingdale

The Mepham Pirates and MacArthur Generals took part in a neutral site, non-league game in the brisk cold on Thursday night at the SUNY Farmingdale baseball stadium.

The Generals (3-1) took a lead early and never gave it up as they took the Pirates (1-3) down by a 7-1 final.

MacArthur pitcher Jesse Tuozzo threw the Mepham batters off all night to pick up the win, going six innings, while striking out nine batters and giving up just three hits and one earned run. Nick Kaywood went 3-for-4 for MacArthur with 2 RBIs and finished off the game on the mound with a scoreless seventh inning.

With Jordan Gilroy starting the game for Mepham, Chris McGavern hit an RBI single and Kaywood followed it up with a two-run double. The Generals put another run across the plate in the second to go up 4-0 before Mepham was able to get a single hit.

Dillon Gordon finally got the Pirates’ first hit in the bottom of the third, but Tuozzo followed it up with three consecutive strikeouts for MacArthur. Dom Manzella got Mepham on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single.

In the top of the fifth, Mepham committed three of their five errors, one of which allowed McGavern to score after a throw from catcher Billy Rovolo found its way into centerfield. In the bottom half of the inning, Nick Appel hit a deep triple to right field for Mepham, but was stranded as Tuozzo again struck out all three batters.

MacArthur added two more runs to their lead in the sixth after consecutive passed balls with Chris Waldron pitching for Mepham. The win was the second for the Generals in as many days after dropping a game to Calhoun by just one run.

Heroes: Jesse Tuozzo used his slew of off-speed pitches to keep Mepham off track as he went six strong innings, while letting up the one run in the fourth inning. He now has 19 total strikeouts in 10 combined innings of work and has given up just five total hits for two wins this season.

“It was a good win and I felt good on the mound tonight," Tuozzo said. "I wanted to stay on the outside corners getting called strikes and throwing high and inside, so I worked on keeping it in those spots."

Turning Point: Although down 4-0, Mepham got a run back in the fourth and seemed to have a shot to chip away at the lead. However, the three errors in the next inning allowed MacArthur to get another run and take back momentum with it.

Quotable: "I'm happy with where we are at this stage in the season. We're a young, inexperienced team and we are making giant strides," MacArthur head coach Steve Costello said. "We've come further than I thought I would in this amount of time, so I'm happy with that."

"They are a good team and we wanted to play the top-notch competition early in the season," Mepham head coach Bill Murphy said. "Jordan pitched for us yesterday in the end of the game too ... having him come back and throw today, he responded but it took a little bit to get loose and going."

Bottom Line: Despite the loss, Mepham is headed in the right direction, but will  face some challenges in a talented conference pool with the likes of Calhoun and Carey.

MacArthur has had a strong start thus far and could have easily held a 4-0 record if not for the late comeback by Calhoun last Monday.

Key Stat: MacArthur outhit Mepham 13-3 and committed four less errors.

Who’s Next: Mepham at Carey, April 11, 4:30 p.m.; MacArthur vs. Port Washington, April 11, 4:45 p.m.

Box Score:

WP- J.Tuozzo (MAC), LP- J.Gilroy (MEP)