It wasn't a good start for Southside Inn (8-4-1) in its Yorktown Men's Softball League contest at the Route 202 No.1 field in Yorktown against Tool Academy (8-4-1) Wednesday night.
Tool Academy jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning but Southside Inn rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth and never looked back, taking home a 10-5 victory.
"It was a big inning," Southside Inn second baseman James Russo said. "It was huge to get those four runs. We knew, though, that we had to keep scoring because they are a good team who's never out of a game."
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Tool Academy showed how good of a team it is when it got out to that early lead. Jaytea Troise started the rally with a single, Brad Butler walked and Stephen Poulakis hit a blast to right-center field for a three-run inside the park homer.
"I was just trying to go opposite field on that one because I saw a lot of openings over there so I just hit it well, it fell in, I hustled and got the home run," Poulakis said.
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Russo and his teammates answered the Poulakis dinger when they scored four runs in the top of the fourth. Russo led off the inning with a single before coming home when Brian Battista reached base on a three-base error.
Battista was driven in by a single from Steve Wallace. Wallace advanced to third on a base hit by Dean Kringas and scored on an error. Kringas came home on a sacrifice fly from Chris Manse.
Southside Inn continued to add to its lead with two more runs in the fifth inning. Russo once again started the rally with a single before moving to third on a double by Battista.
"I was just trying to help us get more runs. You are never up by too many," Russo said. "I wanted to help my team win and try to get first place for the playoffs."
Russo and Battista were driven in by Wallace, who came up clutch again with a two-run single.
Southside Inn bats stayed hot in the top of the sixth inning when it sealed the game with three more runs. Kringas and Manse started the frame with back to back singles and were driven in on a triple by Jason Longobardi.
A sacrifice fly by Mike Mangro enabled Longobardi to cross the plate for Southside Inn's ninth run.
The win by Southside Inn is boosting confidence as the team heads down the stretch of the season.
"We have had success in the past," Russo said. "We have an even better team this year. I think we can take it all the way."
Despite the loss, Tool Academy has also enjoyed a winning season and is just as rightfully certain it can capture the International League crown.
"We have been playing together for the last few years, which we've been in the playoffs," Poulakis said. "I feel we have a real good shot at winning it this year."
