See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Poly Prep baseball coach Matt Roventini kept telling pitcher Phil Maldari to be patient as the senior nursed a hamstring injury in the closing weeks of the season. Maldari kept asking to play more and get back on the mound. Roventini refused.
“We kept telling him ‘Phil. Big picture, big Picture,’ ” he said. “He got. He understood, but at the same time he kept arguing with us.”
Maldari’s big moment finally came after Blue Devils ace Andrew Zapata was tapped to ensure his team beat top-seeded Berkeley Carroll in private school state tournament semifinals, instead of pitching the final like he had the past two season. The title game was this time Maldari’s to win both with his arm and his leadership.
On one good leg he tossed a three-hitter and struck out six to give No. 4 Poly Prep a 1–0 win over No.2 Fieldston in the private school championship game at Manhattanville College on Wednesday. It’s the Blue Devils record third-straight crown, and Maldari said he couldn’t wait to get the job done.
“I was ready,” Maldari said. “When I’m on that mound I feel like nobody is going to beat me.”
He also wouldn’t let freshman shortstop Anthony Prato beat himself up after two errors nearly cost his team a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Maldari would get a 4-4-3 double play to leave the bases loaded with one out. Maldari told Prato after the inning that he would redeem himself and win the game the for the Blue Devils (16–8–1).
Sure enough, the rookie delivered Poly’s only run in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out, RBI-double to center field to score third baseman Pat DaMarco, an eighth grader who singled to leadoff the frame. It was just the Blue Devils fourth hit off Fieldston ace Max Kasson, who fanned five.
“I was thinking just get a hit, just get Pat in,” Prato said. “I was sitting on a fastball because I know he didn’t want to throw me off speed and I hit a good shot.”
Maldari saw the tying run get to second in the bottom of the seventh when Jacob Hochberger was hit by a pitch and then sacrificed over for Fieldston (16–8). Maldari got a ground out and a pop up to the catcher around a hit batter to end it.
The outcome was the same as the last two years, but the path was different for the Blue Devils this time. They weren’t the clear favorite or top seed after an up-and-down regular season that still ended with an Ivy League crown. The safety net of the UConn-bound Zapata pitching in the final was eventually gone, but a they fed off a new underdog mentality that grew once the seeds were announced.
“We are a better team then all those guys right now,” Maldari said. “We just had to prove that we’re on top. I wanted Poly baseball to stay on top.”
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.