LoVullo and Olympia use extras to beat Monroe

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jason LoVullo finished 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs as the Greece Olympia Spartans rallied to defeat the Monroe Redjackets 9-8 in eight innings in non-league action Friday.

LoVullo connected on a pair of run-scoring singles. He doubled and scored in the fifth as Olympia came back from a five-run deficit to improve to 3-3 on the season.

“I’ve been swinging more at the first pitch,” said the junior infielder who homered in Olympia’s loss to cross-town rival Greece Athena on Thursday. “Beginning of the season I wasn’t swinging at all. Now that I’m swinging at the first pitch I’m making better contact.”

His RBI in the sixth capped a three-run frame.

“He’s been raking the ball really well lately,” Olympia coach Joe Ferrindino said. “He’s tearing it up.”

Trailing 7-3, Joe Matteson slapped a one-out base hit. Alex Garney and Mike Matteson both reached on an error. Jack Berbert brought home the first run of the inning with a n RBI ground out, LoVullo followed with a single to right. A passed ball made it a one-run game at 7-6.

“We have really good ballplayers who finally woke up,” Ferrindino stated.  “They put some effort into it. They made some plays. They showed their excitement. They battled back into it.”

Berbert pitched his first varsity win in the eighth for the win.

“He did an outstanding job,” Ferrindino said. “These guys fully expected to come back in the bottom of the eighth and take care of business. That’s exactly what we did.”

Zack Wright started and pitched six innings. Wright allowed three earned runs. The sophomore finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two walks, a stolen base and an RBI.

Monroe’s Victor Torres went 1-for-3 with two walks and four runs scored. Christian Sanchez doubled home a pair of runs in the three-run sixth to give Monroe a 7-2 lead.

“That’s a big win especially after we got down,” LoVullo said.  “We were down on ourselves because we weren’t making all the plays. To come back and win this game gave us all the confidence.”

Sanchez was 2-for-4 and reached base four times. Guillermo Marquez was 2-for-5.

The same two teams meet Monday at Marshall High.