By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Phil Ferranti figured he owed his teammates. The sophomore made amends and then some.
Ferranti collected four hits on the day including his first two round-trippers of the season, and Monroe Community College swept Finger Lakes CC (8-3/5-1) in NJCAA action from Tribune Field, Thursday.
“It felt great, you know,” the Webster Schroeder alum said. “The wind was blowing, so I just got a chance to put a couple in the air and it carried out.”
His first blast of the day broke open a two-run game in the opener. It came two innings after he left the bases loaded with a ground out.
“I definitely had to drive in some runs,” he said. “I missed three before, so I was looking to drive them in. I got it done.”
Sean Flannery (Wayne) started the sixth-inning offense with a one-out infield single. Cas Sobaszek (Rush-Henrietta) set the table for Ferranti putting runners on the corners with a base hit to right field.
Ferranti turned on a 3-1 offering and deposited it over the left field fence.
“I was just looking for a fastball out over the plate,” said the 2018 NJCAA Third Team All American. “I was looking for something to rake. It was out over the middle of the plate. I didn’t miss it.”
Chris Levere (King George/VA) hurled five and a third innings for his second win of the season. After giving up a three-run home run in the second inning, the right-hander settled in and retired the last eight batters he faced. Levere struck out three, walked three and set down eight on ground balls.
Liam Devine (John F. Ross CVI/Guelph,ON), worked 1.2 innings for his second save of the season.
Matt Petrossi (Fairport) took the ball in game two and overcame an early rough patch to continue the momentum. He surrendered a leadoff double to Tanner Cooper (Canandaigua) to start the night cap. Nicklaus Stein followed with an RBI single.
Petrossi limited the Lakers to two hits over his remaining five innings of work for his first win of the season.
“The fact that he can bounce back after a couple of situations where he could have been better against hitters shows what he is capable of doing,” Monroe head coach Dave Brust commented. “He generally stays in the strike zone and rarely gives up walks in situations where they could be dangerous.
Petrossi faced the minimum in the third and fourth frames and allowed one hit over his last four innings of work.
Ferranti doubled home a pair of runs in the first, and Trey Brown (Aquinas) stretched the lead with a two-out, two-run triple in the fourth.
“Trey’s ability to drive in runs on top of his ability to score runs is a saving grace,” Brust said of the freshman who finished the day with three hits and two runs scored. “He has shown that he can cash in for us.”
Over the last six games, all wins for the Tribunes, Brown has gone 11-for-22 with four walks, nine runs scored and nine RBI.
“He is the straw that stirs the drink for us right now,” Brust said of the second baseman.
Ferranti added a one-out solo shot in the fifth. He finished the day going 4-for-7 with six RBI and two runs scored.
Brennen Smith (Webster Thomas) struck out the side and worked a scoreless seventh to cap the sweep.
Sobaszek went 3-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI.
Evan Magill (Notre Dame Catholic/Ajax, ON) was 2-for-3 with a run scored in game one. Jose Ramos (Poinciana/Kissimmee,FL) drove in a run with a hit. Sam Loew (Binghamton) collected three walks in the doubleheader and scored one run. Logan Martella-Tasick (Penfield) connected on a solo shot in game one. TJ Lucey (Fairport) had a hit, two walks and two runs scored.
Cooper led the FLCC offense with two hits including his first home run of the season. The Penn State University commit had two walks, three RBI and two runs scored.
Monroe (11-11) hosts Onondaga Community College on Saturday. A 1 PM first pitch is scheduled at Tribune Field.
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