Derek Yormack's 10 Ks lead Bellmore JFK past Carey to Nassau AA final
Bellmore JFK's Derek Yormack pitches in the fifth inning against Carey in a Nassau Class AA baseball semifinal on Monday at Bellmore JFK. Credit: Neil Miller
When the stakes were highest, Bellmore JFK took control.
In the win-or-go-home Game 3 of the Nassau Class AA baseball semifinals, No. 1 Bellmore JFK leaned on dominant pitching, timely hitting, and a strong bottom of the lineup to defeat No. 4 seed Carey, 5-2, and punch its second straight ticket to the county championship.
Bellmore JFK senior Derek Yormack struck out 10 and silenced Carey’s offense for five dominant innings.
“I got ahead of my counts and that was huge,” Yormack said. “The first-pitch curveballs were really working, and once I got into a rhythm, it was cruise control.”
Yormack allowed just two runs on five hits and one walk across 5 1/3 innings, holding Carey (19-7) scoreless until the sixth and striking out three straight in the fourth to shut down any momentum.
In the third inning, the Cougars' No. 9 hitter Aaron Zacharia drove in Matt Tolipano with a ground ball single to first. After a Ryan Yormack single moved him to third, Zacharia came around to score on Eli Lowenstein’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
“It was huge,” Zacharia said. “We know Carey is a great team and they’re going to put up a lot of runs, so getting on the board early really helped us settle in.”
Zacharia sparked another rally in the fifth with his second hit of the game, and after a walk to Ryan Yormack and two outs, Alex Demas delivered the game’s biggest hit. His two-run double to rightfield extended the lead to 4-0.
Carey answered in the sixth with two runs, taking advantage of a hit-by-pitch to bring Jayden Gigante home before Jack Degnan’s single scored Mark Vera. Zach Adelstein entered in relief and managed to escape a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to limit the damage.
Bellmore JFK (22-4) tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on Lowenstein’s RBI single to make it 5-2. Adelstein shut the door in the seventh, stranding two runners with a game-ending strikeout, sealing the win — and the series.
Carey took the first game, 4-1, before Bellmore defeated the Seahawks, 17-3, to force the tiebreaker.
“I had to bring us back to the county championship,” Adelstein said. “After losing Game 1, being able to help close this one out meant everything.”
Zacharia finished 3-for-3, while Matt Tolipano and Derek Fong chipped in two hits each. Bellmore JFK totaled 11 hits and turned two double plays in the win.
Bellmore will face No. 2 Garden City on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Farmingdale State for Game 1 of the Class AA championship series.
