Hunter Trenaman's two-hit shutout, suicide-squeeze bunt lead Port Washington past Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK
Hunter Trenaman of Port Washington delivers a pitch to a Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK batter during a Nassau Conference AAA-II baseball game on Monday at Port Washington. Credit: Derrick Dingle
To say that the Port Washington baseball team has had more than its share of disappointments this season would be completely understating things. There have been five one-run losses – three in walk-off fashion, and two other potential wins eclipsed in darkness-related ties. The Vikings (9-6-1) were turning "close but not quite" into an art form.
On Monday, however, they got everything right when they hosted Nassau AAA-II leader Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK. Port Washington turned in a masterpiece in fundamentals and got an inspired performance from starter Hunter Trenaman as it posted a 1-0 victory.
Trenaman won a pitchers’ duel with Hawks ace Michael D’Ambrosio, one of Nassau’s top players and a Hofstra commit, and got down a suicide squeeze bunt with one out in the sixth inning to drive in Jackson Garcia with the only run. The Vikings also turned four double plays and freshman catcher Jake Wilber cut down a would-be base stealer at third.
The Hawks last season strafed Trenaman for nine runs and didn’t let him get to the second inning in a 16-0 rout and the righthander recalled of the outing: “It was the worst start of my career and I think about that game more than most . . . They were just taking the cover off the ball against me.”
“I’m so happy I could show that I can beat those guys. I knew that Icould.”
Garcia said: “We could tell that game stuck with him and we knew this game would a big deal. But you could tell he had the right mindset even before the game started.”
Trenaman’s two-hit shutout included eight strikeouts and though he walked five and hit a batter, four of those six free passes were erased as shortstop Jake Scharlat and second baseman Garcia each started two of the four double plays.
“This was huge redemption game for [Trenaman] after they hit him so hard last season,” Vikings coach Matt Holzer said. “And for our team, it was a validation game. We’d been in so many close games — and I think that experience helped — but we finally had one go our way. We have the pitching and defense to play with anyone and we’re been right there. They finally broke through.”
D’Ambrosio pitched a high-minded game by relying on different pitches each time he went through the Port Washington lineup. He allowed five hits and three walks with five strikeouts and stranded six runners in scoring position. Trenaman, however, got him to hit into a rare pair of double plays.
Ryan Kurre and Philip Pirozzi each had a double for the Hawks (10-3, 9-3).
In the Vikings’ sixth, Garcia drew a five pitch walk and was sacrificed to second. Jeff Radinsky beat a diving D’Ambrosio to first base for an infield hit to put runners on the corners. Brayden Corber was hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring up Trenaman for a perfectly executed squeeze.
“We felt like we were due to win after being in so many games,” Garcia said. “This was a breakthrough and it couldn’t have come at a better time in the season.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
