Flemington’s Tyler Kuhns leads off first after his second-inning single.
By Rich Bevensee
L.T. Parillo used to drive his dad absolutely nuts when he began employing a sidearm delivery on the mound.
“He used to say, ‘Get over the top, get over the top,’ and I would say okay and then I’d go right back to it. I’d totally move it down,” Parillo said. “Now he loves it.”
Parillo, who said he’s been using the sidearm delivery for about a year, continued to prove just how effective his pitching motion is on Thursday evening at Diamond Nation in Flemington.
Inserted into the game to halt an extended Hackettstown rally in the bottom of the fourth, Parillo pitched 2⅓ shutout innings and allowed Flemington American Legion Post 159 the chance to stage a comeback – which it did.
In the top of the fifth, Alex Albanese tied the game with an RBI groundout, Nick Bott scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, and Flemington secured a 9-7 victory over Hackettstown in the Diamond Nation High School Fall League.
The sidearming Parillo, a right-handed senior at Hunterdon Central, allowed no hits and four walks and struck out two in his 2⅓ innings of relief work using only a four-seam and two-seam fastball and a changeup.
“Sidearm always just felt more comfortable,” Parillo said. “I always noticed I had a lot of run on my pitches and being sidearm always helped that.”
Parillo did have to pitch around trouble in the bottom of the fifth, Hackettstown’s final at bat. He walked Joey McCaffrey to start the inning and Braiden Costello came to the plate representing the tying run. Parillo induced a comebacker and threw to second for the force.
The ensuing throw to Albanese at first was wide, but Albanese tracked down the ball in foul ground and fired to second to nail Costello trying to take an extra base.
Parillo walked Charlie Norton to face another potential tying run at the plate in Greg Soldivieri, who lined out to center field to end the game.
“I like his confidence,” said Flemington coach Chase Moskowitz, himself a Hunterdon Central grad. “He always comes in and throws strikes. We can put him in any situation and he’ll be fine. He’s been our guy all year in the summer, and with that arm slot we can put him in any time. He just goes out and does his thing.”
The comeback rally in the top of the fifth began with Flemington trailing 7-6. Luke Schenkel led off by stroking an opposite field single to right. Nick Bott walked and Schenkel advanced to third on an Andrew Fisher flyout.
Ben Annese walked to load the bases and Albanese followed with an RBI groundout to tie the game at 7-7. Bott soon scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, and Annese scored from third after an errant pickoff throw to first.
When asked about the comeback, Moskowitz said there is a very good reason why the roster is constructed the way it is.
Hackettstown’s Sean Benbow launches a two-run home run in the third inning.
“When we go out and get guys, we don’t think about how good they are at baseball,” Moskowitz said. “We want guys we can work with, which means they’re super coachable, guys who don’t want me to pretend everything is okay. He’s asking how he can get better. We think they’re the best people, guys with good personalities who won’t give up in any situation.”
Schenkel, an Immaculata senior who went 3-for-3 with a triple, said his performance mimicked what he’s been able to produce all summer thanks to arduous tee work in the backyard.
“Usually every day for 30 to 45 minutes in the morning I go hit off the tee,” Schenkel said. “Every game if I do something wrong I take notes on that and then I’ll work on mechanics and drills. I don’t think I’d be as good as I am without all that work. My dad (Stephen) tells me every day to go to the gym and hit, and I’ve been following that as long as I can.”
Hackettstown rallied for a 7-5 lead with a six-run third inning on four hits and four walks. The big blow in that frame was a two-run home run by Hackettstown junior Sean Benbow (2-for-3 with a double). Greg Soldivieri had an RBI single in the inning and Trey Schneider doubled just before Benbow’s blast.
For Flemington, Fisher had a two-run double, Michael Parillo (L.T. ‘s junior brother) went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Bott had a sacrifice fly RBI and Annese had an RBI groundout.
Bott pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Michael Augustus allowed six runs over two-thirds of an inning on four hits and three walks with one strikeout.
For Hackettstown, Soldivieri went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Ryan Antonucci had a fielder’s choice RBI, and Antonio Peluso walked three times.
McCaffrey went 3⅔ innings and permitted six runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Antonucci pitched the final 1⅓ innings and allowed three runs on one hit and four walks with one strikeout.