Andrew Cucuzza drives in a run with a fifth-inning single for Legacy 9.
By Rich Bevensee
It’s a near certainty that Xavier Micheli and his father, Julio, would buy tickets to watch Sean Gaine pitch in a baseball game.
Xavier is Gaine’s catcher and Julio is their coach with Dodgers Nation Select 16U of Lindenhurst, Long Island. Both Michelis say that Gaine’s obvious physical tools, like a sizzling, mid-80s fastball and a six-pitch repertoire with extraordinary command, are only part of the reason why he’s fun to watch.
It’s also the way in which Gaine conducts himself on the field while employing all those physical tools which make the 6-2 right-hander a pleasure to have on their team.
In his latest start, on Thursday against Legacy 9 of Nassau County, Long Island, Gaine mowed through the lineup for four innings before encountering a control problem in the fifth. By tapping into his maturity and experience to gather himself and correct the problem, Gaine escaped major damage and finished the job.
The end result was a 3-1 Dodgers victory in the wood bat division of the Garden State Invitational at Diamond Nation in Flemington. Gaine, a rising senior at Smithtown East in St. James, N.Y., struck out 10 while scattering three hits and three walks over six innings.
“He’s the type of pitcher that once he gets into a little jam he’s able to get back into the game, whether it’s with the next batter or the next inning,” said Xavier, a rising junior at Massapequa (N.Y.) High. “That’s one thing I like about him.”
The jam in question occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Dodgers leading, 2-0. Gaine struck out eight of the first 14 batters he faced, but also showed a hint of control issues when he yielded a pair of walks in the fourth. In the fifth, he surrendered a one-out double and an RBI single to allow Legacy to climb within a run.
With the tying run at second base, Gaine induced a pair of flyouts to preserve the Dodgers’ tenuous lead. One of those outs was a sensational running catch by center fielder Tylan Edwards.
“I hung a curveball and after the double I got a little rattled,” Gaine said. “I refocused myself on throwing strikes. I took a trip around the mound. I just needed a breather. Earlier on in my pitching career I wasn’t able to do that. I think I grew mentally with the game.”
“I knew he was going to come through,” Julio Micheli said. “He had that look in his eye. He made sure he took care of business.”
The Dodgers added an insurance run in the top of the sixth. Daniel Forest singled, Edwards was hit by a pitch, Dylan Sollitto singled to load the bases and Carter Rall knocked in Forest with a sacrifice fly.
“What we did today was play good baseball, good selfless baseball,” Julio Micheli said.
With no time left on the game clock, Legacy sent the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the sixth after Gaine walked Erijah Britto with one out. Gaine rebounded again by chalking up his ninth and 10th strikeouts, one swinging at a curveball and one looking at an 83-mph fastball, to close out the win. He finished at 91 pitches.
The Dodgers’ Matt Vlahakis slides home safely ahead of the tag of Legacy pitcher Justin Diaz.
“I think the thing I like about Sean the most is that he stays poised,” Julio Micheli said. “He is very mature for his age. He understands what he has to do. When he gets on the mound he wants the baseball and he doesn’t want to give it up, so once he’s on the mound, he makes sure he locks in and makes his pitches work.”
Gaine employs two-seam and four-seam fastballs as well as a cutter, curveball, slider and changeup. He said he relied on his curveball a lot against Legacy but he throws all of his pitches for strikes so he’s not afraid to throw any pitch in any count.
“It’s great seeing batters getting annoyed by that,” Xavier Micheli said. “He’s able to command the curveball being at 69-72 and then the fastball 86-90. It’s definitely a great thing to catch.”
That kind of command, and the fact that they share a passion for competition, are two more reasons why Xavier Micheli so enjoys being Gaine’s catcher.
“I’ve been catching him since we were 12 years old,” Xavier Micheli said. “I’ve been there with him as he’s gotten better, and the same thing with me. I’ve improved, also, so I can catch him and the other top pitchers.
“It’s definitely fun to watch Sean, and especially to play with someone who matches your energy. Once that adrenaline kicks in, once he gets on the mound, you know it’s going to be a really good game.”
The Dodgers (8-7-1) claimed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Matt Vlahakis led off with a walk, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch. Two batters later Micheli reached on an infield error and scored on a Joey Scarangella sacrifice fly.
Gaine, meanwhile, was frustrating Legacy batters with velocity and control. After giving up a one-out single to Kyle Zinger in the first inning, he struck out the next seven batters, half on fastballs and half on curveballs.
Gaine exhibited his strength throughout the game. He reached a high of 85 mph in the first inning and his final pitch was 83.
“He does a lot of work,” Julio Micheli said. “He stays in shape and works out really hard. Being able to make the velocity happen on the last pitch of the game is impressive. He was close to 100 pitches there. We talked about it before the inning that he might have to come out if we get into the top of the order again. So he made sure he put a little more on that one to solidify that.”
For Legacy, Justin Diaz pitched very well and, over five innings, allowed two runs on two hits and five walks with five strikeouts. Yadiel Hernandez pitched the final two innings and gave up a run on three hits and two walks with one strikeout.
There are no playoffs for this showcase event; the top five teams in the 17-team field qualify for a Showcase Series in August.
The Dodgers closed out the Invitational week 2-2. They defeated Legacy 9 and 5-Star National NY-Select, 4-3, and lost to Complete Performance Baseball Academy, 6-4, and Wladyka National, 7-5.
Legacy 9 dropped to 1-3 with the loss to the Dodgers. They opened the week with a 10-6 loss to Locked In Baseball Expos Blue, defeated Wladyka National, 8-7, then bowed to the Dodgers and to the Garden State Naturals, 7-2.