After some initial uncertainty—and changes to both the field and gametime—the Tuckahoe baseball team finally kicked off its Class C postseason push on Thursday, May 17 when the top-seeded Tigers hosted No. 4 Pawling at Flowers Field in New Rochelle. And despite playing at 1 p.m. on an unfamiliar field, the Tigers proved exactly why they earned the No. 1 seed, topping their visitors 10-4 in a decisive first-round win.

The game, which was initially scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start at Parkway Oval, was tentatively moved to Concordia, but inclement weather during the week rendered the college field unplayable. Eventually, the two teams found a home—and an earlier than expected start—on the turf field at New Rochelle’s City Park.

Lefthander Matt Mondrone, who got the start for Tuckahoe, admitted that extenuating circumstances impacted his usual pregame routine.

“It was definitely hard to get ready for the game,” the sophomore southpaw told the Review. “We just didn’t know where it was going to be.”

Despite the disruption, Mondrone earned the win, pitching four innings and allowing just two earned runs. He would leave with a 6-3 lead, which the Tigers added to over the last three innings.

Tuckahoe, which did not have a base runner in the first three innings, eventually broke through with a four-run fourth, when they finally got to Pawling starter Tyler Schilb. During that inning, the Tigers batted around and took a 4-1 lead. In the fifth, Joe Nasti would single in two more runs to extend the Tuckahoe lead.

Nasti would finish the day with a game-high three RBIs.

“We had faced Schilb early in the season and we knew what he was going to bring,” Tuckahoe coach Jerry DeFabbia said. “We just had to make adjustments, stick to our gameplan and start using the whole field.”

DeFabbia was especially impressed with the performance of the bottom of his lineup, which frustrated Schilb and set the table for his sluggers. Peter Gerken proved especially tough to handle, picking up two hits and an RBI on the afternoon.

“Like most high school baseball teams, we stack the top of order and rely on the bottom to get us there,” he said. “And for a guy like Peter, who is still coming back from a broken leg he got playing football, this was a really big day.”

Owen Moran would come on for Mondrone in the fifth inning and toss three innings of one-run ball to preserve the Tiger lead as Tuckahoe advanced to the second round of the Class C double elimination tournament with one win under their belt. They will take on Haldane, which beat Alexander Hamilton 4-1, in a game scheduled for Friday, May 18. But with more rain on the horizon, DeFabbia said his team will need to be ready for whenever that next game is played.

“We’ll be ready for tomorrow,” he said. “Or Saturday; or Sunday. It doesn’t matter when we play, we’ll be ready.”

Editor’s Note: On Friday, May 18, Tuckahoe beat Haldane 10-3 in the second round of the double-elimination Class C playoffs.