Snap Dragons Avoid Sweep, Close Out Fall World Series With 6-1 Victory
Shotguns win the series, 2-1
Johnny Castagnozzi and Alberto Osuna each homered and drove in two runs as Clemente Inclan and Caden O’Brien’s Snap Dragons beat Gage Gillian and Angel Zarate’s Shotguns 6-1 Saturday to avoid a three-game sweep in North Carolina’s Fall World Series.
Coming off a pair of one-run losses last weekend, the Snap Dragons struck for three runs in the first. Vance Honeycutt and Danny Serretti led off the bottom of the inning with a pair of walks before coming around on consecutive RBI singles by Osuna and Castagnozzi. Max Riemer then pushed the lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Shotguns pulled within two runs on a Zarate sacrifice fly in the top of the third. But their hopes of a comeback were dashed in the ensuing frame, when Osuna and Castagnozzi launched back-to-back solo shots to give the Snap Dragons a 5-1 lead.
Casey Cook went on to tack on another run in the fourth with an RBI single, and the trio of Nick James, Nik Pry and Davis Palermo allowed just two runners over the last three innings to seal the victory in UNC’s last fall scrimmage.
Despite losing Saturday, the Shotguns will be rewarded with dinner from the Angus Barn for their series win.
“This fall was good. I think everybody who came back from last year came back with stuff they needed to work on – including myself – and we all worked on it and I think everybody grew. We also had a lot freshmen and transfers come in, and they showed they can play at this level really early.” – Third-year sophomore and fall standout Patrick Alvarez
Five who stood out
Castagnozzi: The sophomore’s homer – which left his bat at 104 mph, per TrackMan – put an exclamation point on a strong finish to his fall season. He hit five home runs over the Tar Heels’ last eight intrasquad scrimmages.
Caleb Cozart: The third-year sophomore set the tone for the Shotguns on the mound, retiring the first six batters he faced. He ultimately allowed one run on two hits over 2 1/3 innings, striking out two and throwing 25 of his 33 pitches for strikes.
James: Another third-year sophomore, James put together a solid summer in the Ohio Valley League, registering a 3.05 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings. Saturday, however, marked his first appearance of the fall. The lefty came in with two runners on and one out in the top of the fourth and gave up a walk to load the bases. He got out of the jam, though, by inducing a groundball double play, then pitched a 1-2-3 fifth.
Osuna: For as much hype as he’s received, the Walters State transfer – who was named the No. 2 impact JUCO transfer by D1Baseball – has lived up to it in every way so far. Equipped with a short, compact swing, he produces high exit velocities and tape-measure homers with relative ease. His solo shot Friday left his bat at 101 mph, according to TrackMan.
Pry: What an end to the fall for the fourth-year pitcher. After entering Friday’s game against Vanderbilt with a runner second on and stranding them with a pair of fly outs, he pitched a perfect sixth Saturday, striking out two. The righty threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes, highlighted by five swings and misses.
Other observations
Primarily a second baseman, Mikey Madej has played only one game in the outfield since arriving at UNC before the 2020 season. But playing in right field Saturday, he made two diving grabs, robbing Riemer of a double on his sacrifice fly in the first inning and charging in to take away a single from Castagnozzi in the fifth.
Another highlight defensive play came in the fourth, when, with one out and the bases loaded, Inclan fielded a sharp grounder, tagged third and made a strong throw across the field for an inning-ending double play.
When talking about shutting pitchers down for the winter, Scott Forbes has specifically mentioned Connor Bovair, noting that the Siena transfer hasn’t pitched as much in his life as he has this year. Even then, he turned in an efficient performance Saturday, retiring all three batters he faced on five pitches, all strikes.
It seemed only fitting for Palermo, one of the fall’s biggest standouts, to be the last pitcher to toe the rubber this fall. The righty – who Forbes said could serve as the team’s closer this spring if he continues at his current trajectory – struck out the first batter he faced before issuing back-to-back walks. He then induced a groundball double play to end the game. Tomas Frick spoke highly of Palermo after the game, crediting much of his success to his improved splitter.
Nine pitchers took the mound Saturday. Kyle Mott, Connor Ollio and Bovair pitched for the Shotguns. Cozart, Will Sandy, Alden Segui, James, Pry and Palermo threw for the Snap Dragons. They issued seven total walks.
As part of parents weekend, each player took the mic in between innings and introduced themselves and their families over the public address system.