Hillsdale Knights pay back Carlmont

A little too much, as far as Hillsdale’ Jake Belloni was concerned. So when he crushed a no-doubt-about-it home run to right field in Thursday’s rematch in San Mateo, he didn’t immediately head to first base.

Instead, he stared into his own dugout for a couple beats before executing an emphatic bat flip as he started his trot.

It was big hit as Belloni’s fifth-inning jack turned out to be the winning run in the Knights’ 3-2 win over the Scots.

“I just knew it was gone,” Belloni said. “A little excessive, I know. … After the last game, they celebrated like they won CCS.”

Hillsdale manager Willy Baroncini certainly noticed Belloni’s display.

“Did not like it,” Baroncini said. “I told him to never do it again.”

The blast marked a comeback for Hillsdale (1-1 PAL Bay, 5-3 overall), which trailed 2-0 after half an inning as starting pitcher Robby Gilbert struggled with his command. With one out, Jason Tofigh doubled for Carlmont (1-1, 5-6). He went to third on a Grant Goetz single and scored on a Henry Massey grounder that was booted for error, which eventually enabled Goetz to score when Aidan O’Driscoll worked a bases-loaded walk.

Gilbert threw 33 pitches in that first inning. He then threw 66 over the next five innings as he picked up the win, with Hugo Guzman slamming the door in the seventh for the save.

Turns out, no one in the Hillsdale dugout was concerned about Gilbert’s high pitch count in that opening frame.

“I’ve coached him since he was 13. … Robby is usually a long pitcher (innings wise),” Baroncini said. “Once he calmed down, he got on a roll.”

Belloni, who started Wednesday game and played first base Friday, also said he expected Gilbert to lock in.

“He struggled in the first, but he got right. Whether he threw 40 pitches in the first or 10, I knew he would go six (innings),” Belloni said. “I just told him to be consistent.”

After giving up two runs and two hits in the first inning, Gilbert allowed just two more hits the rest of the way, as he and Guzman retired the last nine batters in a row.

Carlmont starting pitcher Jonathan Fong was just as effective. He also went six innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits. Both Fong and Gilbert worked quickly and relied on the defense as the game was played in a crisp one hour and 16 minutes.

“Both guys like to play with their defense,” Baroncini said. “We could have worked the counts more.”

The Knights cut their deficit in half by scratching out an unearned run in the bottom of the first as Guzman blooped a one-out single to center and stole second. Thomas Schultz came up and struck out, but the third strike was in the dirt and Schultz took off for first and Guzman went to third.

But the throw from the catcher hit Schultz in the back and Guzman hustled home for the run.

Fong, however, retired the Knights in order in both the second and third innings before he made his first mistake in the fourth. Schultz, the cleanup hitter, led off the fourth and he jumped on the first pitch he saw, taking it out to left-center field to tie the score at 2-all.

An inning later, Fong made his second mistake to Belloni, who connected for the second solo homer of the game with one out in the inning.

“Our bats have been a little cold,” Baroncini said, citing a common refrain among PAL managers this season. “We’re waiting for the bats to wake up.”