Martinez, Clarke Shut Out Glen Cove

A two-run home run off their opponents' bat just wasn't the way coach Carmine Rotolo wanted his Glen Cove team to start the game Friday afternoon.

Big Red fell behind to Clarke High School 3-0 after the first inning and couldn't crawl back into the game, dropping the contest 5-0.

"We're just not mentally there yet to compete with a team like that," Rotolo said.

Glen Cove had trouble solving John Radice's pitches all afternoon. Radice went the full seven innings tossing shutout baseball for Clarke (3-1) while allowing just five hits.

"He was just getting ahead, that is the bottom line," Rotolo said. "He could play around with his off-speed stuff."

The bright spot for Big Red came off the bat of senior Peter Cappiello. The left-hander led Glen Cove with a pair of frozen rope singles, one in the fourth and one in the seventh as Glen Cove tried to make a comeback.

"Peter is seeing the ball really well. He's stroking it well," the second-year coach said. "I'm looking for him to contribute."

But just as Glen Cove began to string a bit of a rally together in the last frame, Cappiello got stuck in a pickle between second and third base, erasing him from scoring position.

The base running mistakes irked coach Rotolo following the game, and he said it was an area the team needed to work on coming into the season, and still needs to improve.

"We're just not good at the mental game," Rotolo said. "We have the talent, but we can't play the mental game."

Glen Cove moved to 0-2 on the season, as sophomore pitcher Kevin Martinez seemed to find trouble throughout most of the 4 1/3 innings he pitched.

Martinez, making his Glen Cove varsity debut, allowed five earned runs on eight hits. Runners got on base in every inning he pitched, and he left the game with two runners on.

"He did a good job, he stayed in there and I'm proud of him," Rotolo said.

Fellow sophomore Bobby McDonald came in and closed the door in the fifth without Clarke adding to its lead. McDonald allowed a pair of hits in 2 2/3 shutout innings.

After a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wantagh on Wednesday, and this loss against a tough Clarke squad, Rotolo said a tougher conference this season poses a new host of problems for his team.

Big Red will attempt to get revenge against Clarke on Monday as they'll go on the road. Cappiello (0-1), the team's ace, is slated to start for Glen Cove.