St. Anne’s reverses Notre Dame hex

Kyle Long had seen enough.
Having lost in back-to-back times at home to Notre Dame Academy over the past two seasons, the St. Anne’s-Belfield pitcher desperately wanted to end the trend.
Long certainly did his part — and he got some help from his friends.
An inning after Long had reached his pitch count and was removed from the mound, STAB won a battle of the bullpens and the game, edging Notre Dame 3-2 on a walk-off double by Michael Spinosa.
Long, over six strong innings, fanned 13 batters and added a single, a double and an RBI at the plate in STAB’s first meeting this season with the defending state champions.
“Notre Dame thinks they are the best team in the state every year and they have the talent to be,” Long said. “We came out and showed them that we have some heart too and we came through in the clutch.”
In the bottom of the seventh, STAB senior outfielder Chris Mereen lofted a seemingly routine flyball into left field that apparently disappeared in the night. After the ball landed several feet from two NDA players, Mereen motored safely into second base.
“He is the hardest worker on this team and to see him get in there off the bench and get that opportunity to make a big play and the fact that he hustled was great,” Long said. “You expect that from Chris.”
STAB coach Alan Swanson then faced a dilemma with a runner in scoring position and nobody out. Instead of bunting Mereen to third for the second hitter in his lineup, Brett Goodloe, Swanson put the situation in Spinosa’s hands.
“I thought about it,” Swanson said. “I was wondering whether I should [bunt] or not because Goodloe can get the job done if we get a guy to third with one out, but Spinosa had been swinging well, so we thought we would give him a shot.”
After taking two pitches, Spinosa drilled a fastball into the alley in right-center field, the deepest part of Perry Field.
“I was just trying to hit him in, and I knew if I hit it hard that good things would happen,” Spinosa said. “I put a lot on the ball and I knew it was going to land.”
A celebration ensued as Long gave Mereen a bear hug as he crossed the plate.
“It always feels good to beat a good team like Notre Dame,” Long said. “It’s just nice to come out and get a win as a team.”
The game remained hanging in the balance thanks to the dazzling pitching efforts of Long and Notre Dame starter Ryan Crosby, a senior inked to play at Virginia Commonwealth.
Crosby fanned six batters and scattered five hits, but STAB scratched out runs on the right-hander in the first and third innings, respectively.
With runners on the corners and Goodloe moving on the pitch, Long grounded out to plate Spinosa. In the third, Ryan Yeagle singled to right to add another.
Notre Dame scored both of its runs and tied the game in the fourth. After a double and an infield hit, Long allowed runs on a sacrifice fly and back-to-back wild pitches.
Long, a southpaw, quickly regained his command, retiring the side in dominant fashion in the fifth and sixth.
“Kyle threw well,” Swanson said. “Kyle threw a great game. Everybody talks about his fastball, but his curveball is good.”
STAB rookie reliever David Spinosa earned the victory on the mound, improving to 3-0 on the season as he struck out two of the three batters he faced in the seventh.
The Saints, ranked fourth in the state, improved to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the Prep League. STAB plays a doubleheader at home today against Norfolk Academy at 11:30 a.m.