When Harrison and Rye squared off in the annual Andrew Gurgitano Memorial game on May 9, the result was—quite fittingly—a pitchers duel. In the end, however, it was some timely hitting by the Garnets that accounted for their victory, as a two-run sixth inning helped them avenge an early-season loss to the Huskies and come away with a 2-0 win.

The “Gurg Game”—as it is known—is played each year between the two rivals to celebrate the life of former Harrison pitcher Andrew Gurgitano, who died suddenly in 2015 when he was just a senior in high school. The game carries a certain amount of emotion with it, said Rye’s senior catcher Julian Pasquale, who along with Harrison’s Anthony Engongoro was honored with a memorial scholarship prior to the game.“

Coming down every year it’s awesome and, as a memorial, it’s very special for both teams,” said Pasquale. “It’s an extra-intense game and this year, especially, it was really neck-and-neck.” 

In fact, the score was knotted at zero until the top of the sixth inning, when Pasquale delivered a huge hit for the Garnets, poking an 0-2 offering from Harrison’s Luke Burden into the outfield to score the first run of the ballgame. Pasquale would come around to score on a double by Tyler Canna, giving Rye a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. 

“We know [Burden] is tough, especially as a lefty dealing with that changeup; I 100 percent thought it was going to be a changeup, so when I saw it coming inside, I was late on it and got sawed off.” said Pasquale. “It was a pitcher’s pitch and I got lucky to get the bat on it at all.” 

Shep Griffiths would hold the Huskies at bay after the offensive outburst, finishing with a complete game shutout in which he allowed just four hits. Burden, his counterpart, also allowed four hits on the day. 

Griffiths admitted he knew he needed to be on his game in order to help the Garnets avenge a 2-1 loss to the Huskies earlier in the year.

“I think I made adjustments as the game went on, but really it game down to trusting the guys behind me,” said Griffiths. “We knew the last game was tight and we expected this one to be as well.”

With the win, the Garnets (12-6-1) and Huskies (13-6) will split the league title and now look ahead to the postseason.

“I think this will give us a lot of momentum, especially tying for the league which is one of our goals,” said Griffiths. “I think we had a different vibe today, everyone was up on the fence, really into the game and I think that gives us a boost.”

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