Gershkoff seniors fall in opening round

The Gershkoff Auto Body senior American Legion baseball team wrapped up its summer season after falling to eventual champ Upper Deck in two games in the opening round of the playoffs.
Gershkoff fell behind 3-0 in Game 1 but worked its way to just a 3-2 deficit in the fifth inning. Upper Deck would add some late insurance and also hold off a seventh-inning comeback bid by Gershkoff to get the win.
Adam Stoloff drove in a pair of runs for Gershkoff while Ryan Zarrella knocked in another. Alex Ceseretti tossed a complete game, allowing four runs and picking up one strikeout.
Upper Deck cruised to a 13-0 shutout the next game to clinch the series win.
It was a rebuilding year for the Gershkoff seniors and the team took its lumps, finishing with just two wins overall. Although the going was rough at times, manager Steve Piscopiello looks forward to the future with this team, which is set to return the majority of its lineup next summer.
“We were shorthanded this season and the kids that did come to play were younger. They really gave it their all. We did the best we could and it was a learning experience for the future,” said Piscopiello.
Gershkoff had a great summer overall, as it fielded four teams and saw its younger clubs win some big tournaments along the way. The key to the rebuild will be retaining as many kids as possible while also keeping East and West united, along with Johnston, according to Piscopiello.
“We need to keep building, we need the kids coming in as seniors or first-year undergrads to buy in and give us some experience. One of the things we preached was playing the game the right way. In the playoffs, we played hard. I always say that if you play hard, good things will happen. This team never gave up and I give them a lot of credit for that. If we had nine guys there, we would compete, and that’s all we could ask.”