by Anthony DiCocco
Calhoun’s James Smith puts the finishing touches on a one-hit shutout. The Colts head home with a 10-0 win. pic.twitter.com/0sR5pfFfnS
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 22, 2026
In a dominant showing in all three facets of the game, the Calhoun Colts rode their southpaw starter and a strong offensive start to a blowout victory over a Conference AA-I rival.
Though Wednesday’s contest was moved from Calhoun to Long Beach High School due to poor field conditions, Calhoun made the last-minute adjustment look easy. The Colts immediately made themselves feel right at home by scoring seven runs in the first inning, giving James Smith a sizable cushion to work while he threw a mercy-rule-shortened, one-hit shutout in the Colts’ 10-0 win.
From the moment he took the rubber, Smith was brilliant, as he took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. Over his five scoreless frames, Smith struck out four Marines while allowing just one hit and a hit-by-pitch.
In its big first inning, Calhoun put two runners in scoring position against Logan Wien right out of the gate, setting the stage for Will Hutchinson to rope a single into right field to plate them both. During the ensuing at-bat, Hutchinson swiped second base before Nick Esposito traded places with him by cracking a long, ground-rule double to make it 3-0.
Immediately after, Andrew Marino walked to put another runner on and from there, Tim Lynch pulled a ground ball that handcuffed the shortstop before going into the outfield to score Esposito. Marino got hung up between second and third on the throw to the plate, but an errand throw allowed him to easily trot home as well.
Lynch made it to second on the play and also came around to score during the following at-bat, as another throw to third base went awry during a steal attempt to plate him. Jack Klang entered with a man at first base, and though the runner eventually crossed the plate on a groundout, Klang retired all three batters he faced to finally end the top of the first.
To lead off the second stanza, Klang issued a leadoff walk before Esposito picked up a run batted in (RBI) by slashing a single into right field. Before Klang could escape the inning, Jack Zagariello turned on an inside pitch and split the right-center field gap to drive in two more as the Colts pulled ahead 10-0.
At the top of the order, Luca Facciponti had a nice day, going 2-for-3 with a double while making multiple athletic plays in right field. Hutchinson and Nick Maresca each went 1-for-3 and walked, with Hutchinson’s lone hit collecting two RBIs while Maresca’s was a double. Esposito also went 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the cleanup spot.
Near the bottom of the lineup, Zagariello drove in two runs with a double while Vinny Barretti singled and picked up an RBI on a groundout.
Jesse Stadtman recorded Long Beach’s only hit. Klang gave the Marines four innings out of the bullpen while allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with a strikeout. In his lone inning in relief, Dustin Basnyat worked around a double to pitch a scoreless frame.
The Colts now sit at 5-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play for the year while the Marines fell to 5-6 and 3-5, respectively. Long Beach will try to get in the win column on Friday after Calhoun took each of the first two games of this week’s series 10-0. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. from Long Beach.