Despite a leadoff triple and a two-run double, Brendan Farr wasn’t convinced he was headed for a big afternoon. But when the Tottenville senior got his second hit of the second inning — a nine-run inning at that — to drive in two runs he knew something was up.
“I broke my bat and got a hit,” Farr said. “I realized it was going my way.”
Tottenville’s leadoff batter was a career-high 5-for-5 at the plate, scored four times and drove in three runs for the No. 3 Pirates in a 17-5 rout of No. 2 George Washington in Game 2 of the PSAL Class A baseball semifinal series Saturday at the College of Staten Island. The Trojans advance to their first city championship game since they won it all in 2007. There,Tottenville will face the No. 4 James Madison/No. 8 Lehman winner.
“He is a great hitter, man,” center fielder and No. 2 batter Zach Granite said. “He was just due. That’s a fantastic day. You can’t ask for anything more.”
The Pirates (22-1) have gotten plenty out of Farr this season, after he had just one hit in seven league at-bats last year. He batted .458 with a .500 on-base percentage in 18 regular season games. The second baseman scored 27 runs, but had been marred in a 1-for-11 slump so far this postseason. To make matters worse, he injured his right wrist sliding in practice prior to the series with the Trojans (19-2).
“You know you hurt your wrist and you don’t have the bat speed.” Tottenville coach Tom Tierney Jr. said. “He struggled the last couple of games. He told me each day he was feeling better and better. This was the day he really came out and really had a big day.”
He answered a GW run in the first inning with a ringing triple to right-center field to start the bottom of the inning in which he later scored. During a nine-run second inning he singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run as Tottenville sent 14 men to the plate. Farr added a two-run double in the fourth after George Washington scored three times in the top of the inning to make it 14-4. But it was that triple that began the merry-go-round.
“That was a big spark,” he said. “Our team needs something like that to get us going. The whole dugout gets up and we just tack them on one by one.”
He capped his monster day by singling in the fifth. Farr would’ve liked a chance for a sixth hit, but Tierney chose to pinch hit with the game well in hand.
Farr started the season as the No. 2 hitter, but was eventually slotted ahead of Granite, who was also on base five times and scored twice. The two have developed into a tough combination that opposing teams have struggled to deal with. The two will no doubt be a factor in next Friday’s title game.
“We are going to play our hearts out,” Farr said.…”We are going to win.”
