Immaculata senior pitcher Nick Bozzo took an extra second or two to gather himself. Bozzo was one pitch away from finishing off a fantastic performance, and he wanted to make sure he was going to leave it all out there on the mound. So Bozzo reared back and uncorked a devastating breaking ball, one that he would call his best of the day.
He recorded a strikeout, putting the finishing touches on a virtuoso outing. Bozzo tossed a complete-game shutout, scattering five hits and walking no batters, lifting fifth-seeded Immaculata past fourth-seeded Notre Dame, 2-0, on Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup of the South Jersey, Non-Public A NJSIAA state tournament. Bozzo struck out six batters, including the final two of the game.
“I just wanted to rear back and let it rip,” Bozzo said of his final pitch of the game. “I wanted to make sure it was the best breaking ball I threw all day. I buried it in the dirt, and he chased it.
Beautiful. The pitch moved on him pretty good and I got him to miss. And then I just lost it right after.
I was so excited.” Immaculata (17-8) advances to the South Jersey, Non-Public A semifinals where it will face top-seeded Red Bank Catholic, which defeated Paul VI 2-1, on Thursday with a berth in the sectional final on the line. One of the reasons why Immaculata is still playing is because of Bozzo, who was efficient.
He worked ahead in the count the entire day, rarely falling behind in the count and he only had two three-ball counts. He kept Notre D.
