Baseball Notebook
Brewster Takes Out Put Valley, Blows 3 Leads in Loss to Somers
BREWSTER Coach Matt Cunningham joked prior to last Wednesday’s game, proclaiming outright that he didn’t want another 17th-seed-type of season with a play-in game before his Bears bust up the Class A bracket like they have two of the last three years. It’s been a recent rite of passage for Brewster to have a ho-hum regular season, only to go on a post-season tear.
“It would be nice to take a different route this year, one that didn’t include and an out-bracket game and the No.1 seed right off the bat,” Cunningham said.
Last year, the 17th-seeded Bears upset No.1 Rye in the opening round and advanced to the Final 4 before losing to eventual champions Lakeland, and in 2016 the 17th-seeded Bears slipped in to Cinderella’s shoes and advanced to the sectional finals before losing to John Jay in the title tilt.
“We haven’t made it easy on ourselves,” Cunningham said.
Brewster (2-1) never makes it easy for anyone, including PUTNAM VALLEY last Wednesday when RHP Thomas Mark allowed a single first-inning run in the Bears 7-1 win over the visiting Tigers (1-3). Mark fired six innings of six-hit ball, striking out six for the win. PV 2B Alex O’Brien (2 hits, 2B, run) was the lone Tiger to truly figure Mark out. Brewster 1B big Nick Girard went 3 for 4 with four RBI to lead the Bears, showing great plate coverage in his at-bats.
Brewster SS Bobby McBride scored twice while Paul Catalano doubled, walked three times and scored a pair of runs.
McBride was cruising along on Saturday, leading SOMERS 2-0 heading in to the fifth when the wheels came off the Brewster wagon. McBride worked 5-1/3rd innings, allowing one earned run while whiffing 10 in the eventual 8-6 loss. Tusker Jack Kaiser proved that baseball is a game of redeeming features when he drove home three runs during Somers’ game-winning rally, which included a three-run, game-sealing top of the seventh. Liam Kaseta added two hits and a rib-eye for Somers.
“It was a sick game for sure,” Somers Coach Joe Wootten said after the Tuskers improved to 3-2. “Kaiser had struck out three times against McBride, looking bad each at-bat, but the at-bat in the seventh inning he fell behind 0-2 and could’ve packed it in. Instead, he smacked a three-run homer to get us ahead. That’s mental toughness. We all know that the field at Zimmer is conducive to the long ball, given the short dimensions. In any event, it was a big win. McBride was nothing short of phenomenal. The kid has three big pitches in his pocket and he can throw them anywhere in the count. We were fortunate, without a doubt, to have him exit in the sixth inning.”
LAKELAND lefty Evan Berta delivered the goods in the Hornets’ 12-0 win over Greeley last Wednesday. The junior allowed one hit and fanned five over five frames for his first win of the year. Berta, a high-end No.2 starter, helped his own cause by going 2 for 3 at the plate with three RBI, the majority coming in Lakeland’s 10-run second.
Defending Section 1 Class A champion Lakeland (4-1) went on to sweep the home-and-home series Thursday in an 8-6 win over the Quakers behind reliver Joe Phillips, who fired four innings of relief (no earned runs) to earn the win. Junior slugger Joe Vetrano continued his assault on Section 1 hurlers with a solo dinger and OF Andrew Croce and Nick Badillo each doubled, scored twice and went 2 for 3.
YORKTOWN swept PANAS in a pair of League II-C games, signaling that the Huskers could be for real. In a 4-2 Yorktown (3-1) victory on Thursday that featured Yorktown ace Anthony Fusco against burgeoning Panas junior Matt Calise, Husker Luan Biberaj doubled home the winning run on a 3-2 count in the top of the eighth.
Fusco singled home a run early on but Panas (2-3) knotted the game up at two in the bottom of the sixth inning when Aidan Cohall (3 for 4) doubled home a run. In relief, Yorktown P Chris Sica delivered the victory, allowing no runs on two hits over 2-1/3rd innings, striking out two.
Fusco surrendered two runs on seven hits over 5-2/3rd, striking out nine and walking one. Calise allowed three hits and two runs over 6-2/3rd, striking out two. Fusco and Biberaj each had multiple hits.
Yorktown won 8-2 the day before, scoring six runs in the fourth behind the big bats Sica and Fusco, who each doubled home a run to support winning P Joe Lombardo, who surrendered two runs on two hits over five innings, striking out five.
HEN HUD is off to an astonishing start after losing a ton to graduation. The Sailors (4-1) defeated Putnam Valley, 10-4, behind ace Nick Caruso. Nick Hiltsley and Josh Shea each had multiple hits at the plate. The Sailors also defeated Somers, 8-6.
CLASS AA
Trailing 5-2 against OSSINING, MAHOPAC rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth, doing so behind the big bat of Mike Musantry (3 for 4, 2B, two RBI and three runs scored), including the game-winning knock in the sixth. Indian P Joseph Lacoparra pitched 2-1/3rd scoreless innings, whiffing five to win in relief. Mahopac (3-1) went on to lose to New Rochelle, 5-3, Saturday in eight innings. Musantry (2 for 4, 2B, RBI, run) did his thing again, and 1B Kyle Brandstetter drove in two runs.
“We’re very happy with how the boys have been playing up to this point,” Mahopac Coach Myckie Lugbauer said. “Our lineup is really clicking right now. We seem to be getting contributions from guys all throughout the lineup right now. Brandstetter and Musantry have been doing a great job in the middle of the lineup. Chris Walpole has been doing a great job of setting the table out of the leadoff spot for us. Matt Weiner seems to come up with a big hit in every game. Every day a different guy is stepping up to have the big game and help the ball club.”
Indian reliver Joe Lacoparra has been doing a fantastic job for us out of the bullpen, appearing in three games last week.
“Joe was able to come into some big spots against Scarsdale and Ossining with multiple guys on base and leave them all stranded,” Lugbauer said. We are very happy with how he has been performing for us. I really like the makeup of our club. Our guys have a no-quit mentality and never think they are out of a game. I am excited to get another three games under our belt this week.”
Ossining (2-1) also worked and 18-8 win over Riverside last Wednesday when Mark DeAngelis went 2 for 3 with a double and four RBI and Joey Bossinas went 2 for 3 with two RBI. Peter Bossinias had a bases clearing double and drove in 3 runs. Starter A.J. Manicchio (2 for 2, RBI) earned the win, allowing only one hit and striking out four through three innings.
CARMEL sophomore Jack Sullivan went 2 for 2 with an RBI double in an 11-1 loss to Suffern; not a good sign for the Rams (1-2-1).
CLASS B
CROTON-HARMON is taking on the look of a contender, improving to 3-1after an 8-1 win over Pawling. Toby Murphy (2-0) was on his game, surrendering one run while striking out five in the complete-game win. Big Max Luke continued to mash, slapping three hits, including a double and a dinger for three RBI. Brian Scutari crushed a two-run homer for Croton, who gets a nice test on Monday against Carmel. Luke also pitched four innings, striking out seven in a 5-2 loss to Dobbs Ferry, in which errors killed the Tigers. Croton also had a 4-3 comeback win over North Salem to start the week. John Casieri went five frames for the win. Luke earned the save with two stiff innings, including six 6 K’s. Kyle Andrews stroked the game-winning, two-run bomb in the sixth.
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Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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