by Vinny Messana
What. A. Finish.
With West Islip clinging to a 3-2 lead, Smithtown East’s leading hitter, John Marti, came to the plate with the tying run on second base. West Islip had their ace, Albany-bound RHP Ray Weber, on the hill looking to send the Lions into the Suffolk County Class AA Finals.
With first base open, they opted to pitch to Marti and he lined a single to left. The left fielder, Jimmy Mattera–who had pitched the first six innings–charged the ball and fired a strike to catcher Nick Valenti, who applied the tag for the final out and send the Lions into a frenzy.
The final play at the plate (Photo Credit: Vinny Messana)
“I just got the ball and let it fly,” said Mattera, who recorded the victory in the clinching game. “I just came off the mound, so my arm was all warmed up so I knew if I had to, I’d be loose and ready to go.”
Head Coach Shawn Rush noted that they considered putting Marti on base, who had already been 2-for-3 entering the at bat, bringing up Nick Rizzo.
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“There was some talk, but with Ray on the mound, certainly it was kind of hard to put the go-ahead run on base to face the No. 4 batter,” he said.
He added that “if you’re gonna be a playoff team, and beat a good team, you gotta make plays under pressure.”
They certainly did that in the most crucial spot.
West Islip got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sac fly by Weber. Smithtown East responded with a run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Marti, who continued his stellar season. He finished the season batting over .500 and will be attending Lafayette College in the fall.
Both teams exchanged runs once again in the fourth inning. The Lions scored on a bases-loaded double play off the bat of Kyle O’Neill. It was a great job of navigating through a jam by Smithtown East’s junior LHP Jon Goohs.
They tied it up at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth on an errant pickoff attempt by Mattera at third base that scored on Andrew Camino, who led off the inning with a well-struck double to right center.
Weber showed once again why he is one of the top players in the county by ripping a solo shot to LF to give the Lions the 3-2 lead and which proved to be the game-winning run.
“He is a great baseball player, a good athlete, a great kid, great student,” said Rush in regards to Weber. “Like we preach–if you’re a big-time player, you gotta be big-time all the time, and he certainly has lived up to the bill with James (Kory) and a few other guys who are the reason we’ll be playing for a county championship.
They will face Northport beginning on Saturday at West Islip looking to win their second Suffolk County Class AA championship in the past three years.
They will be in great position to do so with James Kory and Ray Weber slated to pitch the first two games.
Also of note, Jake Guercio finally had his season-long hit streak come to an end at 25 games. Dating back to last season, he has recorded a hit in 33 of 35 games.
