By Nakeem Grant
If there was any doubt that there would be a letdown after their tooth-and-nail series victory over Northport, that was put to rest right away.
West Islip dominated in the Class AA Long Island Championship– defeating East Meadow 16-0 at Farmingdale State College. West Islip’s offense and pitching left the game in no doubt as they kept their foot on the pedal throughout the game.
Photo Credit: Nakeem Grant
Twelve of West Islip’s 16 runs came in the first three innings of the ballgame with most of the damage coming from the core of their lineup. Jake Guercio, James Kory, and Jimmy Mattera each had multi-RBI games and as a team, they racked up 12 hits. According to today’s winning pitcher, Ray Weber, this is another typical game for their offense.
“All year we’ve been great on offense putting up a lot of runs every game and today was no different,” Weber said. “Whenever I go out, I know that they’re going to put up a lot of runs.”
Weber and his battery mate, Nick Valenti were in total sync today as they neutralized East Meadow’s hitters. Weber had five strikeouts and just one walk in six innings of work on 96 pitches.
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“Today me and my catcher decided to throw a lot of fastballs early in the count, get ahead, and it worked out well for us,” Weber said.
West Islip’s head coach Shawn Rush stated that Weber has been in a groove on the mound all season and his dominance continued in the championship.
It was his Long Island leading 10th victory of the year he is close to a lock for a first-team All-State selection.
“That’s what Ray has done all year, he’s the man,” Rush said. “He and James [Kory] have been getting it done and obviously Ray is just a bulldog out there.”
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Weber stated after the game that he was eager to go the distance and finish his start, but Coach Rush wanted to give one his seniors an unforgettable moment.
“Tom Montiglio is a senior who’s worked really hard,” Rush said. “He deserved to be out there on the mound and get a shot to finish the game. Not many kids can say they threw the last out of the Long Island championship so that’s something he could tell his grandkids.”
Coach Rush enjoyed his team’s performance and applauded them for staying composed and stepping up against great competition.
“Our kids did a nice job of staying balanced and taking the right approach. In a big game against good pitchers, that’s the approach you need.”
West Islip will try to build off of this momentum as they begin their run for the New York state title. Rush’s team made it to the state playoffs in 2014 where they lost to Victor 1-0.
“Bottom line is we’ve got to play defense,” Rush said. “I’m sure there’s going to be a good pitcher waiting for us just like ours so hopefully 1-0 is the other way this time.”
John
Congratulations !!