Chris Wasson rips walk-off single to send Massapequa to the Nassau County Class AA Finals ! pic.twitter.com/bZJmKM6U0t
— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2017
By Joe Morris
The Massapequa Chiefs advanced to the Nassau County Championship on Wednesday in walk-off fashion, with LIU Post-commit Chris Wasson coming up in the clutch hitting the game-winning RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning.
It was playoff baseball at its best, from exceptional pitching, to plays at the plate and timely hitting that all culminated in a thrilling walk-off win for the Chiefs in 11 innings, clinching a spot in the Championship against Plainview-JFK.
Both teams got on the board early, as defensive mistakes from the Chiefs set up the Sailors first baseman Chris Siklas for a RBI single that sneaked by the third baseman’s glove, giving Oceanside a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning.
Massapequa would respond in the bottom half though with a run of their own, as starting pitcher and NYIT-commit Matt Carey for the Sailors would walk three in the inning, one of which came with the bases loaded to Matt Pinto, deadlocking the game at 1-1 for innings to come
The offensive production would be halted for ten more innings, as the pitching from both teams would combine for a miraculous ten innings of one run baseball.
For the Chiefs, it was the southpaw starting pitcher Nick Collins who set the tone, giving his team an outstanding performance when it mattered most, going eight innings deep surrendering only one unearned run to the Sailors.
His counterpart Carey didn’t make it easy on himself, but the hard-throwing right hander started for Oceanside and went 6+ innings giving up one run, mustering all he had for his teammates as he wiggled his way out of two bases-loaded jams in the third and the fifth inning to keep the score tied.
Massapequa head coach Tom Sheedy had nothing but praise for the pitching on both sides throughout the game.
“All four pitchers pitched great. They battled out of jams all the time, both teams had opportunities but the pitching bared down and made plays. It was a classic playoff baseball game.”
It was a team effort from the Chiefs, as shortstop Chris Wasson and relief pitcher Christian DeNave also helped in big ways to give their team a chance to play in the finals.
DeNave would come out of the bullpen for the chiefs, throwing three scoreless innings earning the win, but he couldn’t get this win if it wasn’t for the late game heroics of his teammate Wasson.
Wasson was the jump-starter for the Chiefs offense, as he sprayed line drives all over the field, compiling three hits and one RBI for the day.
That one RBI was the deciding factor in this dog-fight, as Wasson came up to the plate in the bottom of the 11th inning with two outs, and stroked the game-winning single just past the outstretched arm of the Sailors shortstop, sending his team to the finals with a chance to win the Nassau County Championship.
