Our @DigmiNation Player of the Game: Matt Brown-Eiring, who went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs, along with one and a third innings of scoreless pitching to close out the game. pic.twitter.com/0WmyEkyk3x
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 23, 2018
Bay Shore (13-12) came into this year’s Suffolk AA playoffs as the 17th seed with seemingly low expectations. The Marauders made noise early, taking wins against top-ranked Smithtown East and #9 Connetquot (16-8). However, their unexpected success came to a halt this week. They lost their second matchup with Connetquot on Monday, then two teams played for a third time on Wednesday with a spot in the semi-finals on the line. The T-Birds were able to advance with a 5-1 victory.
Pitching was the story of this game early. We saw a rematch on the bump from last week’s game between Connetquot’s Ciaran McGinnis and Bay Shore’s Dalton Cozzetti. Cozzetti contained a red-hot T-Bird offense that scored 15 runs over its last two game through the first two innings. He only allowed a single and a double to the team’s twins and Stony Brook commits, Derek and Jared Yalon. Through three innings, McGinnis only allowed four runners to reach base and dished out a pair of strikeouts.
In the bottom of the third, Connetquot found its stride offensively. Alex Ungar got his team going with a hard line drive to center, scoring Lucas Quinlan from second base. Derek Yalon followed with a single to put runners on first on second, then McGinnis helped himself with an RBI double to extend the lead to 2-0. Matt Brown-Eiring stepped up to the plate next and blooped a single right over the second baseman’s head to bring home McGinnis. Jared West would come into relief for Cozzetti and get Bay Shore out of the inning.
After showing what he could do with his bat, McGinnis continued to impress on the mound. The Farmingdale-commit got out of trouble in the fourth when he stranded runners on the corners to keep Bay Shore scoreless, then followed that with a 1-2-3 fifth inning. He finished the afternoon only allowing one run and five hits on 84 pitches, going along with three strikeouts and three walks through six and two thirds innings.
West would keep Connetquot’s bats in check in the fourth inning. In the fifth, he started the inning by getting McGinnis out before walking Oswego-commit Nick Ungar. With Ungar on first, Brown-Eiring hammered a ball to right-center field to score his teammate and increase the T-Birds’ lead to 4-0. He tried to go for home after the ball got past third baseman Tommy Secaria, but Secaria recovered to get Brown-Eiring out at the plate.
In the top of the sixth, Bay Shore started to show signs of life. Jake Lacetera led off the inning with a single and three batters later, West brought him home with a towering double to get the Marauders on the board. West’s hit would end McGinnis’ day and head coach Matt Buderman turned to Brown-Eiring to close the door. He finished the sixth by getting Secaria to fly out to Quinlan in center.
In the bottom of the sixth, Connetquot was able to bring home an extra insurance run thanks to Jared Yalon. The junior stole third base and home all in one shot after hitting a double to lead off the inning. Bay Shore threatened to rally with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, but Derek Yalon made a spectacular diving play in left to rob Lacetera of an RBI and send Connetquot into the Suffolk AA semi-finals
The T-Birds start a best of three series with No. 4 Eastport South Manor on the road on Thursday. Our @DigmiNation player of the game is Matt Brown-Eiring. He finished the game going 2-for-3 from the plate with a triple and two RBIs. He also added one and a third scoreless innings of pitching, including one strikeout and a walk.
