by Brett Goldstein
The Eagles win 4-3, on a walkoff home run by Joe Grillo. pic.twitter.com/qJ9WHNLQ3c
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2018
With one swing of the bat, Joe Grillo sent Rocky Point to the Suffolk Class A Finals to face Shoreham-Wading River in a rematch of 2016 semifinals.
Grillo is no stranger to big games. He’s been a key cog for the Eagles since he debuted on varsity. Saturday, he was in the same spot. A Rocky Point win would send them to the county championship, but a loss would mean elimination.
Grillo went five innings allowing three runs on four hits and four walks, to go with six strikeouts, effectively keeping his team in the game.
The first two innings were relatively quiet, with neither team able to muster up much offense.
Sayville looked to strike in the third inning, when they loaded the bases with one out. Grillo got out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts to the third and fourth hitters in the Sayville lineup, Brock Murtha and Jake Russo.
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2018
It took until the fourth inning for either team to put a run on the board. Rob Milopsky led off with a walk and was pinch ran for. The following batter, Trey Miller, laid down a bunt, and reached on an error, giving Rocky Point two runners with no outs. After a fielder’s choice and a hit by pitch, Sayville found themselves in a tough spot; bases loaded with one out. Dillon Cassidy hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Miller for the first run of the game.
Sayville answered back quickly, putting up two runs in the top half of the fifth inning. Grillo found himself in trouble early, giving up a leadoff single, and following that with a walk. The next batter grounded out, effectively moving both runners into scoring position. Jack Davis came through with an RBI single on a hard ground ball to left field, tying the game. For the third time in two days, Murtha was intentionally walked to load the bases. Russo worked a walk of his own to give Sayville a 2-1 lead. Grillo managed to escape the inning with no further damage.
Russo came in to pitch in the bottom half of the fifth inning, and apart from a single, had a clean inning.
Grillo walked the first batter he faced in the top of the sixth. That would be the last batter for Grillo, who threw 92 pitches on the day. Rob Milopsky was now on the mound for the Eagles. After a single and a sacrifice fly, Sayville put another run on the board, extending their lead to 3-1. Milopsky would work out of further trouble, keeping his team within striking distance.
Miller led off the bottom of the sixth with the first home run of his career, a laser to left field to make it a one-run game. The next three batters were retired, sending the game to the seventh.
Although Sayville got a runner to third base in the top half, they were unable to capitalize, keeping the score at 3-2. Russo remained on the mound for Sayville, hoping to close the game out and send his team to the county championship. The Rocky Point lineup had different plans.
Grillo led off with a walk. The Eagles attempted to bunt him over to second base, however, they wound up unsuccessful, and a fielder’s choice resulted in Grillo being out at second, and Ryan Callahan being safe at first. Back-to-back singles by Michael Gunning and Alexander Bonacci loaded the bases for Rocky Point. Next up was Milopsky, who struck out. With the game on the line, Trey Miller came up to the plate. He hit a ground ball to the third baseman, who was unable to field it cleanly. Callahan came around to score, and the game was tied 3-3. A flyout ended the inning, and sent the game to extras.
Sayville found themselves in a good position to strike back in the top of the eighth, getting two runners in scoring position with only one out. With the infield drawn in, Milopsky induced a ground ball to his shortstop, who held the runner at third and got the out at first. The next batter was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Milopsky again managed to wiggle his way out of trouble, with a deep flyout to left field.
In the bottom half of the eighth inning, the Eagles looked to win it. Their first two batters grounded out weakly to third base, bringing Grillo to the plate. Grillo took strike one, waiting for his pitch. The next pitch, he deposited over the right field fence for a walk off home run. He sent his teammates into a frenzy, who then mobbed him at home plate.
The victory by Rocky Point was the third time in the last five years that they have eliminated Sayville from the playoffs, further contributing to their long-standing rivalry.
Strong performances on the mound from both Grillo and Milopsky helped send Rocky Point to the Suffolk Class A Final against Shoreham-Wading River, who are the defending champions.
