Huge strikeout to end the top of the 10th inning–Hauppauge looks to get it done pic.twitter.com/xj5QJMi3n5
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 2, 2019
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Hauppauge hadn’t generated much of anything on offense. After a fortuitous defensive miscue got them on the board, they mounted a rally in the fifth inning. A sac fly by Mike Knopf got them to within two runs, a wild pitch scored Ryan Levenberg and an RBI single by Alex Knopf tied it up.
Credit to both team’s pitching staffs to bear down from that point forward.
Each pitcher appeared to wiggle in-and-out of trouble, but a big moment in the game came in the top of the sixth when Sayville No. 9 hitter Alex Millwater lined a single to left field and Ryan Levenberg, one of the top left-handed pitchers in the 2020 class fired a strike to the plate to nail the runner by a healthy margin. That kept the game tied.
Another huge moment was in the top of the ninth when C.J. Messina led off with an infield single to second base and was sacrificed to second by Tommy Nielsen. With the Notre-Dame commit, Brock Murtha, due up Coach Josh Gutes called for the intentional walk to bring up cleanup hitter Jack Davis. The decision proved to be brilliant, as Davis was coaxed into an inning ending 6-4-3 DP.
Hauppauge was unable to capitalize on any of their opportunities after the fifth inning. They had two runners on in the bottom of the eighth but Alex Oh was struck out after fouling off several tough two-strike pitches.
After that out, the umpires announced that the game would be called after the 10th inning regardless of the situation.
Sayville had the leadoff batter on in the 10th after a hit by pitch of Jack Quinlan but the next three batters were retired. In the bottom of the 10th, the Eagles first two batters were retired but Chris Leone notched a two-out hit and stole second. The attempt at a walk-off was thwarted when the next batter was retired.
Sayville’s runs came in the second inning on a sac fly by Jake Mangino, an RBI double by Jack Davis, a fielder’s choice off the bat of Mangino and an RBI double by Davis.
It was an exciting ballgame between two teams that will likely make postseason appearances in Suffolk Class A.
