Final: Longwood 5, Smithtown East 1
WP: Tommy Ventimiglia (6 IP, 8 K)Longwood advances to face winner of Connetquot-Sachem East pic.twitter.com/em7yQciKIb
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2019
With a trip to the Suffolk AA semifinals on the line, Longwood sent sophomore sensation Tommy Ventimiglia to the mound against No. 2 Smithtown East. The talented youngster answered the bell by throwing six strong innings, striking out six and holding the Bulls to one run. Longwood came away with a 5-1 victory.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third inning, the first two Lions’ batters were retired. The next two batters drew walks to bring up the middle of the order.
SS Matt Encizo turned on an inside fastball and deposited it over the fence in right field for a 3-run home run. In the next inning, James Myler launched a solo shot to extend the lead to 4-0.
Ventimiglia showed his toughness, navigating through a couple of jams, notably in the top of the fourth when he induced a 1-6-3 double play to escape a jam.
Smithtown East got on the board on an RBI single by Matt Tempone but Ventimiglia ended the inning.
“Ventimiglia works both sides of the plate well,” said Head Coach Ryan McSherry. “He mixes up his pitches and keeps poised regardless of the situation. The offense is capable of churning out runs each time through the order. It’s someone different each time,” he added.
In the top of the seventh, Jake Dannenberg came on to seal the deal but struggled a bit and Smithtown East loaded the bases with two outs.
Coach McSherry gave the ball to Adelphi-commit Steven Murphy, who coaxed a check swing come backer to end the game and finish off the 5-1 win.
They will face Connetquot in a best-of-three next week. They will face Elon-commit Joey Savino in Game 1.
