by Tucker Terranova
Final: Babylon 1 | Wheatley 3
Wheatley wins their first Class B Championship since 2021! pic.twitter.com/GmFQzf2qnF
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 30, 2024
Since Coach David Burke took over the Wheatley program in 2023, one thing has been certain: in big games, Connor Quinn gets the ball.
After today’s contest, Burke described Quinn as “the kid who, as a coach, you dream of having. You know when you put the ball in his hands in pressure situations that he will reward you.”
Quinn, in the biggest game of his career at Wheatley, backed up Burke’s trust in him with yet another stellar performance.
The right-hander, who will be heading to SUNY Brockport this fall, ensured that today would not be his last time in the white and red. Quinn went the distance, allowing just one run on two hits, striking out eight, and walking three on 95 pitches.
In a preseason interview with Axcess Baseball, Burke shared his mindset heading into his second year at the helm, “My philosophy is honing in on pitching strikes, getting ahead in the count, getting guys to put the ball in play, and then defending it.”
Wheatley’s performance today perfectly embodied everything Coach Burke preached back in February. Quinn dominated, Danny Gilette and Anthony Saulino each added an RBI, and the Wheatley Wildcats secured their first Long Island Championship since 2021 with a 3-1 win over Babylon.
Connor Quinn discusses what worked for him in a complete game gem that earned Wheatley a Long Island Championship. pic.twitter.com/EzVRCoAOkA
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 30, 2024
The Wheatley offense opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. Jake Ostertag launched Casey Quinn’s swinging bunt down the third-base line and into the right-field corner, allowing him to reach third base.
Wheatley didn’t even need a pitch to score after that. Quinn’s aggressive lead at third prompted a balk from Ostertag, bringing him home.
Ostertag then found himself in more trouble, walking Connor Quinn and hitting Andrew Asaro with a pitch. Gilette made him pay with an RBI single to right field. Saulino followed up with a sacrifice fly to the left-field warning track, giving Wheatley a 3-0 lead through three innings.
With all the run support he needed to secure today’s win, Quinn responded by working a seven-pitch, 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, silencing the Babylon offense.
“It’s tough, big stage and I needed to settle in early,” Quinn told Axcess Baseball. “I took deep breaths and was able to find the zone.”
After allowing a triple to Aidan Kistner in the top of the first inning, Quinn settled in nicely and held Babylon hitless through the next four innings until Tobin Gold flared a single to left in the top of the fifth.
Babylon failed to capitalize on this opportunity. Fiorillo made an excellent throw on a ball in the dirt to catch James Rugolo stealing for the final out of the inning, holding Babylon scoreless.
Quinn’s first pitch of the top of the sixth nicked the elbow guard of Johnny Harkins, who advanced on Quinn’s second balk of the outing. The speedy shortstop then swiped third, giving Babylon their best chance of scoring.
Gio Rodriguez ensured they wouldn’t leave empty-handed, roping a sacrifice fly to center that scored Harkins on a bang-bang play.
Heading into the seventh, no one who knew the story of last year’s title game ruled Babylon out. Trailing 5-2 to Seaford heading into the seventh, Babylon exploded for a four-run comeback, capped off with a walkoff walk.
Babylon had been in this spot before, but after four years of falling short of his ultimate goal, Quinn would not be denied a championship.
Only getting better as the game went along, Quinn struck out the first two batters he faced looking before a grounder to second base etched Wheatley into the history books as Long Island Class B Champions and one of the most accomplished teams in school history.
Wheatley will make the trip to Cantine Field in Saugerties, NY on June 1 for a matchup against Section IX champion Spackenhill to kickstart the NYSPHSAA State Championship Tournament. First pitch is slated for 3 pm.
