Marc Wangenstein
Travis Bruinsma Throws 3-Hit Shutout in AA Championship Game, Fulfills Promise to Best Friend
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNunBApHEOw]When the pop up off the bat of Nick Vitale came down and landed into the glove of the second baseman, the Connetquot Thunderbirds could rejoice as the 2015 Suffolk County AA Champs for the second time in four seasons. This time it was by virtue of a 6-0 shutout of No. 2 seed Ward Melville which concluded a high-intensity three game series.The jubilant emotions were met with grief, however as the Thunderbirds were still mourning the loss of star pitcher, John Hennge’s father, Walter, who passed away suddenly on Saturday.“I made a promise to John Hennge that I would win this game,” said starting pitcher Travis Bruinsma, who won his Long Island leading 12th game of the season with a three-hit shutout.How about the nerves? P...
Greg Maitles, Smithtown East Force Deciding Game Three With 6-4 Win over Connetquot
Maitles striking out White to end the game. With Smithtown East‘s lead dwindling in the fourth inning, Head Coach Ken Klee called on senior Greg Maitles to preserve the lead. He went on to pitch the rest of the game, not allowing a run while striking out four to preserve Smithtown East’s 6-4 win to force a deciding third game in the semifinals. “It went exactly as planned,” said Maitles. “I couldn’t have planned it any better,” he added. The big lefty relied on a heavy dosage of curves and change ups to keep the potent bats of No. 1 Connetquot off balance from the fourth inning on. “I knew that a lot of them were dead-red hitters and I wanted to keep them off balance to get some groundballs,” Maitles said. With the score tied 2-2 in the...
