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Shannon Brazier scores. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Undefeated Ward Melville has a target on its back, and the girls lacrosse team’s 17-4 crushing of Smithtown West May 8 only made it larger.

Hannah Lorenzen prepares to make a pass to the front of the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“Everyone is out to get us,” Ward Melville head coach Kerri Kilkenny said. “I think this was probably one of our best games that we’ve played this season — connecting every pass, strong in transition, looking for each other. They were looking one step ahead. We knew where everyone was going to be and a good majority of our goals were assisted, which shows how well we’ve jelled and come together as a team.”

Senior Hannah Lorenzen scored three of the first five goals for the Patriots, who continued to win draw after draw to gain crucial time of possession against the No. 3 Bulls.

“They just passed to me and I was able to finish,” Lorenzen said. “I think the draw is a big part of it. We get possession and it leads to more opportunities to score.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Samantha Tarpey’s saves in the first half also played a large role in the team’s success.

“Making those saves keeps me going and my confidence up,” she said. “It keeps team morale high.”

As the team dominated through the final minutes of the first half, three other Patriots got on the board, and Lorenzen added her fourth goal of the game, before Smithtown West scored three straight.

Jillian Becker moves the ball through defenders. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Ward Melville sophomore Alexis Reinhardt closed out the half with the final goal to put her team up 10-3.

“We felt it was going to be a bit of a tougher matchup,” Kilkenny said. “I’m not downplaying my kids’ skills at all, because I feel when they play together they’re unstoppable. We controlled every step of this game, and I’m proud of them for that.”

With 13 players on the score sheet — Reinhardt, Shannon Berry and Shannon Brazier scoring two goals each — the chemistry between the team that put up 17 goals and 10 assists seems unmatched.

“We don’t have a few key players — our team is deep. We can all score; we can all play,” Lorenzen said. “We worked a lot on clearing and having people drive through and on our feeds off the draw. We moved the ball well in practice.”

Shannon Berry shoots. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Lorenzen is a part of six sets of sisters on the team, but to the senior, the entire team is her family.

“I think having those bonds and those connections help — we trust each other and believe in each other and the sisterly intuition is there,” she said. “But we all feel like sisters.”

Kilkenny said her team is right where it needs to be, and with its 15th straight win, she’s excited to see where the Patriots go.

“You don’t want to peak too soon, but we’re continuing that high level of play— the timing of this game is great,” she said. “We’re certainly enjoying the ride, but we keep ourselves down to Earth. They need to play each game like it could be their last.”

Lorenzen doesn’t see the season ending any time soon.

“We feel we have a little bit of an edge,” she said. “We might have a target on our back, but we can take the competition.”

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Rachel Masullo fights her way up the field. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Middle Country’s girls’ lacrosse team shut out Northport in the second half to cruise to a 14-5 victory May 8, and remain in a tie for the No. 2 spot in Division I with Smithtown East.

Jamie Ortega moves the ball up the field. Photo by Bill Landon

Northport midfielder Olivia Carner broke the ice on a penalty shot in the first minute of play, as the Duke University-bound sophomore stretched the net for the early advantage.

But the Mad Dogs answered with three successive senior goals. First, was Boston University-bound Ava Barry, then University of North Carolina commit Jamie Ortega and then Masullo twins Amanda and Rachel, both Long Island University Brooklyn-bound, teamed up for the 3-1 lead.

“I told my team to drop anything that we thought about this team and rely on our strength and determination,” Rachel Masullo said. “We really wanted this game. It was a confidence booster.”

Northport’s Emerson Cabrera, a University of Florida commit, drilled two shots past the goalkeeper in under a minute to make it a new game, but Middle Country kept attacking.

Barry and the Masullo sisters did it again, and Barry found Amanda Masullo on the cut for a 6-3 lead with just under seven minutes left in the half.

“They’ve always been good, so we always have to be ready to play Northport,” Amanda Masullo said. “We stepped it up in the second  half winning the draws on offense and we knew we had to settle in and not force it, so I think we really came to play today.”

Amanda Gennardo intercepts a Northport pass. Photo by Bill LAndon

Northport’s Natalie Langella, who is headed to Bryant University, cashed in on a penalty shot, and U.S. Coast Guard Academy-bound Brenna Farrington made it a one-goal game.

But the Tigers would come no closer.

A man up, Rachel Masullo dished the ball off to Barry for a goal, and then Ortega scored for an 8-5 advantage.

“It snowballed to hell from there,” Northport head coach Carol Rose said. “These girls have got to work harder — they’ve got to play with some passion and more energy — they’ve got to have some more fight in them. They kind of just gave up. It was hard to watch.”

When the Tigers did get the ball, they struggled to transition up the field and when they did, the Mad Dog defense was up to the task.

“We knew they’d be motivated and really hyped, and they came out strong, but we took over in the second half,” Ortega said of Northport’s senior day. “We limited our turnovers, didn’t make mistakes and won a lot of the draws. But from here on out, we have to play our best because everyone wants to beat you, and in the playoffs you don’t have a second chance.”

Boston University-bound Jennifer Barry, Ava’s younger sister, Amy Hofer, University of Michigan commit Sophie Alois and Camrynn Aiello all scored in the second half.

Sophie Alois fires a shot at the cage. Photo by Bill Landon

Rachel Masullo had one goal and six assists, Ortega finished with four goals and two assists, and Amanda Masullo notched a hat trick and added an assist.

“They played us tough, but I don’t think we played up to our potential,” Middle Country head coach Lindsay Dolson said. “In the second half we had more draws, better defense and shot selection on offense, so I was pleased. Amanda Gennardo did a really nice job on defense — she came up with a huge amount of ground balls for us and she transitioned it up the field with no turnovers and that was nice to see from our underclassman.”

With the win, Middle Country improves to 11-2 and sit under undefeated Ward Melville with two games remaining before postseason play begins.

“In the playoffs, if you lose, you’re out,” Ortega said. “I don’t want to lose in the playoffs.”

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Hundreds attended the Lax Out Cancer fundraiser in Shoreham that benefited four local children battling cancer. Photo by Kevin Redding

Alexa Boucher has attended Shoreham-Wading River’s Lax Out Cancer game for years, and this year, she’s one of the fundraiser’s beneficiaries.

In January, Alexa Boucher was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumor that’s grown on the 14-year-old’s eye socket.

She was chosen as one of four — alongside 6-year-old Grayson from Miller Place, and 1-year-old Hannah Grace and 10-year-old Jackson from Port Jefferson Station — who were honored in the middle of Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field during the ninth annual event May 6.

Alexa Boucher, above with her family, enjoys playing her guitar, basketball and softball. Photo by Kevin Redding

Shoreham-Wading River, Garden City, Miller Place and Bellport participated in three games, with all money raised through donations and raffles divided equally among the recipient’s families.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Alexa said when she arrived on the school grounds to see hundreds of families, volunteers and corporate sponsors rallying behind her. “I never would’ve imagined that I would be a recipient.”

Kimberly Boucher, Alexa’s mother, was equally overwhelmed by the outpouring support for her daughter, who has been undergoing chemotherapy at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the city.

“We’re just so blessed to live in such an amazing community; there aren’t enough words to say how much we appreciate what’s been done for Alexa,” she said. “You never think it’d be your own child that you’re coming for … we’re just so grateful [that] everybody comes together when they hear a child is sick.”

Larry and Vanessa Horowitz, whose son was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in February and has been in and out of treatment at Stony Brook Hospital the last few weeks, were grateful to be there with him.

“He’s 6 years old and deserves everything we can give him,” Larry Horowitz said as he watched Grayson, smiling ear-to-ear, pass a lacrosse ball around with his friend. “There’s so much unbelievable selfishness and fundraising and everyone getting together here. The sun is shining and this is what I’ve been praying for.”

Grayson Horowitz tosses around a lacrosse ball. Photo by Kevin Redding

His wife, reflecting on her son’s ability to muscle through his ordeal at such a young age, said, “He’s stronger than I ever imagined and it’s making us all stronger just watching him. … You don’t really know people until you go through something like this, and I have no idea how to thank everybody for doing they they’ve done for us.”

The Shoreham-Wading River-based fundraiser was started in 2008 by Tom Rotanz, the high school’s then varsity lacrosse coach, as a way to acknowledge the father of one his player’s, who succumbed to a rare salivary gland cancer in 2005, as well as others in the community affected by cancer.

Since then, the event narrowed its focus on raising money for the families of kids in Shoreham and neighborhood districts fighting cancer — starting with 10-year-old Liam McGuire, a member of Shoreham’s lacrosse program who has been in remission following a 38-month leukemia battle, and Kaitlyn Suarez, a Shoreham girls’ lacrosse superstar who joined the team after recovering from two bouts with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“It’s such an uplifting experience to feel all the love that everybody throws at these kids,” said Miller Place resident Glen Cote, who, along with his wife Renée and young son Zachary, were beneficiaries in 2014 and 2015. In June 2014, Zachary, 5 at the time, was diagnosed with Grade 4 medulloblastoma, or brain cancer.

“To have your child go through something like this, you’re down in the dumps,” the father said. “But this provides the parents and the little ones with a great feeling.”

Before the event even kicked off, $30,000 was raised for the families through sponsors, which included St. Charles Hospital and FLG Lacrosse, and the sale of program ads, T-shirts and raffle tickets.

A DJ from 101.7 FM “The Beach” emceed the fundraiser and That Meetball Place, from Patchogue, supplied food for attendees.

“They’re competitive kids and they want to play the game, but they understand the bigger purpose of giving back to kids that are not as fortunate.”

— Mike Taylor

“Every year it’s grown and grown,” said Kathy Miller, a member of the event committee and mother of a lacrosse player. “It’s teaching the players a valuable lesson about life, how precious life is and how much this giving means for the families. It’s bigger than just a lacrosse game.”

Mike Taylor, head coach of the boys’ varsity lacrosse team who opened the door for other school districts to participate when he was hired three years ago, said the players are a different breed of athletes.

“They understand the true meaning of this,” he said. “They’re competitive kids and they want to play the game, but they understand the bigger purpose of giving back to kids that are not as fortunate as they are. When they were kids seeing this event, they wanted to be part of it on the lacrosse side. Now that they’re older, and they’ve met the kids that they’re helping, it becomes a whole different thing to them.”

Joe Miller, a senior and varsity midfielder for Shoreham-Wading River’s boys’ lacrosse team, said he’s incredibly moved by what the recipients go through.

“It means a lot that we can help them out a little bit,” Miller said. “Seeing the kids and their families here, it makes it a lot more powerful and makes you feel like what you did made a difference.”

Defenseman Kyle Higgins echoed his teammate’s sentiment.

“It’s an honor to play for this kind of event,” he said. “Helping those who need support means a lot to us.”

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Mount Sinai and Rocky Point's baseball teams faced off in the fourth annual Live Like Susie Fundraiser game. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Brett Goldstein fires the ball from the mount. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Noah Endleson sends the ball deep. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Josh Henline makes the grab for the out. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinia's Will Esposito hits a grounder. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Nick Volpe sends the ball deep. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Ethan Angress fires from the mound. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's John Rosman and Matt Capel dive for a grounder. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Robert Lindstrom throws a heater. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point assistant baseball coach Eric Strovink, a Shoreham-Wading River graduate, addresses the crowd during the fourth-annual Live Like Susie game against Mount Sinai. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Ethan Angress slams the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Kieran Orlando tosses a pitch. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Will Esposito tags out a Rocky Point runner. Photo by Bill Landon
Mount Sinai's Ryan Picarello slams the ball. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's Scott Puric hurls a pitch. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point and Mount Sinia's baseball teams come together each year since 2014 for the Live Like Susie fundraiser and baseball game that raises money for a scholarship in Susie Facini's name. Photo by Bill Landon
The Rocky Point baseball team during the fourth-annual Live Like Susie fundraiser event and baseball game against Mount Sinai. Photo by Bill Landon
Rocky Point's baseball team huddles together. Photo by Bill Landon

Rocky Point and Mount Sinai faced off in the Suffolk County baseball championship game in 2016, and though the schools are rivals, they’re on the same team once a year to honor Susie Facini.

A Rocky Point High School graduate, Facini died in November 2011 at 19 years old of a sudden heart attack. Without warning, she felt her heart race, and passed out just seconds later. Despite efforts of her mother, Bernadette, a registered nurse, Facini was unable to be revived.

Susie Facini’s parents, Bernadette and Pete, during the fourth-annual Live Like Susie baseball game and fundraising event. Photo by Bill Landon

The Rocky Point alumna had an immediate impact on everyone she met. Her reach was so strong, that over 3,000 people came to her one-day wake. As a result of her death, 18-year teacher Andrew Aschettino, head coach of the Rocky Point baseball team, felt compelled to host a baseball game in her memory.

“She was genuinely concerned for other people — she was the happiest person,” Aschettino said. “With a smile, she always had something nice to say about everybody everyday. Everyone was happier just by being around her, and that’s what we’re trying to spread.”

Rocky Point assistant coach Eric Strovink said Aschettino called up their good friend and Mount Sinai baseball team’s head coach, Eric Reichenbach, in 2014 to ask if his Mustangs would compete in a yearly game in Facini’s honor.

“Reichenbach said, ‘We’re in for as long as you guys do this,’” said Strovink, a Shoreham-Wading River graduate. “That’s pretty impressive.”

The two teams faced off May 6 in the annual Live Like Susie game, which raises money for a scholarship in Facini’s name. There’s no requirement for the student who receives the scholarship except that they be a kind and giving person.

“It’s extremely heartwarming,” Facini’s father Pete said of the event. “This is a community that came together to make something great out of something that is so sad and tragic. Susie represented nothing but kindness and that message transcends what has happened. These people here recognize it, and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Mount Sinai tops Rocky Point

By Bill Landon

Although the matchup was in the name of a good cause, someone needed to come out on top, and with a five-run sixth inning put Mount Sinai’s baseball team ahead 9-2 at Ridge’s Fireman’s Field.

Mount Sinai senior Dan Deckert’s bat cracked first, drilling a home run over the left field fence and bringing home classmate Will Esposito for an early 2-0 lead. Mount Sinai junior George Rainer took a healthy lead off second base, and senior Alex Giantonnio helped bring him home for a three-run lead with a shot to deep right field.

Rocky Point junior John Rosman took the egg off the scoreboard for the Eagles, sending the ball through the gap and sending home senior Shane Owensby to make it a two-run game, 3-1.

The Mustangs found themselves in trouble in the bottom of the third inning when senior Robert Lindstrom walked a batter to loaded the bases with one out. Lindstrom focused in on his next two batters, and escaped the inning without letting up a run.

The team found itself in trouble yet again in the bottom of the fourth, but this time, the Eagles capitalized, with a run coming in off a walk with the bases loaded to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

Then, Mount Sinai’s bats caught fire in the top of the sixth with a pair of unearned runs, and followed it with a bases-clearing three-RBI single for a 9-2 lead and the win.

Rocky Point hit the road May 8 for the first of a three-game series against Sayville, coming up just short 5-4. The Eagles will host Sayville and Mount Sinai will host Elwood-John Glenn May 9 at 4:30 p.m.

He and his wife said they enjoy seeing that even though the current students and members of the baseball team may not have known their daughter, they’re excited to be a playing in such a special game.

“These boys never knew her, and we’re very proud,” Bernadette Facini said. “Sometimes I’ll be out shopping and I’ll see one of the kids from Mount Sinai with a purple bracelet on that says Live Like Susie or they’re wearing a Live Like Susie T-shirt, so we are so humbled by the kindness. She was adored by so many and she was just a joy to be around. She literally went from group to group to group — there were no outsiders in her life — and that’s why we keep the kindness award and scholarship going in her name.”

Reichenbach said he’s also proud to be part of the event.

“Our communities are so close — the kids all know each other — so it’s just good people getting together for a good cause,” he said. “I know [Susie Facini] was a big part of coach Asch’s life. It’s a great way to keep her memory alive.”

Parents donate food for the event, and in return for the free food, there’s a suggested donation toward the scholarship. Last year, $1,000 was raised, and with an even larger turnout at this year’s game, Aschettino said he’s hoping for an even bigger scholarship.

Cassie Rando, last year’s recipient, was home from college and attended the crosstown matchup. Bernadette Facini pointed to her as a reason why the family and the baseball teams keep doing what they’re doing. But Aschettino pointed to the Facinis as the real motivators.

“It’s a classic case of where the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” he said. “Their son Andy is also a great kid — they’re just great kids from a great family.”

Rocky Point students and Eagles’ team members like Brian Forbes feel the same way.

“It just shows how we can all come together as a family,” the senior said. “[Mount Sinai doesn’t] have to do this, but they do. That shows how great they are.”

Senior Matt Pendl said he likes seeing the two teams continue to come together each year with mutual respect and admiration for a beloved community member.

“This is so important — it shows that there’s more important things in life than just baseball,” he said. “We had a blast celebrating the memory of someone who was just a great individual. I was not fortunate enough to know Susie, but my three older brothers who went to this school were fortunate enough to know her, and all I’ve heard is that she was an amazing person. This event is just a great way to remember her.”

To donate to the Live Like Susie scholarship, contact Rocky Point High School at 631-744-1600 or visit the school at 82 Rocky Point-Yaphank Road.

Bill Landon contributed reporting

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Sean Haplin shoots past a diving West Babylon goalkeeper. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Jitters are to be expected when a freshman takes the field for the first time, but looking at Shoreham-Wading River’s Jake Naso, you wouldn’t know it.

Jake Naso carries the ball into West Babylon’s zone after gaining possession. Photo by Desirée Keegan

The freshman won 22 of 25 faceoffs to give the boys’ lacrosse team the possession it needed to come away with a 17-4 nonleague win over West Babylon May 2.

“I felt good,” Naso said of his first varsity start, smiling. “I’m getting used to it, and I hope to take more in the future.”

Naso was a piece of the total team puzzle, with the Wildcats outscoring the Eagles 7-2 in the first quarter.

“We got up on them early and that affected the whole outcome of the game,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Mike Taylor said. “I thought that we were very crisp and we did the things we wanted to do right away. I’m very happy with the boys executing what we practiced to run against them.”

He also liked seeing 10 athletes sprinkling the score sheet with points throughout the afternoon.

Chris Gray scoops up the ground ball with a defender on his back. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We’ve been trying to get to that level — creating a team concept offensively,” Taylor said. “And now we’re getting guys more game experience, and with Jake winning the faceoffs, that’s going to be huge for us depth-wise. We already have a good faceoff guy with Joe [Miller] so to have two guys, we’re almost spoiled.”

Highlighting the offense was senior Chris Gray, who contributed five goals and five assists. Most notable, was Gray’s score off a cross-field pass from James Mirabell. With West Babylon’s goalkeeper out of the net after carrying the ball to the opposite end of the field, Gray grabbed hold of the pass and dribbled it in mid-air until getting a good enough hold to whip a shot behind his back and into the back of the cage as goalkeeper Mark Esposito tried to get back between the pipes.

James Mirabell and Chris Sheehan defend against a West Babylon attack. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We were relaxed on offense and then the defense got a big turnover,” Gray said. “The ball was bouncing in and out of my stick and I saw the goalie wasn’t in the net yet, and the best opportunity as he was making his way between the pipes was to shoot it behind my back, and luckily it went in.”

He also liked what he saw from his young teammate, Naso.

“He comes out to practice and works hard every day,” Gray said. “Winning the faceoffs and getting us all those extra possessions was big. This is a huge confidence-booster for him.”

But Taylor said there’s still room to grow. As the Wildcats learned last season, even with a near-flawless record, complacency can set in.

Gavin Gregorek looks to fire at the cage. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“There are a lot of great teams out there that will be good competition,” he said. “We learned last year that we made it far, but we didn’t win it all. To win it all you have to continue to get better, so every day we have to come ready to work.”

Gray said the team’s two early-season losses — to East Islip and Eastport-South Manor in April — shaped the team. Now, they’re looking to gauge where they’re at with the games ahead.

“They helped us figure out what we were lacking,” Gray said. “We’re definitely getting better, and we have two big games coming up against Miller Place and Garden City that will really test our team.”

Shoreham-Wading River travels to Miller Place May 4 for a 4:30 p.m. matchup, and will host Garden City May 6 at 2 p.m.

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Smithtown East's Michael Ruggiero hurls a pitch. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Smithtown East’s Matt Laurelli races back to the base while Newfield’s Tom DeSena waits for the ball. Photo by Bill Landon

Smithtown East’s baseball bats were cracking May 2 during a 15-0 shutout of Newfield to maintain the No. 2 spot in League III. With the win, the Bulls are three games behind Half Hollow Hills East.

Smithtown East senior starting pitcher Michael Ruggiero was as big a threat at the plate as he was from the mound. He belted the ball through  the gap to drive home sophomore Nick Harvey for the early lead in the top of the third, and senior Andrew Canino followed with a shot to right field, plating Ruggiero and junior Matt Laurelli for a 3-0 lead.

Newfield head coach Eric Joyner met with starting pitcher Ryan Wappaus on the mound, but the talk didn’t help, as Newfield loaded the bases with two outs. Junior Marc Barbiglia was up to bat next and smashed a base-clearing double to double the advantage to 6-0.

Newfield’s Mike Manzolillo makes contact. Photo by Bill Landon

“They’re a great team — they came out here and they fought hard, but we put the bat on the ball,” Barbiglia said. “We threw strikes, let them hit the ball, put the ball in play [and] we had good fielding. But our bats were on fire today.”

In the top of the fourth inning, Newfield found itself in another tough spot with a runner on base and Ruggiero up to bat. He blasted the ball over the right fielder’s head and speedily made his way around the bases for an in-the-park home run.

“He put it on the outside half [of the plate], it was a 3-1 count, so I knew a fastball was coming,” Ruggiero said. “I jumped right on it and hit it the other way. They did get me earlier in the game, but I fell back and adjusted. [Newfield is] scrappy — a good baseball team — but we were able to shut them down today.”

Newfield made its second change at the mound, but the Bulls didn’t miss a beat. Ruggiero singled to shallow right to put runners on the corner in the top of the sixth, a walk loaded the bases, and Canino drew another walk to bring home Harvey for a nine-run lead.

Smithtown East’s Marc Barbiglia makes his way to home plate. Photo by Bill Landon

“We had base runners on in the first three innings, but we just didn’t get the big hit to get some runs on the board to keep us close,” Joyner said. “They took the advantage moving base runners over and had timely hitting, and we just didn’t do that today.”

Justin Harvey, Nick’s twin brother, found the gap scoring Laurelli, and the runs piled on from there. Sophomore Will Kennedy drove in two with a stand-up double, Barbiglia smacked another RBI-single and sophomore Matt Tempone drilled a two-run double for the final runs.

“They have very good pitching, very good players,” Smithtown East head coach Ken Klee said of Newfield. “Michael Ruggiero, he’s our leader — we’ve been waiting all year to start him and he did exactly what we expected of him. It was probably our best offensive game all year, but they were on the wrong side of it today. We know they’re good, so we’ve got to be ready to play [them again] tomorrow.”

Newfield traveled to Smithtown East May 3, but results were not available by press time. Newfield will host Smithtown East May 4 at 4:30 p.m. to complete the three-game series.

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Chris Buehler hurls a pitch. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Just call on Joseph Rosselli to get the job done.

Tom Hudzik lays down the bunt while Joseph Rosselli races across home plate for a 2-0 lead. Photo by Bill Landon

Ahead 1-0, the race was on for the Ward Melville senior who was attempting a move that hadn’t been successfully completed since 2006. With a big leap off third, he rushed toward home following a successful Tom Hudzik bunt for a suicide squeeze that put the Patriots up 2-0 en route to a 4-2 win over Brentwood May 1.

“Coach Lou [Petrucci] brought us in and told us he wanted to attempt it,” Rosselli said. “The batter’s got to make contact with the ball because if he doesn’t, I’m out 100 times out of 100, so the pressure was on Tom Hudzik, and he came up big for us today.”

As the Brentwood catcher chased down the dribbler, Rosselli snuck across the plate, and although Hudzik was tagged out, his job was done.

Brentwood responded in the top of the second when Cooper Maselli blasted a home run over left center to make it a one-run game. A shot to center field that caused a collision placed the tying run at first, but starting left-handed pitcher Chris Buehler fanned the next two batters to extinguish the threat.

“I had my stuff, but I was leaving some pitches up,” Buehler said. “I got them down and then I felt I could go the distance. They had their ace throwing hard, good pitches — good curves, so we just had to get a couple of runs.”

James Curcio dives to make a catch in center field. Photo by Bill Landon

Petrucci had all the confidence in his starter.

“He’s a competitor and an outstanding young man,” the head coach said. “He’s not fazed by these big situations.”

Even after Brentwood made it a new game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, and Maselli threatened to make matters worse for Ward Melville with a shot to deep center that after some debate wound up a ground-rule double with no outs, Buehler made sure Maselli never made it further than third. Then, his Patriots worked to get those runs he was talking about.

“Chris Buehler struck out three good hitters,” Petrucci said. “He concentrated. He’s been a great force for us this year — he’s 4-0 so far — he’s our Monday guy.”

After a base hit by junior Trevor Cronin, sophomore Max Nielson smacked a ground-rule double of his own. With two outs, a walk was drawn to load the bases, and Rosselli moved into the batter’s box. The senior waited for his pitch, and jumped on a fastball. He sent it deep to right field for a two-run double and a 4-2 lead.

Brentwood made three running errors over the next two innings, and Ward Melville’s defense made its opponent pay each time to preserve the lead.

“Once we give our dominant pitching staff a lead, it’s almost always a solidified [win],” Rosselli said. “So once we got that 4-2 lead, everyone settled down a little We put our faith in our pitchers, and that’s what we’ve been doing all year.”

Vinny Pepitone grabs the ball before tagging out the runner. Photo by Bill Landon

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Jack Collins makes a play at the plate. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Late errors proved costly for Port Jefferson’s baseball team as Pierson-Bridgehampton turned in an eight-run fifth inning en route to an 11-1 defeat of the Royals April 28.

Kris Cheslock rips the ball over the fence. Photo by Bill Landon

The Whalers struck first when, in the top of the second, a Royals throw to home plate was just late. But Port Jefferson’s leadoff hitter in the bottom of the inning, senior Kris Cheslock, knocked the third pitch he saw deep to left field that cleared the fence and then some, to make it a new game.

“It was a 2-1 count, I was looking for a fastball and it came to me right down the middle,” Cheslock said. “I had a nice swing on it, and I knew it was gone.”

Port Jefferson senior starting pitcher Sean Griffin had his hands full in the top of the third when the Whalers advanced two runners to scoring position with no outs, but he challenged the next three batters and the Royals defense did its job, as Pierson-Bridgehampton stranded both Whalers on base.

Port Jefferson sophomore Jordan Suarez hit a blooper to shallow right field next, and capitalized on the right fielder’s bobble to stretch a single to a double, but the Royals failed to bring him home. The Whalers plated a runner in the top of the fourth to break the tie.

“We saw them the last two games, so we knew we had to play a clean game, and we didn’t do that,” Cheslock said. “We need to work on our defense and it needs to be better.”

Sean Griffin throws a heater. Photo by Bill Landon

In the fifth inning, a pickoff throw to first fell into the dirt and rolled by the first baseman. Two pitches later, another pickoff attempt rolled by second base this time, to help the Whalers runner advance to third. Pierson-Bridgehampton slammed home hit after hit thereafter, and drew timely walks with the bases loaded to score eight runs by time the Royals tallied three outs.

“The way baseball is, you’ve got to take in one day at a time — the mistakes we made today can’t be mistakes we carry with us into Wednesday’s game,” Port Jefferson head coach Jesse Rosen said. “We’re 7-8 and we have games ahead of us that are winnable games for us. We need to go 10-10 to put ourselves in the playoffs, and truthfully that’s not an unreasonable thing.”

Despite the defensive mistakes, the Royals hit the ball hard in the bottom of the inning. Senior Nick Andriani smacked a leadoff single, and Suarez followed with a shot through the gap, and bother runners advanced on a wild pitch with one out. But the Whalers’ defense came through for the win.

“Granted not the way you want to step into the last quarter of your season — our defense was far from optimal today,” Rosen said. “Baseball’s a game where you [shake off a loss like today’s] and get ready for your next game.”

The Royals look to get back to .500 when they hit the road to take on Southold May 3 at 4:30 p.m.

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Michael Calvin and coach Thomas Cooper spar before the big fight. Photo from Michael Calvin

For amateur boxers, making it to the finals of the Daily News Golden Gloves tournament is a huge achievement. Recently fighters from Port Jefferson Station’s Royals Boxing Gym had their chance for glory in the ring, and one of them brought home the gold.

Two days before the fights the energy was high and the excitement was palpable at the gym as co-owner Michael Calvin of Setauket was balancing work and training to compete in the welterweight finals of the tournament at Manhattan Center’s Hammerstein Ballroom April 21. Golden Gloves finalist and Stony Brook resident Michael Misa was also at the gym that night. He was sparring in preparation for his light heavyweight match that was held at the Aviator Sports and Event Center in Brooklyn April 22. 

Calvin proudly wears his Golden Gloves shirt and necklace. Photo from Michael Calvin

Calvin, 26, a Ward Melville graduate, made it to the semifinals in 2013 but had to bow out due to an injury. He was looking forward to fighting in the finals this year.

“It’s a surreal feeling,” Calvin said. “I guess it will sink in more when the experience is over. Right now, I am so immersed in the circumstances.”

Misa, 26, was also excited and said he was preparing to face his competitor Matt Klingerman with his trainer Adam Willett.

“It’s always a challenge, the finals,” Misa said. “I know my opponent. He has really good cardio. He always comes forward. We’re just working on using range and everything we worked on in the gym.”

Misa, who just started boxing last year, said this would actually be his third fight in the tournament, as opposed to his fourth like others in the Golden Gloves, because his opponent didn’t show up for the semifinal fight.

“It was kind of bittersweet,” he said. “You know it’s nice to get into the finals but I really wanted to earn my way into the finals. We worked really hard on it.”

Calvin said the two were training at least 20 hours a week in the lead-up to the tournament. Hard work is nothing new to them.

Besides running Royals Boxing Gym with his partner, Calvin is a personal trainer at Remedy Gym in Setauket and works with Giant Step Services, which educates and assists adults with developmental disabilities.

Calvin said he has been involved with boxing since he discovered it at the age of 16 when he saw children competing outside of the Boys & Girls Club of Suffolk County. He said working with boxers seven days a week in addition to training keeps him in top form. He said whether practicing, training others or leading demonstrations, he’s always going over his technique.

“My biggest weapon is this constant reinforcement of my fundamentals — it has gotten me exponentially better,” he said.

Misa, who grew up in Mount Sinai and is a liberal arts student at Suffolk County Community College, said years ago he became involved in jiujitsu and mixed martial arts at a competitive level. It was after a four-year stint in the Navy that he first tried his hand at boxing, even though he always followed it as a kid. He said he believes his training in the martial arts helps him when it comes to boxing. Misa also played hockey growing up but he said he prefers competing on his own like he does in boxing.   

“It’s an individual sport so it’s more on you,” Misa said. “Obviously you have your coaches and teammates that are pushing you in the gym, but at the end of the day, it’s only you and the other guy in the ring. That’s why I love it so much.”

Besides physical dedication, the sport takes a strong mental attitude.

“It takes a lot of mental preparation,” Calvin said. “I stay pretty calm. I never really get nervous. I’m not nervous until the walk to the ring, and that walk to the ring is the most heart-wrenching thing. It’s terrifying. Everything in you is telling you to turn around and walk away because you know there’s a 100 percent chance you’re going to get hit, but all your training and everything and your ego tells you to keep trucking
forward.”

As for punches, Calvin said when he’s fighting, he doesn’t register them coming.

“When you’re in the ring everything happens so fast,” he said. “It’s all reactive. You don’t have time to process anything in the ring at all. You have to react … all a result of training.”

Before the match, Thomas Cooper, co-owner of Royals who also trains Calvin, was optimistic about the fight and said that the boxer is a “special talent in the sport” and felt he was the top fighter in the competition.

“He has speed and power and that’s an excellent combination to have in boxing,” Cooper said. “He has fast feet, fast hands. He always listens to what you have to tell him. He’s always trying to do things better.”

“I stay pretty calm. I never really get nervous. I’m not nervous until the walk to the ring, and that walk to the ring is the most heart-wrenching thing. It’s terrifying.”

— Michael Calvin

Willett coaches both fighters and had great faith in them before they met their opponents in the ring. He met Misa a couple of years ago in the world of mixed martial arts. 

“He transitioned very well because he has an open mind,” the coach said. “I always tell everyone I gave him a map, and he followed it to the ‘t.’ So, it’s why he’s at where he is now. It’s kind of unheard of for someone who was in mixed martial arts to go into open class, because open class is semi-pro.”

On the night of April 21 Calvin was unanimously declared the 152-pound open title champion in the welterweight division. The next day Misa lost his match in the 178-pound open title bout. Calvin said making it to the finals, for a new boxer like Misa, is a great achievement in itself.

Cooper was extremely proud of Calvin after the fight, and said the boxer dominated his opponent, Michael Hughes, a 2012 Golden Gloves champion, with his in-and-out movements and speed and power in the three, three-minute rounds.

“He did all the things we’ve been working on, and it really seemed in that final fight that a lot of things came together,” Cooper said. “He put it all together. He was in and out, he was moving. It was fantastic.”

He was excited to see his business partner and teammate win after years of hard work.

“When he got those golden gloves around his neck, I was extremely happy for him because it changes his life,” the coach said.

A couple of days after the fight, Calvin was still shocked as he prepared for the national tournament, which will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana’s Cajundome the first week of May.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet because I’m so focused on nationals,” the boxer said. “But the feeling of having those gloves around my neck was really spectacular … and getting my hands raised in front of all those people.”

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Skylar Carrasquillo breaks away with the ball. Photo by Bill Landon

By Bill Landon

Brianna Carrasquillo’s five goals and two assists, and Christina Ferrara’s three goals and five assists, led the Rocky Point girls’ lacrosse team to a 20-11 home win over Hauppauge in a rain-drenched, windy Division II matchup April 25.

Madison Sanchez drives past a Hauppauge defender. Photo by Bill Landon

“For us, we’re finding that next level,” Rocky Point head coach Dan Spallina said. “Hauppauge, they’re fast, athletic with good lacrosse IQ and they’re a physical team. Our performance was good in that we got a lot of different girls in, and that’s always good for team morale.”

Leading 2-1 in the first five minutes of play, the Eagles began soaring over their opponent, scoring eight unanswered goals. During that time, sophomore Brianna Lamoureux notched her hat trick goal, Carrasquillo chipped in two, and juniors Madison Sanchez and Christina Bellissimo and sophomore Megan Greco each stretched the net for a 10-1 advantage just 11 minutes into the contest.

Hauppauge scored to stop the scoring spell, but it didn’t last long, as Carrasquillo and her younger sister Skylar each split the pipes for a 12-2 advantage.

Hauppauge again answered with two goals, but Ferrara’s stick spoke next with a solo shot for a 13-4 lead with six minutes still until halftime.

“We definitely didn’t want to underestimate them — we had to come out and play our game if we wanted to come out on top, and I thought we did that,” she said. “We got almost every draw today and that’s a huge part — that’s a game changer.”

Sanchez was that spark, winning 23 of 32 draws.

Christina Ferrara changes direction as she moves toward the cage. Photo by Bill Landon

Spallina opened the second half with his bench players, and as they gained some playing time Hauppauge began to chip away at the deficit, scoring four goals over the next five minutes to close the gap, 16-9, to slow the running clock back to normal.

But Brianna Carrasquillo slammed home her fifth goal of the game, and Sanchez once more to keep a nice margin.

“We didn’t want to take anything for granted,” Sanchez said. “Yes we’re ranked higher, but you still have to work hard. We’re not going to let anyone just slide through. We capitalized on our draws, we hit all of our shots and our speed is definitely a big part of our game.”

With the win, Rocky Point improves to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in league play, trailing division leader Eastport-South Manor by two games.

“With our speed we can bang the ball around, and with the movement we have, that’s our strength,” Spallina said. “I’m impressed with a lot of the girls and the amount of assists we had today. [Brianna] Carrasquillo — yeah, she’s the girl that buries the ball, but there’s a bunch of different pieces that go into it. Christina Ferrara chips in huge ground balls, she’s all heart and her assist numbers speaks volumes.”

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