1.
The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015 ~ Page 27
SportsJune 4, 2015 Page 27
Ittakestwo
toknowtwo
Turner’ssaves,Willetts’goal
leadEasttodouble-OTwin,
secondstraightSuffolktitle
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
The Smithtown East boys
lacrosse team’s vaunted
offense has been feared,
respected and watched all
year, but it mustered only one
goal through the start of the
second half and the end of
the first four-minute overtime
period in the Suffolk Class A
championship game at Stony
Brook University, Wednesday,
May 27.
So with a chance to repeat as
Suffolkchampionsfadingaway
and Ward Melville’s defense
growing more confident with
each failed attack, Smithtown
East’s oft-overlooked stop unit
needed to show why it was so
underrated in order to literally
save the day.
Smithtown East senior
goaltender Sean Turner
(see story, page 26) led the
Bulls’ defense with 16 saves,
including six in the fourth
quarter and overtime, as the
Bulls pulled out an 11-10
victory so dramatic it already
can be considered one of the
greatest county championship
games ever played (see column,
page 21).
“I just wanted to win the
game,” Turner said. “I couldn’t
let my teammates down. I
wanted to keep us in the game,
so the defense made our stand
in the second half. Everyone
worked as a unit. From my
teammates in front of me
like [senior defensemen] Cole
Valinoti and James Sarrocco,
to the guys doing the stats
like [seniors] John Murray and
Rich Bongiorno. We play and
work together as brothers, and
that’s why we won today.”
“We played to the best of our
ability out there,” Sarrocco
said. “The offense got us going
in the first half, so we did our
part in the second
[half] and overtime.
Turner came up with
a lot of big saves,
and we also got some
lucky [Ward Melville
shots off the goal’s]
pipes in the first overtime.”
With the defense buying
time for the offense, senior
attackman Brian Willetts—
who in the previous game
broke the program record for
career points—finished it off.
Getting the ball behind the
cage, Willetts ran to the front,
turned and fired an overhand
shot that bounced between
the legs of Ward Melville junior
goaltender D.J. Kellerman,
giving the Bulls the game-
winning score 1:53 into the
final overtime period and after
53:53 of play.
“I got the pick at ‘X’ behind
the cage from [Smithtown
East junior midfielder Connor]
DeSimone, and once I got my
hands free, I went top-side,”
Willetts said. “I had confidence
in that shot because I’ve
worked on it so much. I can’t
say how many times I’ve stayed
after practice working on it.
Stuff like that pays off.”
When Willetts got the
ball and cradled behind the
cage, Smithtown East coach
Jason Lambert knew the top
attackman in Suffolk County
(Continued on page 21)
BOYS’ LAX: SUFFOLK CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP
1 2 3 4 OT OT final
No. 3 Ward Melville 4 2 3 1 0 0 10
No. 2 SMITHTOWN EAST 6 3 1 0 0 1 11
SNIPERS: Senior attackman Brian Willetts (above) and sophomore middie Connor DeSimone
(below) take shots in Smithtown East’s 11-10 win over Ward Melville in the Suffolk Class A
final at Stony Brook University, Wednesday, May 27. -Richard Valeo photos

2.
Page 26 ~ The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015
BOYS’ LAX: LONG ISLAND CLASS A FINAL
1 2 3 4 final
Syosset (Section VIII) 3 4 3 4 14
SMITHTOWN EAST (XI) 3 5 0 0 8
Socloseyetsofaraway
After surging to early four-goal lead, East laxmen
outscored 11-1, lose second L.I. title game in row
Sports
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Smithtown East senior goaltender Sean Turner
picked the best time to play his best lacrosse.
When his team needed him most, Turner
showed why his teammates nicknamed him
“Stonewall,” as he made 16 saves—including
six in the fourth quarter and overtime—to
help preserve the Bulls’ double-OT win over
Ward Melville in the Suffolk Class A title game
Wednesday, May 27 (see story, page 27).
“Sean played unbelievably and bailed us out
time and time again, especially in the fourth
quarter and overtime,” Smithtown East coach
Jason Lambert said. “We weren’t doing great on
offense so we had to turn to our defense to make
stops and keep us in the game.”
Turner nearly single-handedly kept East in
the game. On at least three different occasions
in overtime, Ward Melville shooters began to
celebrate after their shot as if they had scored the
winning goal only to shrug in disbelief as Turner
got his stick, his head, his foot or any body part
he could on the ball to keep it from crossing the
goal-line.
“They kept coming at us but there was no way
we were going to let anything in,” Turner said.
“It’s not over until the last tick is off the clock.”
Or until the last goal is scored, which was
the case against Ward Melville. Turner’s never-
say die attitude drew the appreciation of senior
attackman Brian Willetts, who finally snapped
East’s 25-minute scoring drought and ended the
game by scoring the game-winning goal in the
second sudden-death overtime period.
Fittingly, Willetts never would have had the
chance to win the game had Turner not made his
16th and final save only seconds earlier. Turner
then made the clearing pass to help start the Bulls’
decisive possession.
“I have to give a ton of credit to our defense,”
Willetts said. “Turner was flat-out unbelievable
with some of the stops he made.”
Turner’sperformancewasevenmoreremarkable
considering how well he bounced back from his
rocky start against Ward Melville earlier in the
game. After getting torched for four goals during
a first quarter in which he made only one save,
Turner turned things around. Over the remaining
41:53, he stopped 15 of 21 shots on goal, helping
the Bulls win one of the most exciting county title
games of all-time (see column, page 21).
“I just wasn’t seeing the ball well and a couple
of the scores got in my head,” Turner said.
“Fortunately, I had coach [Keith] Greene. He’s
so much more than a great coach—he’s a great
friend. He settled me down and got me under
control. He’s been my mentor on the team for so
long and he was able to help get me through that
rough patch as well as the whole game.”
Stonewalled
Patriot shooters denied
down the stretch due to
play of East goaltender
When senior attackman Brian Willetts beat a
defenseman to put the Smithtown East boys’ lacrosse
team up 7-3 midway through the second quarter of
the Long Island Class A championship in nearly the
same manner he beat a Ward Melville defender to
win the Suffolk County championship, the Bulls’ first
-ever Long Island title seemed close at hand.
However, after a time-out, the Braves regrouped
and outscored two-time defending Suffolk champion
Smithtown East 11-1 the rest of the way en route to
a 14-8 victory in the Long Island Class A title game
at Stony Brook University, Saturday, May 30.
It was the second straight Long Island title game
loss for Smithtown East,
which last year lost to
Massapequa, 13-12.
“We have to tip our cap
to Syosset—we couldn’t
sustain anything against
them,” Smithtown East
coach Jason Lambert said. “We had a lack of
possessions by getting beat to too many ground balls
and getting killed in transition. Those were two things
we said we could not do, and that gave them a lot of
easy goals and looks inside.”
Following Willetts’ goal, the Braves answered
with goals by midfielder Nick Hatzipetrakos (7:00
into second period) and senior attackman Alex
Concannon (8:56) before outscoring East 7-0 in
the second half to cruise to their first Long Island
championship since 2008.
While most expected the game to be a track-meet
with goal-scoring galore, it was the Bulls’ inability to
fire on all cylinders in the second half due to a lack
of efficient ball movement that did them in.
“I honestly think more of it was throwing the ball
away and not moving,” Lambert said. “We made too
many mistakes and, against a good team like this, it
came back to bite us. It bit us today big-time.”
East nearly took control in the first quarter
after its defense a few stands of its own, including
combined check made by senior defensemen Cole
Valinoti and James Sarrocco that caused a ground
ball, and a pair of early saves by senior goaltender
Sean Turner, the hero of the Bulls’ county
championship win (see story, right). East followed
with goals by junior attackman Dan Rooney (3:02
into the first period) and two goals by senior
midfielder John Daniggelis
(6:55 and 10:02) for a
3-1 lead. However, goals
in the final minute of the
frame by Concannon off
an offsides call (11:16) and
midfielder Lucas Cotler
(11:54) evened the score at 3 heading into the
second quarter.
The beginning of the second was all Bulls, with
junior midfielder Gerard Arceri winning the first
three face-offs to help set up goals by sophomore
midfielder Connor DeSimone (0:49 into the period),
Willetts (2:26) and Daniggelis, who completed a first-
half hat trick and gave the Bulls a 6-3 lead with 9:05
remaining. After a Turner save, Willetts scored his
second goal to put the Bulls up 7-3 with 7:23 left in
the first half, setting up Syosset’s comeback.
That comeback began at the face off “X” with
midfielder Alex Giovinco. Although he was dominated
through much of the first half by Arceri, Giovinco
rallied to win a majority of the second-half face-offs.
For the game, Giovinco only lost the face-off battle
15-11 against Arceri, a face-off specialist who usually
wins 80 percent of his draws.
Without the ball, East asked its defense to play
more in the second half but could only hold down
the fort for so long. Syosset scored three goals in
the third quarter, then erupted for four more in the
fourth quarter’s first six minutes before going into a
methodical ball-control mode to close out the game.
Despite the loss, Lambert was happy with his team,
which went 18-2, won the inaugural Suffolk League
II championship and earned its second consecutive
county title. “I’m very proud of the guys,” Lambert
said. “We had a tremendous season… We just have
EYES ON THE BALL: Smithtown East junior midfielder Gerard Arceri beats Syosset’s Jared Locke to a loose ball off a
face-off during the Bulls’ 14-8 loss at Stony Brook University, Saturday, May 30. -Richard Valeo photo

3.
The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015 ~ Page 25
Sports
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Gutsbutnoglory
Bulls show true grit in rallying down
to their final out of series’ deciding
game but fall short in walk-off loss
The name of the game for the
Smithtown East baseball team has
been resilience in the Suffolk County
Class AA playoffs.
Nootherteamwasabletobounceback
from a 6-0 deficit in the quarterfinals
like the fourth-seeded Bulls did against
Half Hollow Hills West, and few teams
could rally again and hang on for a
victory the way East did in Game 2
(see story, page 24) to force a deciding
Game 3 in the semifinals against a
Connetquot team considered by many
as the best team in the state.
And, down to their final out, the Bulls
showed that resiliency again, rallying
for three runs to tie the score at 3 at
Connetquot, Thursday, May 27. “It was
unbelievable,” Smithtown East coach
Ken Klee said of the rally. “The kids
showed guts. They’re a bunch of guys
that never gave up. It didn’t matter
what the situation was or who they
were playing, they never quit. I can’t
say enough of the 12 seniors that led
us to that.”
However, it was an error and a wild
pitch that led to a walk-off double in the
bottom of the inning that did in East
and sent the top-seeded Thunderbirds
to the county finals against second-
seeded Ward Melville.
Connetquot’s Christian Nissen led off
the inning reaching base via an error on
a tough hop to Smithtown East senior
second baseman James Myers, the
Bulls’ fourth of the game. Following the
error, senior relief pitcher Greg Maitles
allowed Nissen to reach second on a
wild pitch that sailed over the head
of junior catcher Ryan Kuskowski,
setting the stage for Aaron Gagliano’s
walk-off single to deep right-center field
on a full count, scoring Nissen and
ending the Bulls’ season.
“It was not the outcome we wanted
but I couldn’t have been more proud of
the guys,” Klee said.
The ending could have come a half-
inning sooner if not for the rally in the
top of the inning. Down to their final out
and trailing 4-1 with the bases loaded,
senior first baseman Matt Milne kept
the Bulls’ hopes alive with a single up
the middle to score junior left fielder
Nick Rizzo, who reached on a one-out
walk. But the big hit came from senior
designated hitter Matt DiPietro. After
falling behind 1-2, DiPietro lined a ball
foul down the first-base line to stay
alive, then smashed a single to left
field to easily score senior shortstop
Pat Lagravinese, who reached on a
one-out walk.
“I was patient at the plate and
looking for the right pitch to hit,”
DiPietro said. “I was looking to push
forward and make the game last as
long as possible… I had to battle his
[Connetquot pitcher John Hengge]
curve, but he eventually gave me the
pitch I wanted and drove it.”
Junior center fielder Shawn Kelly,
who reached on an error to load the
bases and moved to second on Milne’s
single, took a chance and rounded
third. Sprinting to home plate, Kelly
slid in just ahead of the throw to
improbably tie the score at 4 heading
into the bottom of the seventh.
“It was all about getting the chance
to prove ourselves,” DiPietro said of the
seventh-inning rally. “Even though we
came up a little short, we still showed
we were as good as them. We just
needed to win one more game.”
Aside from Myers’ error, two throwing
errors in one play in the
bottom of the second were
undone by a 4-6-3 double
play induced by senior
startingpitcherDomSavino.
However,athrowingerrorby
junior third baseman John
Marti pulled Milne off the bag at first,
allowed Connetquot’s Kyle Bannon to
reach base and opened the door for
a three-run rally in the bottom of the
fifth, highlighted by a two-run single
by Gagliano, which put the Bulls in a
4-1 hole. East scored its only other run
of the game on back-to-back doubles
by Lagravinese and Kelly in the top of
the fifth.
Although the Bulls’ season is over,
Klee was not disappointed in their
campaign, which included their fourth
League III title in six years and a 20-4
record. “To lose on a walk-off in the
third game of the Suffolk County
semifinals, you have to have a pretty
damn good year,” Klee said. “We won 20
baseball games and came really close
to making the county finals.”
DiPietro echoed his coach’s
sentiments. “We played our asses off
and worked hard every day in practice,”
he said. “We started the year in
September, which people questioned,
but it paid off. We came off a 5-14
season last year, so to have a senior
year like this was unbelievable.
“I’ll never forget the relationships
I had with my teammates. We were
always there for each other. If we were
down by one run or six runs, we always
came back. This is the best team I’ve
ever been a part of in my career, no
matter what level or sport.”
BASEBALL: SUFFOLK ‘AA’ SEMIFINALS, GAME 3
R H E
No. 4 SMITHTOWN EAST 000 010 3 4 6 4
No. 1 Connetquot 001 030 1 5 8 2
Theartofsacrifice
Rizzo’ssafety,suicidesqueezeplays
show off East’s ‘small ball’ philosophy
By TOM ALLEGRA
T
he higher the level of baseball, it seems, the more bunting
has become a lost art. But never has it been lost on
Smithtown’s high school baseball programs—especially
the 2015 Smithtown East diamondmen.
ThreetimesinGame2oftheSuffolk
Class AA semifinals Wednesday, May
27 at Smithtown East, Bulls coach
Ken Klee called upon his players to
put down a bunt in an attempt to
advance or score a baserunner. And
all three times they succeeded, either
directly or subsequently leading to
runs that helped lift the Bulls to a
6-4 come-from-behind victory over
top-seeded Connetquot (see game
story, page 24).
“We’ve been a scrappy team all
year, just trying to scratch across
runs and that’s just how we play,”
said East junior left fielder Nick
Rizzo, whose safety squeeze in the
bottom of the second inning got the
Bulls on the scoreboard and whose
perfectly executed suicide squeeze
capped the three-run, third-inning
rally that gave East a 5-2 lead. “We
have to produce runs by any means
possible and if it means moving
runners, that’s what we do to score.”
Big bats or small, home-run hitters
or singles hitters, the philosophy of
every player being ready, willing and
able to give himself up for the good of
the team has long been established
by former Smithtown East coach
Al Chandler and former Smithtown
West (and then Smithtown Central)
coach Larry Gallagher.
And, as evidenced by Rizzo’s clutch
bunting—yes, clutch bunting—it
still exists today.
“He’s done that so much this
season,” Bulls junior center fielder
Shawn Kelly said of Rizzo, “and we
always have confidence he’ll do it
when he gets up.”
With the Bulls trailing 2-0 in the
second inning, Rizzo, the Bulls’ No.
9 hitter, stepped up to the plate with
one out and runners at the corners.
Rizzo feigned a bunt early in the at
bat, then put down his next attempt
half-way between the pitching
rubber and home plate.
Connetquot pitcher T ravis
Bruinsma fielded the ball with his
glove and, in one motion, flipped the
ball to the plate. But East junior third
baseman John Marti—who drew a
one-out walk and advanced to third
base on junior right fielder Dylan
Vetter’s opposite-field slap-single to
right—took off for home as soon as
the bunt hit the bald-spotted grass
of the Bulls’ home field.
Charging full speed to the plate,
a heavy-breathing Marti slid under
the tag of burly Connetquot catcher
Stalem Baez to score the Bulls’ first
run in a cloud of dirt.
“The first was a safety squeeze,”
Rizzo said. “[Coach Klee] wanted me
to push it down one of the lines and
try to beat it myself and score the
run there.”
The play was scored as a 1-2
fielder’s choice but in this case
also counted as a sacrifice, which
excludes the plate appearance
from counting as an at-bat and,
thus, against the bunter’s batting
average. Only an unsuccessful drag
bunt—meaning a bunt made solely to
reach base and not to advance other
baserunners, as is the case with a
sacrifice—would count against the
bunter’s batting average.
Not as if Klee, Rizzo (0-for-1, run,
2 RBI) or anyone else on the team,
for that matter, really cares about
statistics; other than runs scored,
that is.
In the third inning, Marti once
again scored on a squeeze play. And
once again, it came with one out,
runners at the corners and Rizzo at
bat. This time, however, Marti started
sprinting toward home plate as soon
as Bruinsma began his delivery.
Bruinsma, now well aware of
Rizzo’s propensity to bunt, probably
wanted to pitch him inside, and Rizzo
bunted foul on a 1-0 pitch. Bruinsma
again tried to come inside on the
next pitch, this time losing control
of a slider that sailed right at Rizzo’s
head. But Rizzo somehow lifted his
bat in front of the eye-level pitch
and got it down in front of the plate,
allowing Marti to score easily before
Baez threw out Rizzo at first base for
the second out.
Both Kelly and Bulls second
baseman James Myers called the
play “insane.”
“The kid [Bruinsma] threw it right
at his head,” Kelly said, “and [Rizzo]
had confidence in it, went with it and
got it down. He did exactly what we
needed… He’s done that so much
this season, and we always have
confidence in him to do it when he
gets up.”
“That was a huge part of the game
just to get it down when it was
coming at his head,” Bulls second
baseman James Myers said. “That
was insane.”
The Bulls took a 5-2 lead on the
play, which Rizzo made seem routine
as he discussed it in further detail.
“He kind of threw me a cement-
mixing slider, and it stayed up but
I just knew I had to get it down to
protect Marti at third base,” Rizzo
said. “I know I have to get it down and
protect the runner at third base, and
I just tried to get the bat on it and try
to get it on the ground.”
Anywhere on the ground between
the foul lines was just fine.
(Continued on page 20)

4.
Page 24 ~ The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015
No stranger to battling from behind,
diamondmen rally again in Game 2,
get more stellar relief from Maitles
ToEast,noburden
Sports
By TOM ALLEGRA
The Smithtown East baseball team
has proven time and time again this
season that no deficit was too big to
overcome. And although the Bulls’
three-run, seventh-inning, game-tying
rally in the third and deciding game
(see story, page 25) of the Suffolk
Class AA semifinals Thursday, May 28
ultimately was not enough to advance
them to the county championship
series, their never-say-die attitude was
evident once again in a 6-4 victory over
top-seeded Connetquot in the second
game of the series Wednesday, May 27
at Smithtown East.
“We think we can come back from
any deficit. It doesn’t matter how large,”
Smithtown East junior left fielder Nick
Rizzo said. “We have the type of team
where we don’t get fazed by how many
runs the other team puts up. We know
that we can come back and we can face
adversity. That’s just the way we’ve
been all year. And we think we can win
these types of games.”
The fourth-seeded Bulls, who
advanced to the semifinal round by
rallying from an 6-0 deficit against Half
Hollow Hills West on May 21, erased an
early two-run deficit in Game 2 against
Connetquot behind some gritty, gutsy
small-ball play and held on to win
thanks to the steady relief pitching of
senior southpaw Greg Maitles.
“It’s just been the story of the season
to come from behind and win the game
and just keep it going,” said Maitles,
who earned the win by tossing 3 1/3
innings of shutout baseball less than
a week after he threw 6 2/3 innings of
scoreless relief in the comeback win
over Hills West. “On to the next one.”
It was on to the next inning for the
Bulls after Connetquot took a 2-0 lead
in the top of the first. They scored twice
in the second inning to tie it and thrice
more in the third to take the lead for
good, then relied on Maitles to make it
stand up.
“It’s tough to beat us two out of
three; our pitching staff is too good,”
said East junior center fielder Shawn
Kelly, whose two-out, seeing-eye single
to left tied it at 2 and whose sixth-
inning sacrifice fly provided the final
margin of victory—and some important
breathing room for Maitles. “We always
have kids who can come in and throw
when we get down, and that’s what
we’ve been doing all year: playing good
defense and getting timely hits.”
But the most important plays for
East on Wednesday were non-hits,
most noticeably a pair of well executed
squeeze bunts by Rizzo (0-for-1, run,
2 RBI). The first was a safety squeeze
in the second inning that cut the
Bulls’ deficit to 2-1, and the second
an amazing suicide squeeze that
completed their third-inning rally (see
story, page 25).
“He’s a great bunter. He’s gotten a
couple of squeeze bunts for us this
year, and he’s also made some pretty
good plays in the outfield,” Maitles said
of Rizzo, who robbed Connetquot first
baseman Brandon Morse of an extra-
base hit to limit the Thunderbirds’ first-
inning offensive output. “I trust no one
other than him in left field. He, Shawn
[Kelly] and [junior right fielder] Dylan
[Vetter] are a great outfield, and I trust
that the play is going to be made out
there whenever the ball is hit.”
There were a few sparkling defensive
playsinthegame,includingConnetquot
left fielder Aaron Gagliano’s diving grab
of Kelly’s deep liner for the first out in
the bottom of the first inning and Bulls
second baseman James
Myers’ backhanded stab
and spinning throw to first
base for the first out of the
seventh inning. But none
stood out more than Rizzo’s
web gem in the top half of
the first. With the Thunderbird batters
sitting dead red and East senior right-
handed starter Pat Lagravinese (3 2/3
IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) throwing
mostly heaters early on in pitch counts,
Morse absolutely crushed a first-pitch
fastball to deep left field. But with a
strong wind helping blow the ball down
and back into the field of play, Rizzo
got on his horse and tracked it down,
laying out to make a backhanded grab
while crashing into the orange mesh
left-field wall.
“Once that was hit, I was like, ‘You
better get to that ball.’ And I thought it
was going to hit the fence,” Myers said,
“but it was an insane catch.”
“He read it so well off the bat,” Kelly
said of Rizzo. “I was screaming at him
that he had room even though he did
hit the fence, but he read it perfectly
and knew he had it.”
“He made an incredible play,” Kelly
continued. “He got a great jump on it,
read it well and made the play. A lot of
wind blowing in, too. Tough play.”
“The wind was playing a factor on
the balls hit into the air today,” said
Rizzo, who estimated he ran about 60
feet before making the catch, and who
fortunately was playing deep in the
outfield to defend against the cleanup-
hitting Morse. “But I knew I had a good (Continued on page 21)
BASEBALL: SUFFOLK ‘AA’ SEMIFINALS, GAME 2
R H E
No. 1 Connetquot 200 200 0 4 9 2
No. 4 SMITHTOWN EAST 023 001 X 6 8 1
read on it and I got back to the fence,
and I knew where it was and I slid and
hoped for the best. I had to make that
catch and get it back as quickly as I
could with a guy on base there.”
After Rizzo’s safety squeeze drove in
junior third baseman John Marti (1-
for-2, walk, 2 runs scored) for the Bulls’
first run, Kelly (1-for-3, sac fly, 2 RBI)
stroked a single to left that barely got
out of the infield but still plated Vetter
(2-for-3, run, RBI) for the tying run.
“He’s been huge for us all year. He’s
been getting timely hits all season,”
Rizzo said of Kelly, “and he’s just been
our guy at the plate. He’s hit in big spots
at the top of the order, and he’s really
leading us to where we want to go.”
So is Maitles, who as a round-faced
and stocky, crafty lefty wearing jersey
No. 50—someone who relies on a
back-door curveball to retire right-
handed hitters—bears resemblance
to Jesse Orosco and Sid Fernandez,
both pitchers for the Mets during
their halcyon days of the mid-1980’s.
Maitles (3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
replaced Lagravinese with two outs and
the potential tying run on first base in
the top of the fourth. Connetquot had
already scored twice in the inning to
cut its deficit to 5-4, but Maitles got
T-Birds center fielder David Brehm to
harmlessly pop out to right field for
the final out of the frame with Morse
standing on deck.
“Greg is a phenomenal pitcher. He
always does exactly what we need—
comes into the game late and closes
things out,” Kelly said.
“He’s been our go-to guy all year out
of the bullpen—he can come in in any
spot and he just does the job for us
every time he comes out,” Rizzo said
of Maitles. “He’s been really good with
that all year. He lives on the corners,
and that’s just why he’s been such a
good pitcher. He’s mixing up his pitches
in any count, and that’s what why he’s
been so successful this year for us.”
Maitles also has been successful
because he thrives on being pitted in
tough situations.
“I love the pressure,” he said. “They
kind of used me as a spot starter,
brought me in when he really felt I
could come in and get the job done. I
went back and forth a couple of times
but whatever my role is, I just wanted
to get it done this season and have a
good season.”
Maitles certainly had a pressure-
packed final two innings. After retiring
the side in order in the top of the
fifth, when he induced Morse into a
swinging bunt and struck out Gagliano
looking, Maitles escaped a jam in the
sixth. With the Thunderbirds’ potential
tying and go-ahead runs in scoring
position, he got No. 2-hitting shortstop
Christian Nissen to ground into a lazy
comebacker for the final out of the
frame. And then, in the seventh, he
struck out Connetquot designated
hitter Zach White swinging to end the
game.
“That last hitter [White] is a dead-
red hitter. I just wanted to get him up
front with the curveball,” Maitles said,
“because we were able to see it early
when Pat was pitching that he wasn’t
too adept at hitting the curveball. So
I wanted to get [the count] to 0-2 so I
could get the curveball on him, and it
worked.”
Maitles had plenty of defensive help
in the final inning as well. Brehm led
off the frame by working the count
from 0-2 to 3-2 before fighting off an
inside pitch up the middle. But Myers
made a backhand stab in the hole on
the slowly hit ball and, in one motion,
blindly spun toward first base to make
a perfect throw and complete the 4-3
putout.
5-TOOLER: Junior third baseman Nick Rizzo laid down two squeeze bunts, scored the
Bulls’ insurance run in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly, and made a diving
grab to help limit the damage in Connetquot’s two-run first inning during Smithtown East’s
6-4 home win Wednesday, May 27. -Richard Valeo file photo

5.
Page 22 ~ The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015
Sports
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
High5forboys’teams
Hadity,Claxton,Lebit,Grabowski,Beglane
capture event crowns at Suffolk Divisionals
High school track and field
teams from the Town of Smithtown
participated in the Suffolk Boys’
Divisional Championship Meet
at Comsewogue High School,
Wednesday, May 27 and Friday, May
29 to determine the team county
championships. Commack and
Smithtown East led the local, with the
Cougars finishing sixth in Division
I and the Red Bulls taking fifth in
Division II. Each team’s athletes will
take part in the Section XI Individual
Championships/State Qualifier at
Port Jefferson High School, Friday,
June 5 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, June
6 at 2 p.m.
Commack
Commack took sixth in Division I
with 37.5 points, 39.5 points behind
champion Ward Melville’s 77. The
Cougars were led by senior Joshua
Hadity, who won the 3,200m run in
9:24.82.
Commack’sstrongesteventwasthe
discus, as senior Michael Campione
(145-1) and Jack Pihlkar (144-8)
took second and third, respectively.
Senior Daniel Castrogivanni had
a strong showing in the triathlon,
placing third with 474 points.
Commack also had three athletes
and a relay team finish in the top six.
Sophomore Ryan Lawless finished
sixth in the pole vault (12 feet), senior
Michael Ricciardelli placed sixth in
the 3,000m steeplechase (10:07.69)
and junior William Braxton finished
sixth in the triple jump (43-0.75).
Commack’s 4x400m relay team
of Jake Forman, Anthony Mallardi,
Ryan Cortazzo, Nicholas Monte,
Kevin Whittal and Zach Hannahoe
teamed up to place sixth in 3:33.54.
Smithtown East
Smithtown East fared best among
localteamsinDivisionII,finishingfifth
with 48 points, 51 behind champion
Huntington’s 99. Sophomore Daniel
Claxton and senior Ben Lebit won the
high jump (6-8) and pentathlon (645
points), respectively.
Junior Liam Hendricks placed
second in the discus with a throw of
159-2, senior Matthew Whalen took
third in the 800m run in 1:57.94,
junior Dominik Oramas finished
fourth in the shot put with a throw
of 50-5, and senior Eric Herrmann
placed fifth in the 1,600m run with
a time of 4:30.55.
East also had a pair of relay teams
finish in the top five. The 4x800m
relay team of seniors Patrick Teese
and Gerard Connelly, sophomores
Marius Sidlauskas and Matthew
Blauvelt and Herrmann and Whalen
placed second in 8:04.15. The
4x400m team, made up of Teese,
Harris, Sidlauskas, senior William
Claxton, sophomore Devin Pravetz
and freshman Daniel Murphy, took
fifth in 3:33.35.
Smithtown West
Smithtown West finished 11th
in Division II with 18.25 points.
West’s top performer was sophomore
Michael Grabowski, who won the
3,000m steeplechase in 9:57.95.
Other top performers for West
included senior Nick Paquette, who
took third in the high jump with a
leap of 6-3, and junior Christopher
Quilla, who placed fifth in the
400m hurdles in 59.12 seconds.
Two Smithtown West pole-vaulters,
junior Ryan Budney and senior
Jagger Kachejian, finished in an
eight-way tie for sixth place with a
leap of 10-feet.
Hauppauge
Hauppauge finished 12th in
Division II with 18 points, led by junior
Nick Beglane, who placed in a pair
of events to give his team 12 points.
Beglanewonthe400mhurdlesin55.2
seconds and placed fifth in the 800m
run in 1:56.85. He also was a member
of the third-place 4x800m relay
team along with Cullen Armstrong,
Geoffrey Browne, Jake Shea and Nick
Crociata, which ran 8:04.43.
Kings Park
Kings Park senior Mark Munson
led the charge for Kings Park, single-
handedly giving the Kingsmen 8 of
its 8.25 points, good for a 15th-place
finish. Munson took third in the
200m dash in 22.85 seconds and
sixth in the 100m dash in 11.58
seconds. Seniors Matt Albrecht and
Rob Giuglionotti finished in an eight-
way tie for sixth in the pole vault with
a leap of 10-feet.
Bannerdayforgirls
By SETH WALLACH
By the end of an eventful two days at
Northport High School for the Section
XI Girls’ Track and Field Division
Championships, records were broken
and heroes were born for the five
Smithtown area high schools.
The meet took place Tuesday, May
26 and Thursday, May 28. Smithtown
West finished fourth out of 19 schools
in Division II with 48.5 points, while
Smithtown East finished right behind
in fifth with 45 points. Kings Park
finished in eighth with 27 points
and Hauppauge 12th with 17 points.
Commack finished 12th among the 14
teams in Division I with 12 points.
Smithtown West
Smithtown West coach David Stein
said it was the best performance at a
division county championship for his
program since the 1980s. “This was a
spectacular two days for us,” he said.
His team was led by senior Jennifer
DeGaetano, who took first place in
the discus with a distance of 119-6.
Freshman Anjelica Arroyo finished
second in the long jump with a
distance of 18-3.5, while sophomore
Emily Bernabeo finished fifth with a
distance of 16-11. Sophomore Anna
Gallagher placed second in the pole
vault with a height of 9-6. Gallagher
also took fourth in the high jump
with a leap of 4-10, followed in fifth
by teammate sophomore Sarah
Harrington, who jumped 10-8. Senior
Gianna Tinto finished third in the
2,000m steeplechase with a time of
7:26.3. Tinto also finished fourth in
the 3,000m run with a time of 10:54.56
and sophomore Keira Wolfer finished
fourth in the indoor pentathlon
with 1,724 points. In the 100m
dash, freshman Christina Compitello
finished sixth at 13.08.
Westfinishedfifthinthe4x100meter
relay with a time of 51.16 seconds, a
new school record, behind Compitello,
senior Allie Rainey, Bernabeo and
freshman Katherine Hickey.
Stein said he was excited about the
level of talent he has now, but also
that the talent will be coming back
next year.
“We have a lot of good years to look
forward to,” Stein said. “As coaches it
keeps you pumped and energized for
them and keeps you wanting to give
more for them.”
Smithtown East
Like their crosstown rival, this year’s
Smithtown East squad is a relatively
young team. But that did not stop
them from turning some heads at the
Division Championships. Even coach
Greg Schepanski was taken aback by
how well his team performed.
“I didn’t think they would finish in
the top five,” he said, “maybe in the
top 10. I was very satisfied with the
results.”
Eight of East’s 45 points came via
the 3,000m run thanks to a gutsy
performance by sophomore Jaclyn
Gallery, who finished in second with
a time of 10:37.60. Unbeknownst to
Schepanski, Gallery ran the entire
race with a pulled quadriceps muscle.
“She felt something but she gutted
it out for the entire race,” Schepanski
said. “That was a tremendous effort.”
Schepanski said he hopes to have
Gallery back healthy in time for the
New York State qualifying meet Friday,
June 5 in Port Jefferson. He said his
team would have scored even more
points if Gallery had been able to run
(Continued on page 23)
STRIDE FOR STRIDE: Smithtown East’s Brooke Berroyer battles for position against Com-
mack’s Sarah Lane in the 1,500m race at Northport High School, Thursday, May 28.
-Richard Valeo photo

6.
The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015 ~ Page 23
Sports
in her other event, the 1,500m.
Sophomore Kylie Strzelczyk scored
big, taking first place in the pole vault
with a height of 10-3, while senior
Karina Hunstein picked up five more
points in the pole vault, finishing third
with a height of 9-0.
Junior Jessica Martin finished
second in the high jump with a height
of 5-0 and senior Olivia Shenkman
beat her best time by four seconds
in the 1,500m, finishing sixth in the
event at 5:00.3.
“It was very windy so to improve by
four seconds is a tremendous feat,”
Schepanski said of Shenkman. “She is
a tremendous young lady who’s very
team oriented.”
Junior Ally McFadyen had a meet
to remember, finishing with personal-
bests in the shot put and the discus.
She finished second in the shot put
with a distance of 38-1.5 and fourth
in the discus with a throw of 103-06.
Sophomore Deanna Farrell placed
sixth in the 400m hurdles with a time
of 1:11.63.
HAUPPAUGE
The Eagles’ 4x400m relay team of
senior Jasmine Davis, senior Shannon
Downey and freshmen Jade Dyer
and Cortney Tuozzo finished third,
shattering the program record by
nearly six full seconds with a time
of 4:00.5 (the previous record was
4:06.54).
“We had a good day,” coach George
Glikos said. “I’m happy—they did a
wonderful job.”
Davis also broke her own program
record in the 400m, finishing in first
place in 56.57 seconds. It was a story
of redemption for Davis, who lost an
entire month of her 2015 season due
to a knee injury.
“Coming back was definitely really,
really great,” Davis said. “I just went
out and did it; there was nothing really
in my head except for ‘relax’ because I
usually go out really hard in the first
200 [meters] and then die the last 200.
But I was relaxed. I stayed with it.”
“It was a great meet,” Davis added.
“I’m so proud of my team.”
Sophomore Amy Petrocelli completed
the scoring for Hauppauge, placing
sixth in the 1,500m race walk with a
time of 8:01.79.
Kings Park
Senior Erin MacDougall had a big
day for the Kingsmen, placing fourth in
the 100m hurdles (16.18 seconds) and
fourth in the 400m hurdles (1:07.87).
Sophomore Sophie Gonzalez also
placed in multiple events, finishing
third in the 100m in 13 seconds
flat and sixth in the 200m in 27.22
seconds. Senior Keara Durand placed
second in the triple jump with a height
of 36-02.5, and sophomore Rhianna
Triolo placed second in the 1,500m
race walk in 7:34.81 with teammate
senior Katie Venier placing fourth in
7:38.72.
Kings Park finished fifth in the
4x400m relay with a time of 4:06.38
behind Kaitlin Wong, sophomore
Alyssa Womack, sophomore Laura Zopf
and Gonzalez. They ran the second-
fastest time in program history, about
one second off the school record,
according to coach Rob Muller, who
said he hopes his team well break that
record during the State Qualifying meet
on Friday.
“We had a great day,” Muller said.
“I’m pretty happy with how everything
turned out. Our race-walkers did
great.”
Commack
Not to be outdone, the Lady
Cougars showed off some impressive
underclassmen of their own during
the meet. Sophomore Amanda McNelis
took fourth in the pole vault with a
height of 9-06 and sixth in the 100m
hurdles with a time of 16.85 seconds.
Freshman Alison Seidman finished
fourth in the 400m in 59.81 seconds.
“She’s amazing,” coach Patrick
Hoover said of McNelis. “She’ll be
winning pentathlons in the future.”
The Cougars 4x800m relay team
finished sixth with a time of 10:19.98
behind junior Sydney Haas, junior
Sarah Lane, freshman Serena Tully
and junior Jill Dieterich. Haas also
placed fifth in the triple jump with a
leap of 35-01.75.
Hoover said he was proud of Haas,
who normally jumps closer to a 33-0,
and called Dieterich the team’s “secret
MVP” because she is always competing
in at least three or four different events.
Junior Jaclyn DelliSanti placed
sixth in the shot put with a throw of
33-10.50.
Sports
(Continued from page 22)
FIGHT FOR THE FINISH: Kings Park senior Erin MacDougall (above, left) placed
fourth in the 100m and 400m hurdles. -Richard Valeo photo

7.
Page 20 ~ The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015
Sports
Strokesofgenius
Smithtown East girls golf team
caps record-setting season by
dominating county tournament
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
It was nothing new for the Smithtown
East girls’ golf team to win the county
championship.
It was, however, the way in which the
Bulls won that stood out this spring.
East captured its fourth Suffolk team
title in the past five years, but this time in
the most dominant of fashion. The Bulls
went undefeated in the regular season for
the second straight year, setting a record
for lowest-ever team score in the county
tournament to defeat runner-up Smithtown
West by 82 strokes, Tuesday, May 26 and
Thursday, May 28 at Middle Island Country
kids on this team that all played well
in league matches,” Woods said. “I
remember looking at the numbers, and
out of 126 possible points this season,
we got 124. I hate to use the word
dominant, but I don’t know how else
to describe a team that plays like that.”
In fact, so dominant was Smithtown
East that Woods called his 2015 squad his
best-ever. “They just seem to get it,” Woods
said. “They’ve matured and continued to
play tournament golf. They’re really good
golfers that know how to get the ball in the
hole. And even if it’s not their day, they still
manage to do their best, which makes for
a special group.
Club.
“It’s special only because they all work so hard,”
Smithtown East coach Bob Woods said of his dynasty.
“They’re great kids, great golfers and great students.
Despite having so much going on in their lives, they
can still focus on playing golf at a high level and make
things happen.”
The Bulls’ two-day record total of 855 strokes broke
the previous record of 859 set in 2013 by Smithtown
West—the only team to beat East over the past five
years.
“This is an uncommonly talented group,” Woods
said. “I’m very happy for them even though I’m not
that surprised for them to play as well as they did.
They’re used to playing in pressure situations and
they were locked in as usual.”
Leading the charge for East was its big three of
juniors Alexa Niven (160), Cassie Hall (162) and
Peyton Greco (164), who as individuals finished
second, third and fifth, respectively. While Woods was
proud of his ever-steady trio, he was especially happy
for senior Natalia Schaefer, who finished ninth with
180 strokes to also earn All-County honors.
“She started golf late in life but really fell in love
with the sport,” Woods said of Schaefer. “She’s such
a hard worker. I’m happy to see her finish in the top
nine because it’s very well deserved.”
With four All-County golfers, East dominated the
competition, winning the tournament by 82 strokes.
“After day one, we had close to a 50-shot lead,”
Woods said. “They’re such a strong group. I didn’t
think we’d have a win like that or win by that many
shots but, having said that, I’m not surprised about
anything they do given the talent and depth we have.”
Schaefer joins Greco, Niven and Hall as four of the
nine golfers who will represent Section XI at the New
York State championship tournament at SUNY Delhi,
Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14. “It’s a
great accomplishment but I wasn’t at all surprised
to see four girls make the state team,” Woods said.
“When you have four of your six golfers in the top nine
in the county, you can see why the numbers add up
they way they do.”
The foursome also earned All-League honors along
with freshmen Jamie Werner (nine-hole average of 50)
and Samantha Klee (49) and junior Jenny Leddy (45).
With a total of seven All-League golfers, League I
didn’t stand a chance against East in regular-season
head-to-head matches. The Bulls were unbeaten for
the second straight year, increasing their regular-
season winning streak to 18. Even more amazing,
though, was the fact East won all but one match via
9-0 shutouts. Smithtown West, which lost to East 7-2
in the season-opener, was the only team to score a
point against East all season.
“We were uncommonly strong. There are 10 strong
“They’ve also gotten older. With four juniors and
a senior on the team this year, each round they
play gives them more experience with pressure
situations. Experience, talent and strength are all
factors as to why they’re such great golfers.”
Smithtown East was seeking its second Long
Island Championship in the past four years
Wednesday, June 3 at Bethpage State Park, where
the Bulls were trying to avenge last year’s loss to
Syosset. Although results were not of the Long Island
championships were not available at press time,
read next week’s issue of The NEWS for complete
coverage.
“Syosset is a very strong team,” Woods said. “As
always, they rise to each occasion and are not
intimidated by anyone. We respect them and we
anticipate both teams are going to play well. As long
as we do our best, we’re all winners, regardless of
what the score is.”
FORE OUT OF FIVE: The Smithtown East girls’ golf team, including (from left) coach Bob Woods, Alexa Lubomski, Jenny Leddy, Cassie Hall, Samatha Klee, Alexa Niven, Peyton
Greco and Natalia Schaefer, celebrate its fourth county crown in five years at the Middle Island Country Club, Thursday, May 28.
“I had to get it down no matter
where it was. It didn’t matter
where I bunted it just as long as
I got it down,” Rizzo said. “Marti
definitely has the speed to score on
that, and I did my part and he did
his. And that’s just how we play.
We can score in any way, even if it
means playing a little small ball.”
That approach applies no matter
how big the batter or wherever
he is hitting in the lineup. That
was exemplified when No. 6
hitting catcher Ryan Kuskowski—
perhaps the brawniest player
on the team—helped set up the
Bulls’ three-run third inning.
After senior first baseman Matt
Milne led off the inning by legging
out an infield single to shortstop,
Kuskowski bunted Milne into
scoring position. Milne scored on
senior Matt DiPietro’s single to
right field, giving East the lead for
good at 3-2, and DiPietro scored on
Vetter’s rip-single to center field,
making it 4-2 and setting the stage
for Rizzo’s suicide squeeze.
Bunting, however, isn’t the only
waytosacrifice.Soitwasonlyfitting
that, in the seventh inning, Rizzo
was the beneficiary of one. After
reachingonanerrorbyConnetquot
third baseman Kyle Bannon, Rizzo
stole second and advanced to third
on senior pitcher/shortstop Pat
Lagravinese’s full-count, one-out
single to center field. Rizzo then
scored on Kelly’s sacrifice fly to left
field—an all-important insurance
run that gave the Bulls a 6-4 lead.
(Continued from page 25)
Eastdiamondmen‘squeeze’outwininGame2

8.
The Smithtown News ~ June 4, 2015 ~ Page 21
Sports Trench Coat’s take
By ANTHONY LIFRIERI
Unforgettable
County final is one for the ages
Whenever I’m fortunate
enough to cover a great
game, I may call it epic.
When it reaches an even
higher level than that, I
may even call it a war. But
the Suffolk County Class
A Final between second-
seeded Smithtown East
and third-seeded Ward
Melville (see story, page 27)
was something completely
different—something so
great even I am not sure of
what to call it.
It was a match-up of the
previoustwocountychamps,
both vying for supremacy in
a post-West Islip dominated
landscape, and both teams
gave everything they had. It
was a mix of offense, defense
and goaltending, especially
thegoaltendingofSmithtown
East senior Sean Turner (see
story, page 26) that made
for something so special
even coach Jason Lambert
recognized its rarity.
“Thatwasthemostexciting
game I’ve ever been
a part of,” Lambert
said. “In 13 years
of coaching in
Smithtown and
playing lacrosse
since I’m eight
years old, there’s
nothing like this.
I’m completely
speechless.”
F a n s t h a t
a t t e n d e d t h e
game also appreciated
what they saw. “It was
an awesome game,” said
Melissa Makarius, a senior
at Smithtown East. “I had
so much fun because the
suspense was great right ‘til
the end of the game.”
For Smithtown East, it
signaled its Suffolk dynasty
was in full force, showed it
could withstand the charge
of a flagship program like
Ward Melville, and provide
the team’s seniors—many
of whom were on the 2012
and 2013 teams that was
eliminatedbyWardMelville—
the perfect way to end their
high school careers.
“This is the greatest
feeling in the world,” senior
attackman Brian Willetts
said after scoring the game-
winning goal. “I could not
have written a better, more
storybook ending.”
For Ward Melville, it was a
courageous comeback, but
with too many near misses.
On at least three occasions
in the fourth quarter and
overtime, Patriots’ shooters
began to celebrate after a
shot they thought would
enter the cage for sure only
for Turner to turn them
away.
It was a game that most
seven- and eight-year-olds
daydream of playing in,
shooting into the cages
in their backyards or off
bouncing it off their garage
doors.
“You dream of playing
in games like this,” senior
attackman James Sarrocco
said. “To win a game like that
forthecountychampionship
and celebrate with your
brothers—it doesn’t get any
better than that.”
In four seasons of fall,
winter and springs sports at
The Smithtown News and
The Observer, our sister
newspaper in Northport,
I’ve seen some great
games. In March, I saw the
Northport and Huntington
boys’ basketball teams
play a six-overtime playoff
thriller. I saw the birth of the
Kings Park girls’
volleyball team’s
dynasty, when it
came back from a
2-games-to-none
deficit to win, 3-2,
itsfirstLongIsland
championship. I
sawtheSmithtown
Eastboys’lacrosse
team come back
from a four-goal
deficit against
Smithtown West in the game
that sparked its rise to
prominence, and I saw Allie
Pavinelli bring the Northport
girls’ lacrosse team back
from the dead to beat Bay
Shore in last year’s Suffolk
girls lacrosse quarterfinals.
But never, ever, have I seen
a game that comes close to
what this had, and neither
has anyone else privileged
enough to witness it.
“This was a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity on a
once-in-a-lifetime team,”
Turner said. “I’ve never been
a part of anything like this.”
Even Willetts, whose most
exciting game of his career
prior to this was East’s
comeback against West last
year, knew this win over
Ward Melville was second-to-
none the second it was done.
“This was easily the best
because it was the county
championship,”Willettssaid.
When Willetts put the
winner into the back of
the cage, it ended a game
that was more than epic,
unbelievable or a war. It was
unforgettable.
with 108 points would finish the job, ending a
scoreless stretch of 23:39 between the Bulls’
10th and 11th goals. “I felt very confident in
him,” Lambert said. “During our time-out, he
asked for the ball if he got a long-stick on him.
He wanted the match-up and he got it, and he
finished with the overhand-bounce shot.”
Behind the defense and Willetts, the Bulls
picked up their second consecutive county
championship. “We’re two-time champions, but
this one is sweeter,” Willetts said. “We worked
so much harder for this— it’s harder to not be
the underdog, with everyone coming after you,
and still coming out on top.”
Lambert, who is the only figure in Smithtown
lacrosse with three titles to his résumé—
including the 2002 championship as an
assistant and the last two titles as head coach—
spoke of how far the team has come in recent
years. However, he also felt this team was
different from last year’s.
“This is an unbelievable testament to our
program,” he said. “We never used the term
repeat or defend, because we wanted them
to pave their own path, and make their own
mark.”
“To be able to repeat as Suffolk County
champions in arguably the toughest public
school division in America with this group of
seniors is a surreal feeling and a great end to our
careers,” said Smithtown East senior midfielder
John Daniggelis, who will play lacrosse at Yale
next year. “Winning this league two years in
a row is establishing our school as a national
powerhouse and I’m glad my teammates and I,
past and present, were able to accomplish this.”
The scoring in the first period was fast and
furious, with a total of 10 goals between the two
teams. Willetts also got it started for the Bulls,
scoring just 21 seconds into the game off an
assist from sophomore attackman Sean Barry.
But the Patriots, who were expected to play at
a slower, more methodical pace to slow down
East’s electric offense, went after the Bulls and
got an equalizer 37 seconds later with a goal by
senior attackman Billy McGinley.
As he has done so often this season,
Smithtown East junior midfielder Gerard Arceri
answered back by winning the ensuing face off,
streaking downfield and scoring a fast-break
goal to put his team ahead 2-1 eight seconds
after McGinley’s score.
Daniggelis continued the surge by ripping
a shot past Kellerman just inside the top-left
corner to give the Bulls a 4-1 lead 1:39 into the
game, but Ward Melville senior midfielder Jake
McCulloch answered back with a score with
9:46 left in the first period to cut his team’s
deficit to 3-2. Smithtown East junior attackman
Dan Rooney set up Barry for a score with a
bounce-shot with 8:29 left before Ward Melville
senior attacker Dan Bucaro responded with a
goal 1:22 later.
With its lead evaporated to 4-3 after Bucaro’s
goal, the Bulls scored on quick-stick strikes
from Rooney to Barry (5:21) and Burns to
Willetts (9:37) to pull ahead by three. However,
McCulloch added his second score of the
quarter with 48 seconds remaining to pull the
Patriots within 6-4 entering the second period.
East getting ahead by three but being unable
to put the Patriots away was a theme central to
the game. The Bulls built leads of 4-1, 6-3, 8-5
and 9-6, but each time they could not finish
Ward Melville off.
By limiting East to only one second-half
goal—Rooney off an assist from Daniggelis 5:16
into the third quarter—the Patriots were able
to tie the score at 9-9 and then 10-10 heading
into overtime.
While the Patriots had the momentum of a
4-1 second half, they could not finish the job
in overtime due to the goaltending of Turner
and Willetts’ late score, allowing the Bulls to
complete the repeat.
(Continued from page 27)
“I hustled to it, got the ball,
just turned my body and
threw it right to first base,”
said Myers, who committed
the Bulls’ only error during
Connetquot’s two-run fourth
inning, taking a bad-hop
grounder off his chest and
into right field, allowing a run
to score. “All I wanted to do
was just get the ball and sling
it to first.”
“James Myers made a great
play at second base, and that
probably saved a run maybe at
the end,” Maitles said, “and it
really got me to calm down, get
me that first out of the inning.
It was big.”
Maitles also got ahead of
the next batter, Morse, but
Morse fisted a soft liner into
center field that died in the
wind and dropped in for a
single in front of a diving Kelly.
Gagliano followed by working
out a walk to put runners
at first and second with one
out. But Connetquot coach
Bob Ambrosini then made an
aggressive decision, calling
for a double-steal with White
at the plate in an attempt to
get both runners into scoring
position and/or to keep the
slow-running White from
grounding into a game-ending
double-play. And Bulls junior
catcher Ryan Kuskowski made
Ambrosini pay, gunning down
Morse for the second out with
a perfect throw to third base.
“He was able to get that
out at third,” Maitles said of
Kuskowski, “and that was big.
That really gave us momentum
to finish the game.”
“Before the pitch, I had a
feeling that they were gonna
do a hit-and-run,” Myers said.
“And [White] didn’t swing at it,
so it was easy to just bang [the
throw] down to third base for
(Continued from page 24) Big Red [Kuskowski], and he
just tossed [Morse] out.”
“It’s incredible knowing
that all our players can make
any play at any time,” Kelly
said, “especially with Greg up
throwing so well.”
Perhaps the most important
out recorded by Maitles came
with Morse leading off the top
of the fifth. Morse had battled
in the at-bat but ultimately
could do nothing but top the
ball in front of home plate for
Kuskowski to make the easy
2-3 putout.
“I know he’s a pretty good
hitter so I wanted to get ahead
early and see if I could catch
him off-balance,” Maitles said
of Morse. “I think I got him
down to 0-2. He was able to
fight off a couple of pitches,
but once I got the curveball
low, he swung right over the
top of it and I was able to get
the out.”
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