Half Hollow Hills East 8, Longwood 5: Heath Shyman’s two-out, two- run double in the sixth inning gave Half Hollow Hills East a 4-3 lead in the final of the Shoreham-Wading River Tournament. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 31 Mar 2002:

Longwood 4, Bellport 2: John McVey went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and Alex Bardeguez had a double and three RBIs for Longwood. David Wood struck out 10 in six innings for Longwood. WP – Wood. LP – Hayes. March 31

Longwood 12, Patchogue-Medford 9: Mike Galigano went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a two-run single in the sixth that erased an 8- 7 deficit for Longwood. Dave Wood, who was intentionally walked four times, had two runs. Alex Bardeguez went 3-for-4 with three doubles and an RBI, and John McVey 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs for Longwood. WP – Fraczak. LP – Festa. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 Apr 2002: 

Longwood 8, Patchogue-Medford 1: David Wood hit a solo homer in the first inning and went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs for Longwood in League I. He also threw a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts. April 5

Longwood 3, Patchogue-Medford 2: Dave Wood hit a bases-loaded single with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to score pinch- runner Matt Purdy for Longwood. Joe Esposito struck out seven in 10 innings for the win. David Johnson led off the 10th inning with a solo-homer for Patchogue. Mike Festa took the loss. WP – Esposito. LP – Festa. HR – PM: Johnson. – April 6, 2002

Sachem 14, Longwood 5: John Romano’s two-run homer in the third gave Sachem (2-2) a 5-4 lead. Romano also had a two-run double. Drew Adler was 3-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and three runs, and Anthony Basile 2-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs. Longwood is 3- 1. WP – Egan. LP – Knudsen. HR – S: Romano. April 9

THIS WEEK / A Look at the Top Games and Players / Suffolk: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]

REPORTED BY STEVEN D. SIDERATOS. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 10 Apr 2002:

Brentwood at Longwood (Monday, 4 p.m.): Brentwood (2-1) and Longwood (2-2) play this pivotal League I series to position themselves for a playoff march. Both teams have talent, but Longwood lefthander David Wood could be the difference in the opener.

Longwood 11, Sachem 9: Dave Wood hit a two-out, three-run homer in the eighth for Longwood (4-1 League I). Nick Lynch had an RBI and two runs scored. Bill Aguiar, John Romano and Drew Adler each homered for Sachem (2-3). April 10, 2002

Sachem 8, Longwood 1: Pat Corrade pitched a no-hitter with seven strikeouts and five walks for Sachem (3-3 League I). Drew Adler went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, including a grand slam in the fourth. Joe Esposito took the loss for Longwood (4-2). April 12

Longwood 3, Brentwood 1: Dave Wood pitched a four-hitter with no walks and 10 strikeouts for Longwood (5-2 League I). Brentwood is 2- 2. WP – Wood. LP – Shrouder. April 16

Longwood Holds On:

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 17 Apr 2002

The game had more drama than Longwood coach John Davide would have liked. The next time his team has a 10-run lead in the sixth inning, he would rather his team remain composed, shut down the opposition and exit quietly with the win in tow.

It didn’t quite go that way yesterday as Brentwood rallied with three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh, but Longwood held on for an 11-8 win in a Suffolk League I baseball game.

“If they do learn a lesson, I hope it’s that they never let up and play a full seven innings,” Davide said. “We can’t have complacency; we can’t let up.”

Ricky Ramos walked the first batter he faced to load the bases and put the winning run at the plate with two out in the seventh. But he induced the next batter to pop out to the infield to close out the game and preserve the win for Longwood (6-2).

Dan Klein had a two-run double and Al Bardeguez a two-run single in a seven-run, 10-batter second that gave Longwood a 9-0 lead. Brentwood is 2-3.

Longwood 16, Brentwood 9: David Wood went 3-for-3 with two homers, six RBIs and four runs for Longwood (7-2). Al Bardeguez had two doubles and four RBIs, and John McVey went 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and three runs. Brentwood is 2-4. WP – Esposito. LP – Delinois. HR – L: Wood 2; B: Shrouder. – April 19

Longwood 15, Rocky Pt. 9: David LaGala hit a three-run homer for Longwood. WP – Ramos. LP – Hall. HR – L: LaGala; RP: Martin. April 28

Wood Hits, Pitches Longwood to Win:

Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 May 2002

David Wood doubled in Nicholas Lynch in the fifth inning with the deciding run for Longwood in its 2-1 Suffolk League I baseball win yesterday over Floyd. One batter earlier, John McVey scored on a balk to tie it at 1 for Longwood (8-2). Wood gave up an unearned run on four hits, struck out four and walked two. Charlie Adams took the loss for Floyd (5-8).

Floyd 12, Longwood 7: James Alese went 4-for-4 with two triples and five RBIs for Floyd (6-8). Adam Larkin went 3-for-4 with two runs. Longwood is 8-3. WP – Poinski. LP – Esposito. May 2, 2002

Floyd 9, Longwood 5: Jason Pominski went 3-for-4 with two runs for Floyd (7-8). Charles Adams relieved Leo Borak in the seventh with the bases loaded. Longwood is 8-4. WP – Leo Borak. LP – Knudsen. HR – L: Bardequez. May 4, 2002

Smithtown 11, Longwood 6: Peter Ciofrone went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo homer in the second and two-run homer in the third for Smithtown (12-1). Pat Haughie’s two-run homer in the top of the first gave Smithtown a 4-0 lead. Longwood is 8-5. WP – Lodico. LP – Wood. HR – S: McMillan, Haughie, Ciofrone 2. May 7

Smithtown Pounds Out a Title: [SUFFOLK Edition]

Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 08 May 2002: 

This was about as complete a victory as anyone could have expected.

The Smithtown baseball team put an exclamation point on its third Suffolk League I championship in the past four years with a 19-0 win over defending county Class A champion Longwood yesterday.

The Bulls (13-1) clinched the title with four games remaining in the League I season. Their focus now turns to earning their second county Class A championship in the past three years.

Smithtown made it a lopsided contest against Longwood (8-6) by playing every facet of the game to near perfection. The Bulls pounded 17 hits, played flawless defense and rode the right arm of Nick Kieltyka, who allowed three hits, walked none and struck out eight. Kieltyka faced only 23 batters, posted five 1-2-3 innings and improved to 6-0.

“I knew we could hit the ball and I thought we had a pretty good team,” Smithtown coach Larry Gallagher said. “But we’ve had three kids that have gone out and done just an outstanding job of pitching. And that’s carried us to another level.”

Kieltyka, senior lefthander Chris Lodico (6-0) and senior righthander Jason Tumbiolo (4-0) are a combined 16-0 for Smithtown.

The Smithtown offense was in high gear for this one. The Bulls scored six times in the third inning, keyed by Mike Sveda’s two-run double, and added a demoralizing 10-run sixth inning, ignited by Sveda’s three-run homer. He finished with two doubles, a homer, three runs and six RBIs.

Smithtown took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Longwood starter Joe Esposito walked Sveda and Charlie Casserly and Kieltyka drove in a run with a fielder’s choice.

The complexion of this one changed in the top of the third. Smithtown third baseman Brian Pernice robbed Ricky Ramos of a run- scoring single and turned the defensive gem into an inning-ending double play. Pernice jumped high to snag Ramos’ drive and fired to second to double up Dan Klein, who had doubled over the centerfield fence.

Smithtown added six runs in the bottom of the inning to blow open the game. Lodico hustled to turn a single into a double, and after an intentional walk to Peter Ciofrone – the Bulls’ leading hitter at .460 – Mike McMillan and Pat Haughie followed with consecutive singles. Sveda doubled in two runs and Pernice walked with the bases loaded.

“We need our guys in the middle of the order to hit,” Gallagher said. “Especially if teams aren’t going to pitch to Ciofrone.”

Ciofrone clubbed two home runs and a double off lefthanded ace David Wood in the Bulls’ series-opening win over Longwood on Monday. Yesterday, Ciofrone added two hits, two runs and three RBIs.

Smithtown has stumbled only once this season. The Bulls allowed a 6-0 lead to slip away and dropped a 7-6 decision in 10 innings at Brentwood.

“Anything can happen,” Gallagher said. “We hit into six double plays in that loss.”

Yesterday, the Bulls found the holes in the infield and the gaps in the outfield. And it earned them another league crown.

BASEBALL

Longwood 8, Smithtown 5: Dave Wood and Danny Klein each had two RBIs in a five-run first for Longwood (9-6 League I). James Knudsen gave up four walks, two hits and four runs in the first two innings, but retired 15 of the last 18 batters. Pete Ciofrone hit his eighth homer for Smithtown (13-2). May 10

Longwood 13, Ward Melville 0: David Wood tossed a four-hitter and struck out eight, and went 4-for-5 with a double, two three-run homers and nine RBIs for Longwood (10-6). WM is 2-14. WP – Wood. LP – Bozzo. HR – L: Wood 2, LaGala. May 15

Longwood 7, Ward Melville 1: Joseph Esposito tossed a five- hitter with six strikeouts for Longwood (11-6). WM is 2-15. WP – Esposito. LP – Ippolito. May 16

Longwood 6, Ward Melville 5: Alex Bardeguez hit a double to score David Wood for the winning run in the seventh for Longwood (12-6 League I). John McVey’s two-out, two-run double earlier in the sixth tied it at 5 for Longwood. Wood fanned three with the tying run on first for the save. WM is 2-14. May 17

Longwood 3, West Islip 0: David Wood pitched a two-hitter with two walks and 10 strikeouts for No. 7 Longwood (15-7). Nicholas Lynch went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs, and John McVey was 2- for-3 with a run. Longwood faces No. 2 Smithtown at 4 p.m. today in the quarterfinals. No. 10 West Islip is 12-9. WP – Wood. LP – Kitt.

Smithtown 7, Longwood 1: Mike MacMillan went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three stolen bases to lead No. 2 Smithtown in the quarterfinals. Chris Lodico allowed one run on six hits. Smithtown (20-3) faces the Connetquot-Hills East winner at 10 am. Saturday at Suffolk CC-Selden. No. 7 Longwood is 15-8. WP – Lodico. LP – Esposito.