Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Apr 1998
Longwood 11, Babylon 5: Kevin Willi was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI and Scott Kittilsen was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI for Longwood. WP – Peretta. LP – Jones. HR – Willi (HR). Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Apr 1998
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 09 Apr 1998:
Longwood 12, Bayport-Blue Point 4: Mike Russo went 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored. Kevin Willi struck out eight in six innings of work to get the win. WP – Willi. LP – May. HR – DeLeon (L).
Longwood 19, Floyd 0: Scott Kittilson went 4-for-4, including a two-run homer in the fifth that gave Longwood a 16-0 lead. Mike Russo went 2-for-3 with three RBI and scored three runs. Chris Kaiser pitched a four-hit shutout and struck out six. WP – Kaiser. LP – Erwin. HR – Kittilson (L). April 17
Longwood 11, Smithtown 9: Brian Jones came in to pitch with one out in the bottom of the seventh with the tying runs on second and third and got the final two batters to fly out and preserve the win for Longwood. Longwood was leading 11-4, but Smithtown (3-4) scored five runs before Jones came in to pitch. Kevin Willi was 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three runs scored and four RBI and Paul Spera was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored for the Lions (4-0). WP – Willi. LP – Markowski. HR – Willi, Herbst (L); Whitaker (S)
Smithtown 6, Longwood 5: Dwayne Whitaker and Adam Belding each had RBI singles, and Chris Ciminiello had a sacrifice fly as Smithtown (5-4) scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 6-3 lead. Longwood scored twice in the bottom of the seventh on a double by Mike Russo and a single by Chris Kaiser and had runners on first and second with one out following Kaiser’s single, but Whitaker came on in relief and forced Longwood (4-2) into a double play. WP – Garrick. LP – Kittilsen. April 25
Finally, a Game Is Played:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 01 May 1998:
After Connetquot’s 12-2 victory yesterday over Longwood, the Lions became three-time losers this week.
The Connetquot and Longwood baseball teams were forced to forfeit Monday’s League I game after a bench-clearing incident prematurely ended the contest. Plate umpire Jeff Fried and field umpire Nick Kazanas called the game after both benches cleared at the end of the third inning and players engaged in an on-field skirmish.
Order was quickly restored and no punches were thrown, according to Connetquot coach Bob Ambrosini.
Under state Federation rules, any player who leaves his position or the bench area during an altercation is automatically ejected from that game and suspended for the following one. Since the incident occurred at the conclusion of an inning with one team running off the field and the other coming on, Fried had no choice but to eject all the players.
What sparked the altercation was a hard slide at third base. Connetquot had loaded the bases with one out in a scoreless game and Kevin Bender at the plate. Bender lined back to the mound, where pitcher Kevin Willi made a diving catch. He then wheeled and doubled Dominick Ambrosini off third to end the inning. Longwood third baseman Ruben DeLeon took exception to Ambrosini’s hard slide and flipped the ball at Ambrosini, hitting him in the forehead. Ambrosini then charged DeLeon and grabbed him.
“He looked at me and I flipped the ball at him as I ran off the field,” DeLeon said. “I should’ve walked away.” Both benches emptied and the umpires enforced the Federation’s new fighting rule.
“The rule emphasizes anyone leaving their position with the exception of the coaches,” said Joe Grady, president of the Western Suffolk Umpires Association and its rules interpreter. “It’s the first year this rule is in effect. And anyone that gets ejected sits the next game.”
“I thought it was wrong to eject and suspend everyone,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “We were already on defense and leaving the field when it happened.”
Both teams suffered a forfeit loss and all players were suspended for the second game of the series, which was to be played at LongwoodTuesday. The suspensions would have given both schools another forfeit loss for the second game, but school officials agreed to bring up the entire junior varsity squads to compete in the scheduled varsity game. Connetquot won, 15-4, and it will count in the League I varsity standings.
“Rather than have us both get two forfeits, we had the opportunity for someone to get a win with the JVs playing,” Ambrosini said. “It was the only choice. What could we do?”
The solution may have seemed innovative, but it didn’t sit well with Davide. “We had our JV playing for our varsity and that stinks,” Davide said. “That was unfair to the varsity kids, but this rule was gone over many times at meetings. One kid shouldn’t have opened his mouth and the other shouldn’t have flipped the ball and then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. The whole ordeal has turned our season upside down.”
The regular varsity teams were back on the field for yesterday’s game. Winning pitcher B.J. LaMura struck out seven in five innings and added two hits and an RBI. Third baseman Jon Nicholsen had a three-run triple in the fourth to give the Thunderbirds a 7-1 lead.
“It was a no-win situation for both teams,” said Ambrosini, whose team is 7-5. “It’s a terrible way for Longwood to come into a series 4-2 and go out 4-5 – and play only one game. I’d rather play all three in the series and roll the dice and see how it would come out.”
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 May 1998
LEAGUE I
Longwood 14, Patchogue-Medford 2 (5 inns.): Mike Herbst doubled home two runs in the bottom of the second as Longwood (4-5) scored six runs to take a 9-0 lead. Kevin Willi pitched a three-hitter and struck out six for Longwood. Patchogue-Medford is 4-6. WP – Willi. LP – Smith. HR – DeLeon.
Patchogue-Medford 6, Longwood 3: Ricky Nasta hit a two-run homer in the seventh to give Patchogue a 5-3 lead. Chris Kaiser had all three RBI for Longwood(6-6). Patchogue-Medford is 5-7. WP – Martinez. LP – Kittilsen. HR – Nasta (PM), Speiss (PM). May 9
Longwood 7, Sachem 4 (8 inns): Ben DeLeon’s RBI double capped a three-run eighth for Longwood. Sachem tied it at 7 in the seventh on an infield error by the Lions (7-6). Sachem is 5-8. WP – Willi. LP – Monticello. May 14
Six games into the League I season, the Connetquot baseball team found itself looking up at the rest of the teams in the standings. But today – one month, 12 games and 10 wins later – some last-inning heroics and tremendous team resolve have the Thunderbirds looking down at the rest of League I.
Designated hitter Dan Bosser doubled home two runs with two outs in the bottom of the third inning to back the four-hit pitching of lefty Dominick Ambrosini as Connetquot edged Smithtown, 2-1, yesterday in a League I game.
The win gave the Thunderbirds a final league record of 12-6, clinched first place and completed a rousing three-game sweep of Smithtown (8-7), which entered the series in sole possession of first. Longwood (7-7), which fell to Sachem, 4-3, lost any chance to tie Connetquot for first. May 15
Sachem 4, Longwood 3: Gene Moscatelli threw a five-hitter and Eric Sullivan’s RBI single in the fourth gave Sachem (6-8) a 4-1 lead. Chris Keiser threw a four-hitter for Longwood (7-7). WP – Moscatelli. LP – Keiser. May 15
Sachem 10, Longwood 9: Eric Sullivan scored on a throwing error in the top of the sixth as Sachem took the lead for good, 10-8. Mike Oggeri was 2-for-2 with two RBI for Sachem (7-8). Longwood is 7-8. WP – Geschke. LP – Kittleson. May 16
Brentwood 12, Longwood 11 (9 inn.): Mike Haas hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the ninth, to lift Brentwood (9-7) to victory. Longwood (6-9), which trailed 11-4 heading into the seventh, scored seven runs to tie it on Scott Kittilsen’s run-scoring single. Haas’ grand slam and Kevin McCarthy’s solo homer in the fifth gave Brentwood a 7-2 lead. Jelanie Arnold came on in the bottom of the seventh and pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win. WP – Arnold. LP – Willi. HR – Haas (2), McCarthy (2) (B). May 19
Longwood 8, Brentwood 4: Scott Kittilsen’s sacrifice fly scored Paul Spera from third to break a tie at 4 for Longwood (8-9), which turned a two-run deficit into a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning. Chris Kaiser went the distance for the win. Brentwood is 9-8. WP – Kaiser. LP – Arnold. May 20
Herbst Lifts Longwood. Mike Herbst hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to snap a tie at 6 as Longwood beat Brentwood, 7-6, in a League I game. Herbst (3-for-4) also homered in the bottom of the third, immediately following Chris Kaiser’s homer to tie the score at 3. The loss eliminated Brentwood (9-9) from playoff contention. Longwood is 9-9. May 22
Baseball Playoffs Set to Begin:
Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 26 May 1998
Sachem finished with a 10-8 record to make the playoffs. Longwood was 9-9 but grabbed a spot anyway.
The Class A tournament is riddled with outstanding pitching. Commack’s Rick Riccobono, Connetquot’s B.J. LaMura, Bellport’s Brian Garofola, Bay Shore’s Mike Miller and West Babylon’s Rob Sandora stand out as tough to beat.
What might set East Islip apart from everyone else is that it has three pitchers who can beat any team. In a single-elimination format, pitching depth is critical to winning.
Joe Santacroce, Jason Gouge and Shaun Lockwood led the Redmen to a 20-1 record, the League III title and the top seed in the tournament, which begins tomorrow at four sites.
Commack coach Craig Gorton thinks he has plenty of depth in Mike Pelan and Michael Schneider. “I’d like to believe that we have quality starting pitching after Ricky,” Gorton said. “Hopefully, we’ll find that out. I don’t think anyone will take a chance and hold back a quality starter while looking ahead.”
Commack (16-4 overall) shared the League II title with Bay Shore at 14-4 and could share a semifinal game with Bay Shore. The second-seeded Cougars will meet the winner of No. 10 Sachem (11-9) vs. No. 7 Lindenhurst (14-7). Bay Shore would have to beat the winner of No. 6 West Babylon (18-3) vs. No. 11 Longwood (10-10). In the upper bracket, the winner of No. 8 Smithtown (11-10) vs. No. 9 West Islip (13-7) meets East Islip. The winner of No. 12 Northport (10-9) vs. No. 5 Connetquot (13-7) goes to No. 4 Bellport (17-4).
Longwood 6, West Babylon 0: Kevin Willi hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to score Mike Russo with the game’s first run as No. 11 Longwood (9-9) pulled off the upset over No. 6 West Babylon (15-4). Russo led off the sixth with a double and moved to third on a single by Paul Spera. The Lions scored four runs in the inning and added two more in the seventh. Willi had three RBI and pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts. WP – Willi. LP – Sandora. May 28
Top Class A Teams Eliminated:
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 May 1998
At Bay Shore, Kaiser was a dual threat to the Marauders as he added a two-run triple in the first inning to help the 11thseeded Lions win. Longwood (13-9) added three more runs in the second on Mike Russo’s RBI single and a Mike Herbst sacrifice fly. Sal Puccio led off the bottom of the first with a home run for Bay Shore’s only offense.
“We just came out and swung the bats today,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “We knew we had to get on top of {Bay Shore starter Mike} Miller early. We’ve been swinging the bats well all year.”
Kaiser, a senior, faced only 24 batters and didn’t walk a batter for the victory.
Davide added, “He’s our No. 2 pitcher and we felt it was important for us to get him some runs so he’d feel comfortable out on the mound.”
No. 2 Commack (17-4) will play Longwood tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at SUNYStony Brook in a Class A semifinal. Smithtown will meet Bellport in a second Class A semifinal at 12:30 p.m. at the same site. Bellport advanced with a 7-6 win over Connetquot.
Longwood Makes Most of Chance:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 31 May 1998
Longwood can thank bitter rival Sachem for the opportunity to participate in the county Class A baseball tournament. The Lions finished the League I season with a 9-9 record and thought they missed the tournament because they didn’t play better than .500.
First-year coach John Davide Jr. huddled his team on the outfield grass last week after what he thought was a season-ending victory over Brentwood. He made plans for a team barbecue and told the players to hand in their uniforms. With uniforms and equipment collected, Davide left for a trip to Maryland.
“I told them I thought they deserved to be in the playoffs and wished we had a shot,” Davide said. “We hit .360 as a team and were better than most of the teams in the tournament.”
While Davide drove south, the seeding committee met May 22 and, citing the Section XI displacement rule adopted for League I, gave Longwood the chance to prove Davide right. Any team displaced by Sachem that has a record of at least .500 and has an enrollment 175 percent less than Sachem qualifies for the playoffs. “My father called me in Maryland and said we were in the playoffs and I thought he was kidding,” Davide said. “Then I called Jimmy {assistant coach Moccio} and told him to have a practice on Sunday. The kids were excited, and we felt we had nothing to lose. We’re a loose bunch.”
Seeded 11th and with a nothing-to-lose attitude, Longwood continued to make the most of its unexpected opportunity. The Lions knocked off league champions West Babylon and Bay Shore in the first two rounds.
Yesterday, Longwood showed defending county Class A champion Commack the door. The Lions pounded 13 hits and Scott Kittilsen pitched six-hit ball for six innings in a 9-0 win at SUNY-Stony Brook. And now Longwood will face Bellport for the county championship at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Stony Brook.
Kittilsen’s resolve had as much to do with yesterday’s outcome as the Lions’ hot bats. He escaped bases-loaded jams in the first two innings. In the first, he had three on with none out and came away unscathed. Kevin Willi struck out three in the seventh to punctuate the win. “I was too pumped and not throwing strikes early,” said Kittilsen, who had two hits and an RBI. “After I settled down, I was fine.”
“We didn’t leave runners on base like that all year,” Commack coach Craig Gorton said. “It set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The Lions opened the scoring on Mike Herbst’s single in the first and added two runs in the third on triples by Willi and Ben Deleon. They broke it open with two runs in the fourth and four in the fifth. Paul Spera had a run-scoring triple in the fourth and a run-scoring double in the fifth.
“When I took the phone call late Friday night, I thought it was a joke,” Willi said. “Now it’s just crazy. We’re hot.”
“Single elimination is great when you’re winning and stinks when you lose,” Commack’s Rick Riccobono said. “It all went wrong for us out there. They were hot.”
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 May 1998:
Longwood 6, West Babylon 0: Kevin Willi hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to score Mike Russo with the game’s first run as No. 11 Longwood (9-9) pulled off the upset over No. 6 West Babylon (15-4). Russo led off the sixth with a double and moved to third on a single by Paul Spera. The Lions scored four runs in the inning and added two more in the seventh. Willi had three RBI and pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts. WP – Willi. LP – Sandora.
Lion Kings Rule Class A:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 June 1998
This will go down as the most improbable of championship runs. It will be remembered as a mad dash through the Suffolk Class A baseballtournament by a team that needed to prove it belonged there in the first place.
Just 10 days ago, Longwood packed its gear away for next year and thought it had been eliminated from playoff qualification after a 9-9 League I season.
The Lions continued a torrid trek through the tournament with a 20-3 thrashing of Bellport in the championship game played yesterday before 1,013 fans at SUNY-Stony Brook. The victory capped a stunning playoff streak in which Longwood defeated three league champions.
It is the first county baseball title in 36 years for the school, according to Longwood athletic director Don Webster. The Lions (14-10) will play the Nassau champ in the Southeast Regional final / Long Island Championship at the PAL Complex in Holbrook at 4 p.m. Monday.
How confident was this Longwood team? How about coach John Davide Jr., who won the coin toss and elected to hit first. That’s confidence.
“We’ve been jumping on teams all season,” Davide said. “I figured let’s get up first and get the lead. We were away every game through the playoffs, so why change a thing?”
This incredible Lions season was resurrected when the seeding committee moved the team into the Class A tournament on May 22 under the guidelines of the Sachem displacement rule, in which a team with a record of at least .500 and an enrollment 175 percent less than Sachem can qualify.
“We’ll have to thank them for having a good season,” said Longwood catcher Mike Herbst, who earned MVP honors. “We’ve been on this roll and no pitcher has been able to stop us.”
Bellport ace Brian Garofola (8-2) found that out quickly. He battled the powerful Longwood lineup through three innings and struck out five. He also trailed 5-0 after Herbst launched a long, three-run home run to left-centerfield with two outs in the third.
“Brian did not have his good curveball today,” Bellport coach Ken Dellaporta said. “We knew coming in they had great hitting. That wasn’t a mystery. It’s just too bad that our season ended on such a sour note. That’s a downer.”
The Lions finished off Garofola and Bellport (19-5) with a nine-run fifth inning. With the bases loaded, one out and two runs in, Garofola was replaced by Brendan Stephens. “We were on him,” said Longwood‘s Paul Spera, who had three hits. “Our whole lineup was hot.”
Leftfielder Tom Guerrera had a rude greeting for Stephens. He blasted the first pitch for a monstrous grand slam to dead centerfield. Guerrera was so excited by the loft of his bomb that he was nearly at second base when the ball landed beyond the flag pole.
“I saw it going and going,” Guerrera said. “I thought, `It’s going over the fence.’ Then it disappeared. I couldn’t help but run so fast around the bases.”
Guerrera, whose homer made it 11-2, was mobbed at the plate. Chris Nese followed with a double and Mike Russo, Spera and Kevin Willi hit consecutive singles as the Lions sent 13 men to the plate in the inning.
“What can I say?” Dellaporta said. “They hit the {stuffing} out of the ball. What I want to know is: How did that team lose nine games?”
It seemed everyone wanted to know the same thing. Where did this offensive juggernaut come from?
“We hit .360 as a team this year,” said Davide, a first-year coach who is 24 years old. “It was no secret. Up and down the lineup we can mash.”
Three league champions, West Babylon (IV), Bay Shore (II) and Commack (II) all found that out as Longwood outscored its four playoff opponents 42-4.
During the postgame celebration the customary hugs and kisses paled in comparison to the show put on by Nick Guerrera, Tom’s father, who had promised he would run the bases for everyone if Longwood won.
As Nick Guerrera sped around the bases, the Longwood fans in front of the first-base dugout cheered him on. He was met at home plate with a high-five from Chris Kaiser’s father, Rich.
It was just fathers wanting to be like their sons. Proud to be champions.
Willi Delivers For Longwood:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 09 June 1998:
If a cat really has nine lives, then Longwood pitcher Kevin Willi is truly a Lion. The righthander benefited from an outstanding defense yesterday that delivered when it had to and from his own resolve with the game on the line.
Willi held Syosset scoreless through five innings before the Braves cut a six-run deficit to one with one out in the seventh inning.
After Syosset catcher Mike Maiale drilled a Willi fastball for a two-run homer, his second in as many innings, Longwood coach John Davide Jr. visited the mound.
“He {Willi} said, ‘I got it, Coach. Two more outs’,” said Davide, who then retreated to the Lions dugout. “I went with what got us here. But all I could think about was how Syosset came back to beat Massapequa.”
With that haunting Syosset comeback fresh in the minds of the Longwood faithful, Willi reached deep down in his pitching repertoire and summoned what was left in his right arm.
He struck out Buddy Mianulli on four pitches and Brian Poulter on a full-count fastball as Longwood staved off a furious Syosset comeback and came away with a thrilling 6-5 victory to capture the state Class A Southeast Regional final/Long Island Championship in front of 800 fans at the PAL Complex in Holbrook.
“I didn’t have good stuff but the defense bailed me out a couple of times and I was getting by,” Willi said. “I wasn’t tired. They were an excellent hitting team.”
Syosset outhit Longwood, 11-5. The Braves were undone by a resilient Longwood defense and a gutsy pitcher. They left 11 men on base, had two runners thrown out at the plate and failed to score in two consecutive innings where they left the bases loaded.
“We let them get on top of us early and missed some real good opportunities,” said Syosset coach Larry Levane. “We came back when it looked hopeless and felt we could do it. We just couldn’t come up with the really big hit.”
The Lions executed two perfect relay plays to cut down two Syosset runners at home to end each of the first two innings. Third baseman Ben DeLeon helped Willi escape a bases-loaded jam when he snared a line drive and started a 5-3 double play to end the third. And Willi himself recorded two strikeouts and knocked down a ball headed up the middle to get out of a bases-loaded spot in the fourth.
“We did it with defense,” said Davide. “Our offense got us here.”
The Longwood offense pounded its way through the Suffolk Class A tournament, averaging 11 runs per game in four wins. They pounded out 53 hits and demoralized Bellport by the widest margin (17 runs) in county history for the title.
Yesterday, they met their match in Syosset starter Kevin Mannix who allowed only five hits. Unfortunately for Mannix, the Lions (16-9) bunched four of those hits, including three for extra bases, to build a 4-0 second-inning lead.
Mike Herbst singled to open the second and scored when DeLeon tripled into the rightfield corner for a 1-0 lead. Tom Guerrera lined a double down the leftfield line to score DeLeon and Guerrera scored when Chris Nese doubled off the leftfield wall. Nese moved to third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball for the fourth run.
“Coach {Jimmy} Moccio has been working with us to go the opposite way and it paid off today,” said DeLeon, who also tripled home Herbst in the fifth. “It’s all coming together for us.”
Syosset (22-5) will look back at this championship game and see all the golden scoring opportunities that slipped away. They will also remember how they came back with five runs in the final two innings to make the cat sweat.
“No one scores 11 runs a game forever,” Davide said. “We found a way to win and good teams do that.”
Longwood Right on Time. For Longwood, which has been past the first round of the Suffolk playoffs only once (1962) in its history, timing has been everything this season. The Lions (16-9) finished the regular season at 9-9, but won seven consecutive games in the playoffs to claim their first Suffolk Class A championship.
“We’ve never been there before so it’s hard to say what we are feeling right now,” All-League senior Chris Kaiser said. Fellow senior Ben DeLeon added: “We expect to have fun and give our best. That’s all we can do, then we’ll see what happens.”
What happens next for Longwood will depend on its semifinal game against North Rockland (20-8, I), which has won three state championships this decade (1991-93). Senior All-League pitcher Kevin Willi (8-1, 3.90) will start in search of another upset to advance Longwood to the championship game against the winner of Burnt Hills (II) and Sweet Home (VI).
“Every playoff win has been an upset for us,” Longwood coach John Davide said. “{Willi} is pumped. If he can get us another {upset} in the first round, we have a good shot at winning this whole thing.”
Unlike most championship teams, the Lions do not have a star player to carry them. In fact, they did not receive a single All-County selection, which is rare for a state finalist. What they do have is great team chemistry and players that respond under pressure. Kaiser batted .411 with 21 RBI during the regular season and senior second baseman Paul Spera has heated up in the playoffs, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with seven RBI.
For Longwood, whose season was revived on May 22 when it made the playoffs under the Sachem displacement rule, in which a team with a record of at least .500 and an enrollment 175 percent less than Sachem can qualify, it’s just fun to still be in the hunt.
“I think just knowing that the season was going to be extended is what has gotten them motivated again,” Davide said. “We all just felt so fortunate to still be playing that it turned our team around.”
Illustration
Photo by Bob Mitchell-Capturing the state title this weekend would allow Mike Herbst and his Longwood teammates to repeat the smiles they had after winning the school’s first Suffolk Class A crown. June 12
HIGH SCHOOLS / STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS / CLASS B BASEBALL / Longwood Continues Amazing Run:
Gregg Sarra. STAFF CORRESPONDENT. Newsday, 14 June 1998
Syracuse – This improbable run by the Longwood baseball team doesn’t want to end. The Lions, riding an eight-game win streak, dismantled one of the state’s Class A powers in a state semifinal at P & C Stadium.
Section I’s North Rockland captured three state titles in the past six years but was shown the door in typical Longwood fashion last night. The Lions jumped all over previously unbeaten starter Craig Barton and scored three first-inning runs on their way to an exciting 5-3 victory before a crowd of 713. The championship will shift to Murnane Field in Utica, where Longwood (17-9) will meet the winner of the Burnt Hills (II)-Sweet Home (VI) semifinal at 10 a.m. today.
The Red Raiders found Longwood starter Kevin Willi (9-1) overpowering early and resilient when it counted most. Willi allowed a run in each of the second, fifth and seventh innings. He finished with eight strikeouts and scattered eight hits.
North Rockland (20-9) erased a five-run deficit to come back and beat Vestal in eight innings in the Capital Region final for a 6-5 win. The Red Raiders didn’t go away easily last night, either. They scored a run with two outs in the seventh and had runners on first and third before second baseman Paul Spera made a super play on a ball headed into rightfield. J.D. Lacey hit a hard grounder past diving first baseman Mike Russo that Spera snared and led Willi with a hard throw for the final out.
“Kevin is all about guts and toughness,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “Nothing surprises me with him. He’s a phenomenal athlete. I knew he’d get to the base and make the play.”
Willi was too much for North Rockland all game.
Trailing 4-2 in the sixth, Lacey blooped an 0-and-2 pitch the opposite way just inside the leftfield line for a leadoff double. Justin Ottman popped up a bunt attempt and Willi made a fantastic sliding catch in foul territory for the first out. Willi fell behind 2-and-0 in the count to Junior Lopez. Just as he had against Syosset in the final inning of the Long Island Championship game, Willi found a needed reserve and blew three straight pitches past Lopez for the second out. Pinch-hitter Tim Malley stepped up next and never had a chance as Willi struck him out on five pitches.
“He just reached down for a little more and blew them away,” catcher Mike Herbst said. “He’s tough when we have the lead.”
The Lions led throughout the game. Russo, the leadoff hitter, dumped a single down the leftfield line and after Spera struck out, Barton walked Willi and Chris Kaiser. Barton’s troubles went beyond finding the strike zone. He threw three wild pitches, two of them scoring Russo and Willi for a 2-0 Lions lead. Barton (6-1) allowed a lined single to Herbst and a run-scoring single to Ben DeLeon to make it 3-0.
Kaiser singled and scored on Herbst’s triple for a 4-1 third-inning lead and Scott Kittilsen’s run-scoring single in the sixth scored DeLeon for the final run.
“One more time,” Willi said. “Just one more.”
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 June 1998:
Longwood Right on Time. For Longwood, which has been past the first round of the Suffolk playoffs only once (1962) in its history, timing has been everything this season. The Lions (16-9) finished the regular season at 9-9, but won seven consecutive games in the playoffs to claim their first Suffolk Class A championship.
“We’ve never been there before so it’s hard to say what we are feeling right now,” All-League senior Chris Kaiser said. Fellow senior Ben DeLeon added: “We expect to have fun and give our best. That’s all we can do, then we’ll see what happens.”
What happens next for Longwood will depend on its semifinal game against North Rockland (20-8, I), which has won three state championships this decade (1991-93). Senior All-League pitcher Kevin Willi (8-1, 3.90) will start in search of another upset to advance Longwood to the championship game against the winner of Burnt Hills (II) and Sweet Home (VI).
“Every playoff win has been an upset for us,” Longwood coach John Davide said. “{Willi} is pumped. If he can get us another {upset} in the first round, we have a good shot at winning this whole thing.”
Unlike most championship teams, the Lions do not have a star player to carry them. In fact, they did not receive a single All-County selection, which is rare for a state finalist. What they do have is great team chemistry and players that respond under pressure. Kaiser batted .411 with 21 RBI during the regular season and senior second baseman Paul Spera has heated up in the playoffs, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with seven RBI.
For Longwood, whose season was revived on May 22 when it made the playoffs under the Sachem displacement rule, in which a team with a record of at least .500 and an enrollment 175 percent less than Sachem can qualify, it’s just fun to still be in the hunt.
“I think just knowing that the season was going to be extended is what has gotten them motivated again,” Davide said. “We all just felt so fortunate to still be playing that it turned our team around.”
Lions State Champs:
By Gregg Sarra. STAFF CORRESPONDENT. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 15 June 1998: A40.
Utica – Longwood can finally pack its baseball uniforms away. The near mission impossible is mission accomplished.
The Lions – who barely qualified for the Suffolk County tournament in the first place – captured the state Class A championship yesterday by defeating Burnt Hills (Section II), 13-4, at Murnane Field. That gave Longwood (18-9) its first state title, 10 straight victories to end the season and indelible memories.
The Lions earned their seventh straight playoff victory by doing what they do best: pounding an opponent into submission. They scored eight first-inning runs and beat down three Burnt Hills pitchers with 19 hits in five innings in a rain-shortened game.
“We can flat-out hit,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “We were down right away and I wasn’t concerned at all because we hadn’t hit yet.”
After Burnt Hills scored three runs in the top of the first, helped by two walks and two errors, Longwood leadoff man Mike Russo (three hits) singled and scored on Kevin Willi’s line-drive triple off the centerfield wall. Tournament MVP Ben DeLeon later rocketed a two-run double into the left-centerfield gap.
“We answered the bell,” said DeLeon, who went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits and two walks in the final two games. “We handed our uniforms in and thought the season was over. Then we were given a second chance and beat some of the best teams in the state. This is truly unbelievable.”
Longwood‘s season was revived May 22 thanks to the Sachem displacement rule, which allowed the Lions to qualify for the playoffs despite a 9-9 League I record. A team must play above-.500 ball to qualify for the county tournament, but the displacement rule states that if Sachem (enrollment 3,300) makes the playoffs, any other League I team with a league record of at least .500 and an enrollment 175 percent less than Sachem also qualifies. If Sachem hadn’t made the playoffs – and it barely did – Longwood wouldn’t have either.
That was ancient history after Longwood took its 8-3 lead in the first inning. Burnt Hills (19-11) never recovered from the onslaught. Starting pitcher Brian McLaughlin (6-2) exited after two-thirds of an inning, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits.
“Those boys can hit,” McLaughlin said, “every one of them.”
Not even a steady downpour throughout the game could dampen the Lions’ spirits. “The ball was a little slippery, but you couldn’t really think about it,” said Chris Kaiser, who earned his sixth win. “And the dirt on the mound was caking up my shoes.”
Thunderstorms rocked the upstate region and forced the state committee to move Saturday’s semifinal game against North Rockland an hour away to P & C Stadium in Syracuse. Longwood ousted North Rockland, 5-3, and returned to Utica yesterday for the final. After an hour rain delay, officials agreed to start the game despite the muddy field conditions.
“We would have played in any conditions,” Davide said. “I don’t think there was one player out here that wanted this season to end.”
Longwood‘s win became official when the umpires met at the plate and called the game after Burnt Hills failed to score in the top of the sixth.
Every Longwood starter contributed. All three starting pitchers – Willi, Kaiser and Scott Kittilsen – had earned run averages under 2.00. The offense received timely hitting from Tom Guerrera, DeLeon, Russo, Paul Spera, Mike Herbst and Chris Nese.
Superb defense from Spera at second base preserved the North Rockland win; defensive specialist Jared Pitka made three outstanding plays in rightfield in the championship game. “He’s the most unselfish player on this team,” Davide said. “He only cares about winning. That’s the bottom line.”
And then the only journey left for state champion Longwood was the one home. But the ride of a lifetime was not quite over. The party was just starting.
HIGH SCHOOL STATE TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK
REPORTED BY JASON MOLINET, GREGG SARRA, TOM ROCK, GARY GLANCY AND JOE KRUPINSKI. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 15 June 1998:
With the most important day of their baseball lives before them, you could say the Wantagh players really ate, slept and breathed baseball. Tucked away in their hotel rooms Friday night, most of the team was more intent on watching the Mets play the lowly Florida Marlins on TV rather than the spectacle of the NBA Finals. Saturday’s pregame breakfast took them to Denny’s. What else would they have ordered besides Grand Slams? Glove man
Senior Jared Pitka is not a big part of the Longwood offense. But he is an outstanding outfielder and moves from centerfield to rightfield to tighten the defense.
“He doesn’t mind hitting at all,” Longwood coach John Davide Jr. said. “He’s the most unselfish player on the team and a very important piece of our defense. We couldn’t have won it without him. He’s made some great catches out there.”
Pitka was very visible in the state final against Burnt Hills. He robbed Ryan Davis of an extra-base hit when he leaped and grabbed Davis’ liner that almost took his glove off in the fourth inning. Pitka also ran down a Bobby Kelly fly and caught a Brian Galligan line drive toward the rightfield line.
“The only thing that matters is winning,” Pitka said. “And we’re state champions because everyone did their job.”
The defensive effort was not limited to the final. First baseman Mike Russo gave a long chase to a pop-up in foul territory in the 5-3 semifinal win over North Rockland. His run ended when he crashed into the tarpaulin and the ball bounded away. Russo, uninjured, received an ovation for his hustle.
Don’t mess with him
Pitcher Kevin Willi took exception to the North Rockland chatter and buzzed cleanup hitter Greg Cassa with a fastball in the fifth inning. Cassa lined the next pitch to right for an RBI single to make it 4-2. “Maybe I should have hit him,” Willi said. The next hitter popped out to first to end the inning.
Damp but determined
Not even pounding thunderstorms and phenomenal lightning strikes could damper the Longwood contingent. They hovered around the Radisson in Utica awaiting word of the postponed semifinal.
A group of parents said they would drive to another state if they play the game. Word was the state committee would crown a champion through a point system if the tournament was completely rained out.
“These games will be decided on the field,” Nick Guerrera said. “I don’t know where, but somewhere.”
Longwood played through a steady rain to win the state title over Burnt Hills.