Colonials raid home team for 9-runs after Patchogue-Medford earned playoff berth

William Floyd Colonials avenged on Wednesday the previous game's two-hit, eleven-strikeout loss by routing the Patchogue-Medford Raiders 9-2.

The leadoff at bat seemed to set the tone for the entire game. After Kyle Schwartz, losing pitcher of record, notched a first ball strike, he eventually walked the batter four pitches later. Starter Brandon Buckman earned the win by limiting the Raiders to three hits and striking out 6 batters.

Floyd scored its first run on a throwing error, capitalizing on the Raiders' first mistake of the game. The Raiders responded in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single. However, big innings in the third and fifth proved too much to endure for the home team.

"We were trying to win the series and were pretty confident going in," said head coach Tony Frascogna. "[This afternoon's effort] was a little bit of a mental let down. We're not good enough to overcome it, going forward."

Patchogue-Medford won the first game of the three-game set last Monday in large part because of starter Junior Mendez's pitching performance. Frascogna attributed Monday's playoff-clinching win to Mendez, who he subsequently named "Player of the Week."

Further lamenting Wednesday's blowout loss to William Floyd, Frascogna said, "We gave that team too many chances. "Every game we lost, we walked guys and gave teams opportunities. If we pitch and throw strikes we can beat anyone.

"Baseball is one of those games—it's not like football where you march out your best eleven players every week," said Frascogna in frustration of the loss. After previously relying on a complete-game win by Mendez, Frascogna used three pitchers in the second game.

Before giving up a hard-hit double to center, Schwartz surrendered a 2-run single in the top half of the third to make it a 4-1 deficit. A controversial safe call at first base erased what would have been an inning-ending double play. The next batter, however, grounded safely to shortstop for an easy putout at first base. The three-run output knocked Schwartz out of the game; freshman Matthew Vogel came on for relief in the fourth.

Each team traded a run in the fourth inning, with senior Kyle Wilson blasting a solo homerun to leftfield for the Raiders.

A seemingly harmless pop fly along the first base line fueled a three-run output for the visiting Colonials; Junior Brian Cioffi valiantly charged from second base to try to catch it. The drop and subsequent ill-advised throw into third base to try to tag out the lead runner yielded a run. Next batter Lucas Fusco powered in two more runs for the Colonials. Right fielder Tyler Moston stemmed the tide with a nice running catch to end the inning.

Buckman followed up his team's offensive outburst in the top half of the inning by pitching a 1-2-3 inning. A hustle play by Moston also marked the end of the bottom of the inning. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the junior fielder barely missed beating the throw to first base for the third out.

At game's end, the Raiders' playoff opponent was not yet determined.