Sayville Pounded By Shoreham-Wading River In Semis

Shoreham-Wading River's senior heavy squad pounded out 15 hits off Sayville pitching and Ryan McAlary surrendered just two hits in a seven innings as the Wildcats advanced with a 12-1 victory on Memorial Day at The Swamp.

"We’re a veteran club," said Shoreham-Wading River (18-5) head coach Sal Mignano. "We’ve got a lot of three year starters, who have gotten better and better every year."

In the first meeting between McAlary and Sayville starter Ryan Aloise on April 15, the Golden Flashes (20-3) scratched out a 2-1 victory. On Monday, however, Shoreham's bats got to Aloise early and often.

Home runs by Andrew Nicchi and and Dan Speruzzi staked the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead before Sayville's first at bat. Nicchi's blast, his sixth of the season, landed well beyond the wall in left center field wall for an opposite field homer, something Mignano has become accustomed to seeing.

"Nicchi has been a guy who’s hit in the two hole for us for two years now," he said. "He’s got tremendous opposite field power. He’s got five homers all the same exact way. He just peppers that left side in the air. I think that was important to set the tone for us. To follow that up with a nice home run by Speruzzi, it’s just a nice way to get out for us right away."

Mike Hewson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first, his 11th of the season, but Sayville was unable to muster much more offense.

"We just stayed in order of our rotation for the playoffs," said Mignano. "We felt that we were as confident in him, as our third guy so to say, as anybody else. The key to him is throwing strikes. He made one mistake in the first inning to Hewson, and you make a mistake to a great hitter like that, that’s what’s going to happen. It was great that he regrouped, we put a couple more on the board and he was able to settle in. He did a nice job."

In the bottom of the second, McAlary got himself into trouble. He hit Rich Millwater and Kyle Van Duyne, after a 10-pitch at bat, to start the frame. Sayville coach Ryan Cox then had Joe Kacinski attempt to bunt the runners over. He popped up a high pitch that was caught by Shoreham catcher Jon Criscito. Criscito, after bobbling the ball, fired to second and doubled off Millwater.

Millwater was the last Sayville player to reach second base. Coach Cox declined comment after the game.

"I think that’s a big turnaround in the game," said Mignano. "The home run by Hewson makes it a two-run game and it makes them a threat. The sac bunt that got popped up, the bobble by Criscito and then catching the kid off second, I think that flipped that whole inning."

The Golden Flashes, who have now lost to Shoreham-Wading River in three of their four meetings this year, will await the winner of tomorrow's Mt. Sinai-John Glenn matchup in the finals of the loser's bracket. The winner of that game will then have to beat the Wildcats twice to be crowned Class A champions.