Sports Notebook: County Titles for West Badminton, East Girls Golf

Badminton: Unbeaten West wins county title

The Smithtown West boys badminton team completed a perfect season and secured the Suffolk County championship Monday with an 8-1 victory over Whitman. West finished with a perfect 15-0 record.

West had little trouble with Whitman, the only team to come close to beating the Bulls this season. Whitman (10-5) dropped a 5-4 decision to West on April 7, then lost, 8-1, to West on May 10. West allowed more than two points in a match only twice this season and shut out its opponents six times.

Justin Lin won at first singles for West, rallying from a 14-17 loss in set one to take the next two, 15-13, 15-10.  Lin went on to win in the quarterfinals of the Suffolk County individual championships, which West also hosted. Other quarterfinals winners included Eric Hirschfield of East, and the West doubles team of Derek Ladaerious and Greg Mayer.

Girls’ Golf: East finishes perfect season with county crown

Smithtown East won the first girls’ golf championship in school history Thursday at Sunken Meadow State Park, capping off an undefeated season in style.

East won by placing two golfers in the top 10 and finished with a two-round total score of 908, 43 strokes better than the runner-up, Smithtown West. East won the League II title this season at 10-0.

Katie Fitzharris shot a 171 to finish eighth overall while teammate Carly Peters placed ninth, a stroke behind at 172. Laura Brennan was next with a 181, followed by Lindsay Selman and Alexa Niven at 192, and Casey Pollack with a 198. The top five scores counted towards the team total. Northport’s Chrissy Unger won the individual title with a 156.

East qualified as a team for the state championship tournament, which begins June 10 at SUNY Delhi.

Softball: East advances to county semifinals

The Smithtown East softball team continued its road warrior mentality Thursday, winning a 7-5, extra-inning decision over fifth-seeded Longwood in the Suffolk County Class AA quarterfinals. East, seeded 13^th in the AA bracket, will face No. 1 seed Bay Shore in the semifinals on Tuesday. Bay Shore is 22-0.

East (14-8) scored the go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth when Francesca Busa singled in two runs with two outs. That was enough for Corinne Vazac, who shut Longwood down in the bottom of the eighth to earn the complete-game victory. Mackenzie Buckley paced the East offense with two hits, two runs and two RBI.

No. 11 Smithtown West lost its opening-round playoff game Wednesday to No. 6 Deer Park, 4-1. West had a 1-0 lead until Deer Park plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth, three on a bases-loaded triple. Melissa Koster took the loss for West, which finished at 14-7.

Boys Track: West places second at team championships

West came up big at the Suffolk County Division I championship meet Wednesday at Connetquot High School, placing second overall with 86 points.

Mark Valentino and Devin Mirenda led the way with 13 points each, Mirenda in the triple jump, long jump and high jump, and Valentino in the 3,200 meters, steeplechase and 4 x 800 relay. West also swept the top three places in the pole vault thanks to Karl Nilsen, Kyle Budney and Matt Rapp.

Mike McCann took second in the high jump at 6-2, Mike Emerson placed third in the 800 and joined Valentino in helping the 4 x 800 relay place fourth. Fred Walter took fourth in the shot put and Mike Lynch was fourth in the steeplechase. Other placewinners included Pat Harty, Kevin Harty, Mike Catalano, Tom Mistretta, Paul Tietjen, Chris Ingram and Brian Dugan.

Baseball: West eliminated in Class AA playoffs

The West baseball team entered the Suffolk County Class AA playoffs as the No. 2 seed, but was eliminated quickly, losing two games at home to higher-seeded teams. West finished the season with a 16-6 record.

West dropped its opening game Tuesday to No. 15 Northport, 12-5. Northport hit four home runs in support of Branden Fischer, who allowed seven hits in a complete-game effort. Nick Dellasperanza homered for West. James English took the loss.

West advanced into the losers bracket and hosted No. 10 West Islip on Wednesday and lost, 10-3. Chris Anderson held West to just four hits over six innings for the win. Doug Zhong was the losing pitcher. Nick Zito homered for West.