Massapequa Baseball Sweeps Syosset

It was a senior day sweep for the Massapequa Chiefs baseball team Tuesday afternoon at , as a 9-4 victory over the Syosset Braves sends the Chiefs into the playoffs red hot.

Neither team will know their precise post season fates until later in the week, but in the most likely scenario, both will play one-game playoffs on Saturday.

Jake Rodgers’ three run homer off Syosset’s Jake Laine in the fifth inning broke a 2-2 tie, giving Massapequa a cushion that they would fail to relinquish.

Chiefs starting pitcher Jonathon Mulford left the game in the fifth inning and the flood gates looked like they were about to open up for Syosset.

A John Tsiolis ground rule double scored James Cohan, cutting the Massapequa  lead to 5-3. The Braves (8-7) would scratch out another run in the inning, with a Dan Ventricelli RBI double to make it 5-4 entering the sixth.

But the rally could have produced more if not for a mental lapse on the base paths. With one out, Tsiolis was picked off at third by the catcher. The critical error led to only one run scoring on the Ventricelli double, not a game-tying two.

Massapequa (10-5) scored three in the sixth inning, putting the game away.

Hero: Rodgers - The Chiefs designated hitter reached base in all four of his plate appearances. His single in the fourth started an inning that would see Massapequa tie the game on a Ryan Neu sacrifice fly.

Turning Point: The Rodgers home run gave the Chiefs the lead for good and was undoubtedly the biggest moment of the afternoon. Although this was a big blow, Laine limited the damage, retiring two of the next three hitters.

Quotable: “We were nip and tuck, and all of a sudden he gave us a little breathing space,” Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy said of Rodgers blast. “We were hoping to get five innings out of Mulford and those three runs gave us a three run lead, which is what we were hoping to get. It pretty much worked out almost the way we wanted it too.”     

“This is behind us,” Syosset coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “We’ll get whatever seed we get and keep playing.”

Bottom Line: Syosset will need to correct some “fundamental flaws” if they are going to advance far in the playoffs. Errors in the field are one thing, but base running blunders are another.

Massapequa is playing well at the right time. If they continue to pitch well and hit in timely situations, they should be very dangerous in the playoffs.

Key Stat: Massapequa scored a total of six runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Who’s Next: Both teams are in the playoffs. They will likely play a one game playoff on Saturday, and opponents were unknown as of Tuesday night.

Box Score:

WP: Jonathon Mulford

LP: Jake Laine