Massapequa Baseball Tops Syosset In Extras

Down 6-2 in their final turn at bat, the Syosset baseball team fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, only to lose 7-6 in extra innings to Massapequa Monday at

“They stayed focused and had good at-bats,” Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy said of his team. “We didn’t panic under the situation. I think that’s the story here today.”

After being dominated all afternoon by Massapequa’s Ryan McCormick, the Braves (8-6) finally broke through in the seventh. James Cohan’s RBI singles brought Syosset to within one run.

This development was nothing short of surprising. McCormick, after allowing a run in the first, allowed only one more base runner until the Braves scratched out a run in the fifth. He was chased in the seventh.

After reliever Adam Luftig loaded the bases, Syosset coach Pat Fitzgerald turned to his ace, Tommy Morris who had thrown over 100 pitches in game one of the series on Saturday night. Morris walked in the winning run.

“These guys showed a ton of character,” Fitzgerald said. “I pushed a button and it didn’t work. This loss is on me, not on them. ”

Hero: McCormick - Although he ran out of gas in the seventh inning (he started it, but failed to record an out), McCormick pitched well enough to win. After a rocky first inning in which Joey Morris scored on a sacrifice fly, the junior was virtually unhittable.

Turning Point:  Syosset’s Luftig had begun to show signs of increasing wildness and having the winning run on second after the Chiefs stole a base could not have helped matters.

Quotable: “We have to play and win our games,” Sheedy said when asked about playoff seeding. “That’s all we’ll concentrate on.”

“Whether we win or lose, the way that we conduct ourselves in this last inning is going to say a lot about us,” Fitzgerald told his team before they scored four to tie the game in the seventh.

Bottom Line: Syosset had a few missed opportunities and bad breaks earlier in the game that could have changed the landscape of the game. In the first, the Braves scratched out only one run after a lead off double by Kehne. In the fourth, a potential two out rally was killed when Cohan was picked off at first on a questionable call.

Massapequa showed that they can find ways to win games, even after momentum has gone to the other dugout.  

Key Stat: Massapequa’s Billy Schlich went 2-5 with three RBI’s.

Who’s Next: Massapequa @ Syosset, Tuesday 4pm @ Syosset High School.

Box Score:

Box Score 

Wp: Ryan Boix

LP: Adam Luftig