Baseball Notebook

No.16 Yorktown Busts Up AA Bracket, Upsets No.1 North Rock’

Mahopac, Lakeland, Panas, Hen Hud, Put Valley, Croton All Advance in Tourney

Whoa, what an opening-round performance from our local baseball clubs; so much for the notion that baseball has seen it’s better days in the region, huh?

A slew of locals endured Survivor Island and advanced to Monday’s quarterfinal round, including, and perhaps most impressively, 16^th-seeded Class AA Yorktown, which outlasted No.1 North Rockland, 7-5, to bust up the AA bracket on the home field of the Raiders.

“We felt it was a good matchup for us,” Yorktown Coach Sean Kennedy said. “We really believed we would win today. Our kids are playing their best ball at the right time.”

Kennedy’s Huskers weren’t the only ones to get it done: No.9 seed Mahopac also moved on in Class AA, lambasting No.8 Clarkstown South while Class A’s No.2 Hen Hud, No.5 Lakeland and No.13 Walter Panas all moved on; just as Class B’s No.3 Putnam Valley and No.9 Croton-Harmon did.

Yorktown’s win set up an epic Monday afternoon tilt (weather permitting) with host Mahopac, while Lakeland’s win pits the Hornets against rival Walter Panas; thus, destroying the chances of at least two local clubs reaching the Final 4.

CLASS AA

When a No.16 beats the No.1, it’s all anybody talks about the next day. Yorktwn ace Matt Pupczyk fanned four through six innings against one of the top programs in Section 1 history, securing the win before reliever Joe Veca closed it out with a scoreless seventh.

Leadoff hitter Jake Bichler set a mean table, stroking three hits and scoring three runs behind the bats of Tanner Dyslin and Tom Cole, who knocked in a pair apiece. Veca had two hits, two runs and an RBI for the Huskers (8-12-1), who were set to travel to Mahopac for the quarterfinals on Monday.

The Huskers and Indians have both hit their strides of late, each posting quality wins (or ties) down the stretch against some of the top programs in the section, so it came as little surprise to veteran Coach Kennedy to see his club bust up the bracket in the manner they did.

“We felt really good about our draw,” the coach said. “We had played every one of the top AA teams except North Rock. In the last 10 days, we had played our best ball and really believed we were going to win. Honestly, I don’t think our kids felt that this was an upset. We had great focus and energy. When they tied it at 2-2, we came right back with a five spot. ‘Bich’ was huge again but then Tommy Cole came up huge after Veca was intentionally walked. His two-run single made it 6-2 and Dyslin followed with another big hit.

“Matt Pupczyk just did what he does, throws a lot of strikes and always gives us a chance,” Kennedy added. “We knew at 7-2 we had the game, but we made it interesting in the seventh, but Veca closed the door and we got a few solid plays by Cole, Bichler and Alex Berk. I’m most proud of how these kids have battled. At 4-11, they could have let it fall apart, but they have worked their tails off and that says a lot about their character.”

Yorktown went 5-1-1 in the last 7, including a 3-3, 10 inning tie with No.2 Fox Lane and a controversial 4-3 loss to Lakeland. I really believe we will knock off Mahopac, and we’re hoping weather isn’t too big of a factor this week.”

MAHOPAC rolled to an 8-0 victory over No. Clarkstown South, doing so behind a splendid outing by lefty John Ravoli, who fired a tidy five-hit shutout with three walks and two strikeouts. OF Chris Montuoro cracked a pair of doubles, knocked in two and scored. Matt Montera also had two RBI for the Indians (14-7). Indian 1B Matteo Avallone singled, walked, scored twice and added an RBI.

“Ravoli was awesome and it seemed like each and every hitter in the lineup was contributing,” Mahopac Coach Chris Miller said. “Bring on Yorktown, should be exciting.”

CARMEL’s 12-1 loss to No.3 Fox Lane wasn’t the way the 14^th-seeded Rams wanted to go down. Fox ace Sam Byrns allowed just four hits over five innings with four strikeouts for the win. The state-ranked (No.11) Foxes (16-4-1) will host Scarsdale in the quarterfinals on Monday while the Rams (10-12) packed it in unceremoniously. The Rams advanced to the field of 16 after a 10-3 outbracket win over Mount Vernon. Ram P Anthony Melchione threw a four-hitter with seven strikeouts. Matt Vitro and Sean McCarthy each homered for the Rams.

CLASS A

LAKELAND vs. PANAS for the right to advance to the Final 4 for the first time since 2002 and the matchup has both clubs frothing at the mouth.

Hornet ace Matt Mikulski locked horns with John Jay ace Ryan Bryggman for seven frames last Saturday in the opening round, what was a 3-2 win for state-ranked (No.17) Lakeland. Mikulski came out on top by hurling a complete game with nine whiffs, including the side in the seventh. Both Jay runs were scored via suicide squeeze bunts. But Evan Berta erased a 2-1 deficit with a two-out, two-run double in the fourth and the Hornets (15-6) held on to defeat the reigning Section 1 champs. Berta, an even-keeled freshman, also snagged a would-be homer in the fifth, keeping it from clearing the fences and tying the game.

“Once they scored on those two suicides, it was a little deflating to the team,” Mikulski admitted. “But we came back like we do, and I got my confidence back up. I started locating pitches better and that’s how it went. We come here and we’re going to play whoever shows up; today it was the defending champions. We just beat a very, very good John Jay team, which is going to be good the next few years, too. They are on the come. We just had to keep the pressure on them.”

Berta, ironically, said he didn’t feel much pressure, despite having been pinch-hit for in similar situations this season.

“I didn’t do what I wanted to do in my first at-bat against him (Bryggman),” Berta admitted. “He was just throwing me fastballs, so I knew another was coming and I just sat back on it and drove it to the left side.”

The very next inning came and went without Jay doing damage because Tuite and Berta made great defensive plays.

“On my catch the ball just kept going,” Berta said. “I thought I was under it but it kept carrying. He put a good swing on it and with Matt’s pitching power it just kept going. I just turned my head and ran to where the ball was going to go and I looked up and saw it and was just happy to make the catch for Matt and my team.”

Coach Casey has his club playing up to expectations at the right time.

“We knew this was going to be a battle,” the coach said. “This was a great game. We’ve played them three times now and there’s very little difference between us. Matt’s a fiery guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s our ace and he was not going to give me the ball back, and we knew that. He just went out and did his job. But as great as he was we needed other guys to step up. We told Berta that he’s a freshman but he’s going to be here for four years, so it’s time to do your job. He’s got an even keel about himself, and he’s going to be fun to watch for four years.”

Jay Coach Geoff Curtis concurred in regards to Mikulski’s performance.

“If there was one guy that I’d least like to face in Section 1 for the guys I’ve seen, it was Mikulski,” Curtis said. “We expected this battle after the last battle they had (a 1-0 Lakeland win). We prepped for something very similar. We pushed a couple across from our small-ball game with the bottom half of the order, but you just got to tip your hat to him. He’s an exceptional pitcher.”

And he should be good to go for the semis/finals if the Hornets can survive a gutty Panas club.

PANAS ace Mike Cox was the man in the Panthers’ 5-2 upset of No.4 Lourdes, who played host at Dutchess Community College. Cox went the route, whiffing seven and Tim Feliz went 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBI for the Panthers (13-8).

“The kids are really locked in right now,” Panas boss Anthony Fata said. “We’ve gotten some great pitching by Mike Cox, Brian Dinnen, Pete Gardner and Jake Jempty, and the defense has been solid behind them. We’ve had great hitting by Tim Feliz, David Reynoso, Pat Kelly and John Young.” Second time we see Lakeland to advance to semis

HEN HUD’s 7-0 win over visiting Ardsley featured a sterling performance from ace chucker Jack Attinelly. The senior RHP fired a tight one-hitter with 10 strikeouts. Sailor slugger Jack Kelly added two hits and three RBI for the Sailors. Attinelly (1-3, 2B, 2 RBI) helped his own cause and advanced the second-seeded Sailors (17-4) to the quarters where they were set to face No.10 Harrison with thoughts of Final 4 aspirations on their mind.

“We face a great team in Harrison tomorrow and as a team we are looking forward to getting after it again and playing our most important game of the season,” Sailor OF Nick Cunningham said. We played with a swagger and intensity last game that we didn’t match in any game we played all year up until that point, and both of these will only increase as we move on. We have some unfinished business from last year in sectionals and we are looking to make up for that with our chance this year.

CLASS B

In PUTNAM VALLEY’s 3-2 extra-inning win over Irvington, the host Tigers waited to cash in the game-winning hit until the eighth inning when unassuming Andrew Salerno delivered the goods in the form of a walk-off double for the No.3 Tigers, plating Brian McBride with the winning run.

“He’ such a great dude,” PV Coach Joe Natalie said of Salerno, who knocked in two on the day. “I’m really happy for him. He didn’t start at the beginning of the season, but once he got his chance, about five games in, he did not come out of the lineup. He’s also been one of the more clutch players over the last 10 games.”

Senior captain John Rainieri went 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored for the Tigers, the RHP/SS also fired three scoreless innings of relief, sending nine Irvington batters in search of pine via K-way.

The Bulldogs were also baffled by starter Chris Crawford, who notched eight strikeouts over five innings for the Tigers (14-6), who face No.11 Rye Neck in the quarters. Salerno and Nick Ferraro raked against Rye Neck in a recent 12-9 PV win.

CROTON-HARMON got it done on the road in a 4-3 win over No.8 Pleasantville, which failed to solve Tiger ace Chris Colombo, who allowed two runs on four hits through four innings for the win. Tiger Brian Mackay (2 for 4, run RBI) led the ninth-seeded Tigers (10-11), who was set to travel to No.1 Briarcliff for Monday’s quarterfinals. The Bears swept the Tigers in the regular season, so Coach Eric Rosen’s club is up against it when they visit state-ranked (No.3) Briarcliff.