Put Valley, Fox Lane, Panas, Yorktown Snag League Titles

Pac’s DeBrocky Fires No-Hitter; Panas Making Moves

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

League titles were passed out to many of the Examiner-area locals last week, including Class B Putnam Valley (League III-D), Class A Walter Panas (League I-C),Class AA Fox Lane (League I-D) and Class AA Yorktown (League II-D), which went to to the nitty gritty with Somers and John Jay CR to secure sole possession of the league flag.

Congrats to all, but the only people that remember the league champs are the teams that actually win one. It’s all about the sectional tournament now, though those league wins should result in some pretty decent seeds, which will be released Wednesday (May 15) with the tournaments slated to begin with Friday’s outbracket games in Classes AA, A. The opening rounds in all classes are set to take flight on Saturday at the home of the higher seeds.

CLASS B

It’s beginning to look a lot like current No.1 seed Rye Neck (15-3, 10-0) is the team to beat here with No.2 Magnus right on its tail. No.11 Class A BRIARCLIFF (9-10) was on the shy end of a two-game league sweep by Rye Neck last week, as were Examiner-area league rivals PLEASANTVILLE (13-6), WESTLAKE (7-11) and VALHALLA (6-11-1) earlier in the season. Clearly, Rye Neck is the team to beat.

After completing a sweep and snagging the league title, PUTNAM  VALLEY put a fork in the spokes of all the No.3 CROTON-HARMON hype we’ve been building in this space since the Tigers were eliminated in the 2023 finals last May. And No.4 Pleasantville is still raging and staging a potentially deep run after winning 12 of its last 15 to improve to 13-6 after Saturday’s 14-1 stomp of North Salem.  to Valhalla, the current No.10 seed in Class B

Putnam Valley has meshed under Coach Joe ‘Nats’ Natalie, the former skipper who has returned to guide a team that has some flaws but has above-average athleticism to make up for them. It was all on full display in Tuesday’s 10-3 romp of a Croton club (14-5) that picked a fine time to lay a couple of bad eggs that allowed PV to snatch its first league title since Assistant Coach John Millicker’s senior year (2019).

PV hurlers Connor Flynn (5 IP, win) and Sean Carroll (2 IP, 3K, 0 runs) combined to limit Croton to just four hits. Flynn supported his own cause by knocking in two runs along with slick-picking SS Jay Constantine (2 RBI, 2 runs) and Aaron Pierre (2 RBI, run). CF Ricky Meister (2 for 4) added an RBI and two runs before getting two more hits, a run, and RBI and three steals in a 7-0 win over Leffell Thursday when lefty P Mike Venezia (5 IP, 0 runs, 2 hits allowed, 9 K, 4 BB) aided his own cause by going 3 for 3 with a double, RBI, run scored and five steals. Flynn (2B, two RBI), Jake Peterson (RBI) and Nick Mazzola (RBI) did damage at the dish for the Tigers (13-5-1).

PV then hosted WESTLAKE on Saturday when the Tigers went ahead and won, 8-4, for the ninth time in 10 tries while advancing to the current No.4 seed in Class B. PV’s Nick Mazzola crushed a grand slam while Constantino (4-4, RBI, two runs), Sanford (2 hits) and Pierre (2 hits) aided the Tigers’ cause. Keith Haecker (1-3, 3B, three RBI) led the Wildcats (7-11), the current No.9 seed.

Put Valley wrapped up an impressive week with a 7-2 win over Class C favorite Tuckahoe behind Flynn’s career-best effort (7 IP, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 15 K, 2 BB). He also went 3-4 at the plate with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Pierre and IF Angel Munoz each went 1-2 with an RBI and two runs.

Westlake also held on for a 5-4 win over Blind Brook in the completion of a game that was suspended in third inning on April 29. Chris Arrichiello (1-2, RBI, run), Joey Casella (RBI), Mikey Sica (2 for 3), Javier Moronta (1-3, two runs) and Mark Mastracchio (1-2, run) helped the Wildcats, who also crushed HALDANE, 13-3, behind five innings from P Nick Castellano (3 runs, 5 hits allowed, 6 K, 2 BB), who also scored a run. Damage was done at the plate by Chris Arrichiello (2-3, two RBI, run), Jake Nargi (1-3, two RBI, run), Eamon Corr (2-2, 2B, two RBI, two runs) and Javier Moronta (2B, run) against the Class C Blue Devils (4-13), who are having a rough go this season and should expect an early does of top-seeded Tuckahoe in the playoffs.

Valhalla P Fabian Resika (7 IP, 2 earned runs, 5 K) was on the winning side of a 6-3 Vikings (6-11-1) win over Pawling last week.

PLEASANTVILLE pitchers have allowed just five runs in the last five games, including four wins over North Salem (14-1), Sleepy Hollow (3-0), Westlake (9-1) and Blind Brook (6-2), plus a 1-0 loss to Blind Brook. Needless to say, the Panthers (13-6), the current No.5 seed, are going to be a heck of a tough out in the playoffs.

CLASS A

Reigning Section 1 champion WALTER PANAS, the current No.2 seed, didn’t hold back in a 13-2 bopping of No.13 BYRAM HILLS (7-11-2) as Panther RHP Nick DiMaso chalked up the win with five frames of four-hit ball. He allowed two earned runs and fanned three while driving home two RBI with a double and two runs scored. Nick Caputo (3-4, two RBI, three runs) and Tristan Pagliettini (2-3, three RBI, run) were swinging hot sticks.

Panas slugger Randy Wiesner (12 RBI for the season) is finding his groove of late, going 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored before following that up with a 2 for 4, two-RBI-two-run effort in Thursday’s 12-9 win over Pearl River. DiMaso, Nick Caputo (10 RBI, 8 runs on season) Alex Enea (4 RBI, 12 runs), Dean Sewall (.420 BA, 10 RBI, 10 runs) and Jordan Fiore (9 RBI. 8 runs) all struck run-scoring hits on a day the Panther pitching staff allowed 11 walks and the defense committed three errors. C Gianni Generoso leads the Panthers (13-5) with 17 RBI and a .452 BA among regulars. The Iona Prep transfer has been a much-needed boost and protection for Wiesner in the order. Astoundingly, though, Generoso has only been plated twice despite a .579 OB%. That will have to be improved upon if Coach Anthony Fata’s Panthers are going to defend the only baseball title in school history.

Panas sophomore IF Jacob Malfant is making an impact, hitting at a .425 clip with 13 runs scored in 13 games.

LAKELAND blanked Sleepy Hollow, 10-0, behind P Anthony Sabatello (5 IP) one-hit shutout to get the week started, and the Hornets (8-10-1) added to that in an 11-0 thrashing of Class AA’s SOMERS. Anthony Frobose (4 IP, 0 hits allowed, 5 K, 1 BB) was unhittable on the hill and tough at the dish (3B, 2 walks, 3 runs). Ryan Done (3-3, two runs) and Evan Tostanoski (1-1, 3-run double, walk, run) wrought havoc as well. The Hornets (8-10-1) are the current No.8 seed.

CLASS AA

FOX LANE, the current No.2 seed, did some heavy clouting last week, combining for 49 runs in three wins against Lincoln (22-3), John Jay EF (8-3) and Somers (19-2) before catching hold of visiting Yorktown in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the surging Huskers, who scored three in the seventh to stun the Foxes and win for the fifth time in six tries. Huskers Cole Haddock (RBI single) and Joe Carrucci (sac fly RB) took starter Ryan Dinapoli (5 2/3 IP, 0 ER) off the hook and secured the win for reliever Luca Masillo.

Against JJEF, Fox ace RHP Tyler Renz did his thing over 6.2 innings (0 earned runs, 2 hits allowed, 9 K) and had a no-hitter broken up by a bunt single in the bottom of the sixth. Mashers included Logan Provost (2-3, RBI), Logan Mammola (2-4, RBI), John Czernyk (RBI suicide squeeze), Danny Spolansky (sac fly RBI) and Mark Schwartz (2B).

In the mercy romp of Somers, Fox P Logan Hicks (5 IP, 1 earned run, 5 hits, 4 K) had a fine outing to earn the win with a ton of support coming from the likes of Cooper Furst (2-2, three RBI, BB), Provost (3-3, 2B, three steals), Schwartz (2B, 3 RBI), Will Rudolph (3-4), Mammola (2-4, 2 RBI), Zach Goldman (2 RBI), PJ Stonsby (2-3, 2B, RBI) and Czernyk (2 RBI).

Mammola has been an RBI machine this season, driving home a team high 19 runs through 17 games. Provost has 15 RBI and 15 runs. Rudolph has a team-high 20 runs scored while Czernyk is hitting a team-high .417 with Provost at .373.

YORKTOWN (11-8) swept neighboring rival SOMERS, 3-1 and 8-4, finishing the week with an 11-8 overall mark while jumping to No.6 in the current seed pool.

In Yorktown’s 8-4 win over Somers, Jason Douglas and Lirim Biberaj drove home two runs each. Joe Carucci and Alex Ornstein had two hits in support of winning P Derek Patrissi (6 IP. 1 ER, 5K).

Arlington’s 2-0 win over MAHOPAC clinched the Admirals the League I-A title, which tells you all you need to know about Arlington after finishing atop the standings of one of the toughest leagues, if not the toughests, in NYS. The Admirals also defeated Mahopac, 10-5, earlier in the week, and despite losing both to the Admirals and a pair to RCK, the Wolf Pac (13-6-1) have faced as tough a schedule as anyone in Section 1 and still maintains the No.1 seed in Class AA after Saturday’s 4-0 win over visiting HORACE GREELEY, who could not put a lick on anything Mahopac RHP Tyler DeBrocky threw. The tenacious senior went the distance in a no-hitter, fanning 11 and walking two while going 2-3 at the plate with a home run and two RBI. Robert Dusovic (3-3, RBI), Tyler Castrataro (1-3, run) and Drew Lichtenberger (1-3, run) provided all the support DeBrocky would need. This will be Mahopac’s best chance to challenge for a title in at least 20 years in a wide open Class AA.

Greeley also worked a decisive 11-1 win over Blind Brook when Cole Stein (2-2, 3B, two runs), Ben Schulman (1-4, 2B, two RBI), Carter Nocca (2-2, two runs, 2B), Ben Brolin (2-4, two RBI), Sam Rothstein (1-2, HR, two RBI, two runs and Ben Falk (2-2, three RBI, run) all supported winning P Avi Joshi-Dave (4.2 IP, 1 run and 3 hits, 3 K).

Winners of four in a row before Saturday’s loss to Mahopac, the Quakers have now jumped all the way to No.8 in the current seeds, sitting at 8-8-2 overall, 6-2-1 in the league.

CLASS AAA

There is little proof out there that anyone can knock off the Dutchess County powers that be – top-seeded and defending champion RCK and No.2 Arlington – but all it takes is one upset to break up a bracket and shock the section.

With wins in four of the last five, WHITE PLAINS (9-10, 9-7) is making its patented move, including Thursday’s 6-5, 10-inning win over Scarsdale, which could not prevent Gavin Townsend’s go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 10th to score Tyler Older for the lead and give P Sammy Mendez (3.1 IP, 0 runs and 1 hit, 7 K, 2 BB) the win in relief. Starter Sean Krouskoff (6 IP, 1 run and 3 hits, 7 K, 2 BB) was superb, adding a pair of runs at the plate. Townsend (2-5, 2B, three RBI) and Older (2-5, two 3B, 2 RBI, run) did major damage.

White Plains also silenced OSSINING, 7-1, behind P Nickolas Portanova’s dominant effort (3 hits, 1 run, 2BB, 11K). Older made a few sensational plays in the field and added a two-run single while Townsend stroked a booming, base-clearing, three-run double; at it again in support of winning P Nick Portanova (7 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 11 K, 2 BB), who dominated the Pride lineup except for Mike Lebenson (2-3, home run, RBI).

Ossining had lined up six wins in a row, including a 9-4 win over White Plains, before the Tigers (9-10, 9-7) avoided the sweep by the Pride (10-7-1), who saw P Owen Brennen (6IP, 1ER, 5K) dominate the Tigers. Jake Dymond (2-2, 3 runs), Mike Lebenson (2-4) and Brian Hoffman (2-3, 4 runs) all stroked in the Pride win. Ossinng now sits at No.4 in the seeds while White Plains checks in at No.7.

 

ANDY JACOBS/RAY GALLAGHER/CHRIS SMAJLAJ PHOTOS