Ascher, Siliris lead Mattituck to B title
In his nine years as coach at Mattituck, Steve DeCaro had never witnessed the kind of offense his team displayed in its 25-6 victory over Babylon yesterday in the Suffolk Class B baseball final.
"I don't think we've ever scored 25 runs," the coach said after his team captured its third title in nine years, and first since 2008.
The Tuckers (19-5) exploded with 11 runs in the first inning, three of which came on a one-out home run from Yianni Rauseo. The homer made the score 4-0. In the fifth inning, George Lessard added a three-run home run to make it 22-6.
Senior Tom Ascher had a huge day, going 5-for-5 with two home runs, a career-high seven RBIs, five runs and a walk.
"Every time he was up," DeCaro said, "he hit the ball hard. It was either a line drive or a bomb over the fence." Senior Greg Siliris also had a career game with four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and a career high six RBIs.
"We knew we were a better hitting team than we showed in the last two playoff games," DeCaro said. "[Today] we hit the ball all over the yard, and out of it."
Pitcher Steve Ascher gained his 10th win and remained unbeaten, allowing two earned runs with 10 strikeouts in five innings.
By defeating the Panthers (12-12), Mattituck moves on to play Oyster Bay in the Long Island championships at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Farmingdale State.
After the Thursday's barrage, DeCaro isn't expecting his team to match their run total in the championship.
"We're just hoping we saved some at-bats for at least the next game."
