Brandon Soumakis' clutch RBI single wins it for Bay Shore

Chris Rouleau had done some clutch work to strand three Smithtown East runners in scoring spots in the previous two innings, keeping the game wrapped in a tie. Now Brandon Soumakis had his chance to untie it for Bay Shore — runner on second, one out, top of the seventh.

"I know I didn’t play the best (in the field) in the beginning," the junior third baseman said. "But I knew stepping up to the plate I had to redeem myself and make sure I sealed the deal for the team."

The No. 9 hitter sealed it with an RBI single to give the Marauders a 4-3, Suffolk II win Thursday at Smithtown East.

So look who’s 4-0.

"Can we contend? We sure can," Bay Shore coach Mike Herbst said.

Coltrane Calloway, Rouleau and Ty Panariello have yet to allow more than three runs in a start. Rouleau, a 6-5 senior righthander who’s bound for Springfield to play volleyball, yielded three runs and eight hits across six innings in this start.

"Our pitching has been awesome," Rouleau said. " ... It’s just a matter of if we can all stay healthy."

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: Bay Shore vs. Smithtown East baseball

Mattaeus Boschen started the winning rally with a pinch single against James Ackerman, who stood out in relief, yielding just one run, four hits and no walks and striking out six in 4 1/3 innings.

Pinch hitter Owen Price sacrificed, and Soumakis lined his deciding single into left.

Jason Ambos put an exclamation point on the victory with a diving catch in left-center, robbing Christian Villacci and nailing down Hayden Preston’s save.

Rouleau helped save his win, too. Kyle Popko and Villacci delivered RBI singles in the Smithtown East fifth, so it was tied at 3. The bases were packed with two outs.

"There’s nobody else I want out there on the mound than him in those spots," Herbst said.

And Rouleau showed why, getting pitch hitter Brayden Martino swinging on a fastball.

"I just knew I needed to make a pitch," Rouleau said.

The Bulls (2-2) arrived for the season without any players with varsity experience. They made two errors in the first and fell behind 2-0.

"We are trying to grow up on the fly, and today was a major step forward for us," coach Ken Klee said. "Despite that first inning, the kids responded, and we did a lot of positive things against a very good club."