Commack's Leonello frustrates Longwood

Commack starter Peter Leonello drags his right leg heavily when he releases the ball, leaving a rising dust cloud that doesn't settle until the ball hits the catcher's mitt.

It wasn't something Longwood's J.J. Bessell took a particular liking to. Each inning, he'd take a few seconds to compact the mound with his cleats and tidy up whatever was left of the hill, only to have Leonello take his toll moments later.

But maybe it was that sort of day for the Lions: Every time Longwood attempted, after an early deficit, to groom a comeback, Commack would just mess it all back up again.

Commack (7-4) took a 2-0 lead in the second and never wavered, as the Cougars defeated Longwood, 7-3, Wednesday in League I.

The Lions (9-2) not only missed their first opportunity to win 10 and qualify for the playoffs, but the game also exacted a greater cost. A collision on an attempted double play in the third sent second baseman Rob Moore to the hospital with a broken left leg. Moore, a sophomore, broke his tibia and fibula, said coach John Davide.

"It was just one of those days," Davide said.

That much was clear early on, as Bessell, a masterful righthander, struggled to maintain movement on his fastball. Commack got on the board in the second with Joe Angelucci's one-out, two-run triple to deep rightfield. The Cougars added a run in the third to make it 3-0.

SEE PHOTOSCommack 7, Longwood 4

And, although a handful of college scouts were on hand to watch Bessell's rare off day, it was Leonello who put on a show.

The senior made ample use of Commack's expansive (and, in most places, fenceless) field, recording his first four outs on fly balls, including a nearly 400-foot shot to left by Danny Parisi.

"I trust my fielders," Leonello said. "And I try to keep it low."

In the second, Longwood loaded the bases with one out, but this time, Leonello relied on his surehanded infielders to close out the inning unscathed. Leonello, who allowed seven singles over six, with three strikeouts and nine flyouts, saved his elegance for the plate. His two-run homer to the empty space in rightfield made it 5-1.

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Longwood staged a comeback in the sixth. Steven Fitzpatrick scored Jonathan Beekman on a sacrifice fly to center. Thomas Scala induced a rundown between first and second to score Fitzpatrick from third. Leonello again tap-danced out of trouble with a fly ball to center.

Commack must win three of the next seven to qualify for the playoffs, after ascending to League I only this year.

"It's a little more difficult than League II," Leonello said. "But we're pretty confident."

Said the pitcher who messed up the mound and won the turf.