Donohue leads St. Dominic to CHSAA final
St. Dominic's Steven Donohue #21 connects for the game-winning hit in extra innings against St. John the Baptist. (May 26, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
Junior Steven Donohue is one of those guys who waits for an opportunity and then capitalizes. There he was again Thursday night in the CHSAA semifinals getting the job done.
Donohue, who started the season in a backup role, emerged as a key hitter in the St. Dominic lineup midway through the season. Thursday night, Donohue added an unforgettable moment to a memorable season.
Donohue became an instant hero when he lined a 1-and-2 pitch over the leftfielder's head to score pinch runner Tom Volberg with the winning run in the eighth inning of the Bayhawks' 3-2 walk-off win over St. John the Baptist in the deciding Game 3 of the CHSAA semifinals at Farmingdale State.
"I heard Coach yelling to be tough with two outs," Donohue said. "And I just went with the pitch. It was a good curveball."
Top-seeded St. Dominic (18-5) will meet No. 2 Chaminade in Game 1 of the best-of-three CHSAA final at NYIT at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
"He earned his way into the lineup and continued to hit," St. Dominic coach Rick Garrett said. "It's truly a story of accomplishment. What a big hit and a very exciting moment for our program."
St. Dominic won the school's first CHSAA title two years ago but lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Holy Trinity a year ago. It was a difficult loss for a young SJB team that battled back all season. The Cougars had a string of four straight final appearances come to an end.
But it was the Bayhawks that needed to come back to advance in a series they trailed by a game after an 8-3 loss.
St. Dominic shortstop Tommy Grillo lined a one-out, two-run double to right-center in the first inning for the early 2-0 lead. But SJB sophomore shortstop Dylan Steigerwald's two-out, two-run double to leftfield tied it at 2 in the second inning.
Spencer Bilello tossed four innings of shutout relief, but the defense of shortstop Tommy Grillo, who took away at least three hits, was key. With the go-ahead run on second in the eighth, Kyle Collins hit a pitch up the middle that Grillo corralled and made the throw for the out.
"We worked on it before the game for an hour," Grillo said. "I wanted to work on the hops off the turf and the clay cutouts around the bases."
SJB sophomore Greg Egan scattered eight hits in seven innings.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 15: LI's top basketball players On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra and Matt Lindsay take a look top boys and girls basketball players on Long Island.
