Gatto, Fasano lead Smithtown West past Hills West

Half Hollow Hills West senior T.J. Pecoraro retired 15 of the first 18 batters through five innings and seemed to be in cruise control. The hard-throwing righthander carried a one-hitter and a three-run lead into the sixth. The major league scouts that crowded the backstop charted his pitches to that point and had him consistently at 86-87 mph.

Pecoraro looked as if he was on his way to another shutout win. But with one out in the top of the sixth, Smithtown West shortstop Anthony Gatto changed everything.

Gatto launched a solo home run to right to spoil the shutout and ignite a four-run rally as Smithtown West came back for a stunning 6-3 victory over Half Hollow Hills West (3-1) Tuesday in a Suffolk League IV game in Dix Hills.

"Anthony's the catalyst and his home run got us going," Smithtown West coach Al Nucci said. "T.J.'s one of the very best pitchers out there but I felt like we were hitting the ball hard. This is a very big win."

After Gatto's blast, Pecoraro walked the next two batters and an infield error allowed a run to score and put runners on second and third. Hills West coach Tom Migliozzi went to reliever Mike Blumenthal.

Joe Fasano greeted Blumenthal with a two-run single to right to cap the rally.

"We were down a run and I was looking to hit the ball to the right side of the field to score the runner from third and tie the score," Fasano said. "And it went through the infield, which allowed both runs to score."

SEE PHOTOSSmithtown West 6, Hills West 3

It was the resilience of Fasano that enabled the Bulls (2-2) to come back. He allowed two runs and three hits in the first inning but left the bases loaded when he struck out two and induced an inning ending pop-up. He scattered six hits and struck out seven in 61/3 innings before Gatto came on for the save in the seventh.

"He kept his composure and gave us a chance," Gatto said. "It was a big time performance."

Fasano's velocity matched Pecoraro's through four innings. Fasano mixed a sharp curveball with an 87 mph fastball to set down 14 of 16 batters at one point. He established the inside part of the plate with his fastball and worked his curve on the corner.

"They got two cheap runs in the first and we got out of a tough jam," said Fasano, who averted trouble in the fourth inning when he started a double play on a sacrifice bunt attempt. "We had a bad series last week against Copiague. We needed to start this series with a win."

SEE PHOTOSHigh school sports -- April

They came to see T.J. Pecoraro and a guy named Joe Fasano stole the show.