Jason’s Second Round Predictions: Suffolk Softball Class AA

Here are my Suffolk Class AA second round picks for softball. All upcoming games below take place at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the higher seed. Longwood and Deer Park start at 4:30 p.m.

@AA1 Bay Shore over
AA8 Riverhead

Runs won’t be easy to come by against Michelle DeVito. The Marauders ace right-hander was sharp in her 2013 postseason debut, pitching a one-hit, complete-game shutout, while striking out 11 and walking four in a 6-0 win over No. 17 Centereach. DeVito got the run support she needed from Kaly Alzate, who went 3-for-4, with a triple, two RBIs and a run. Expect Marauder sluggers, such as DeVito and Courtney Syrett, along with leadoff hitter Giana Panariello, to be too much for Riverhead to handle in this one.

AA5 Half Hollow Hills West over
@AA4 Hauppauge

This one should be a gem, featuring the co-League IV champions. Hits and runs should be hard to come by, so it should come down to who gets the better of the two workhorses in the circle. Francesca Casalino has led the fifth-seeded Colts all season long and is coming off a complete-game performance against No. 12 Lindenhurst, scattering only five hits and four walks, while striking out 10 in a 5-4 win. Casalino and the Eagles’ Lauren Buturla were instrumental in the team’s regular season split, the latter of which saw Casalino score a run and pitch a three-hit shutout, while striking out eight in a 3-0 win over the Eagles on May 15. Buturla tossed a complete-game shutout, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out four in a 1-0 win on April 20.

@AA3 Longwood over
AA11 Deer Park

The Falcons will have their hands full on the road with one of the top teams in League I and in the county. Alex Russo went 2-for-3, with an RBI and a run for No. 3 Longwood in its 4-1 win over East Islip in the first round. Lions’ shortstop Noel Lent is having a stellar season and could be the difference in this one. Samantha Valentine, who has shared the pitching duties with Lent this season, is also another big bopper in the Lions’ lineup. Sabrina Riley will be key for No. 11 Deer Park, which upset No. 6 Connetquot, 3-2, in its opener. The Falcons’ shortstop made a diving catch with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh to enable Deer Park to escape.

@AA2 Commack over
AA10 Sachem East

The Cougars have gotten the better of the Flaming Arrows twice this season. Commack has so much on offense, led by Kiersten Carlomagno and Kristen Andrews, who have held their own in the circle, accompanied by Christina Rayfield, Erin Morrissey and Ashley Steponaitis, making it hard for either Sachem East’s Marissa Smith or Marissa Wilson to keep those bats quiet. In the two team’s regular season meeting, Carlomagno was sharp, tossing a complete-game three-hitter, while striking out six and going 2-for-4 at the plate in a 6-1 win on May 6. Steponaitis was 1-for-3, with a three-run homer and Andrews and Rayfield each went 3-for-4 in a 12-6 win on April 2.