Lohsen hits grand slam in Centereach's 9-3 win over East Islip

Cody Lohsen had to compete with six other players for the starting rightfield spot in the preseason. The Centereach senior platooned with two players last year, but he was the favorite to win the job this year.

Lohsen began the season on a hot streak and his job was never in jeopardy. He went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, including a grand slam in Centereach's 9-3 home win over East Islip on Friday afternoon in a Suffolk League III baseball game.

"Last year, I was nervous," Lohsen said. "I tried to do too much. This year, I am more relaxed. I am getting a lot of fastballs hitting behind Bret [DeRosa], so it's nice."

With Centereach leading 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth, Lohsen came up with the bases loaded and fell behind 1-and-2 before working the count full.

Then he hit a line-drive homer to right-center to make it 9-3.

"I just tipped a fastball and it was almost caught for a strikeout," Lohsen said. "Then he left me a fastball down the middle. I was just trying to hit it hard up the middle."

And he's been hitting the ball hard frequently.

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"It was his job to lose and he never lost it," Centereach coach Mike Herrschaft said. "He started out hot and no one else has had a chance to go out there."

Lohsen is batting around .500 with three home runs and leads the team in RBIs. Centereach (8-2, 7-2) continued to be an offensive force with 13 hits.

Andrew Abreu went 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base, Tino Rockelein went 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs and Nicholas Luciani went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs.

"We have good hitters," Rockelein said. "One through nine, we're all hitting over .300."

Connor McKelvey went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Mike Apuzzo went 2-for-3 for East Islip (3-9, 3-9).

DeRosa started the game for Centereach and left after four innings. He threw 59 pitches and allowed two earned runs. He came into the game with an ERA less than 1.00.

"He toughed it out," Herrschaft said. "He had some stiffness in his right arm prior to the game. We were monitoring things. He didn't have his strong stuff."

Rob Cappiello pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts to close the game for Centereach, which was led by Lohsen (10 RBIs) in the three-game sweep of East Islip.

"He's been a big surprise," Herrschaft said. "If we had to have a most improved kid for the year, it's him."