Smithtown East beats Centereach, 13-0

As the saying goes, even the smallest pebble can upset the biggest cart.

Defending Suffolk League III champion Centereach felt the full brunt of that sentiment in the second inning against Smithtown East on Friday when Tim Kopiske's seemingly easy double-play ball hit something - a divot, a clump of grass, a pebble - and took a spectacular hop over second baseman Andrew Abreu's head. The hit was followed by two straight errors and the Bulls (9-3) scored five runs, all unearned, on the way to a 13-0 victory.

Then there was that figurative pebble rolling around painfully in the Cougars' shoes: junior Alex Indelicato, making his first varsity start for the Bulls. Indelicato allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings and struck out four on the strength of a jitterbugging curveball that kept Centereach (8-4) off-balance.

The win broke a tie between the two teams for first place in the league.

"That guy on the mound gave us a tremendous performance," Smithtown East coach Ken Klee said. "We've been really struggling with filling our third spot - two of our three losses have been from the third pitcher - and he's turned into the best [option]."

As Indelicato wove his masterpiece, Smithtown East's bats ignited against losing pitcher Bret DeRosa. The Bulls batted around in a five-run second, which was highlighted by Doug Milne's two-out, two-run double with the bases loaded. They had a six-run third capped by Joe Kubicsko's two-run single to right.

The key, Centereach coach Mike Herrschaft said, remained that missed double play. "That was the turning point," he said. "I know it was early, but if we make that double play, it's two outs and nobody on. It's a different game."

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Still, "that's the most runs we've had all season," Milne said. "We just put good swings on the ball."

Against Centereach, it's especially sweet. "They're probably the best team in the league," Indelicato said. "This gives us a lot of confidence, to beat a team like that.''

It also gives Smithtown East a small measure of redemption. Last year, the Bulls needed to win one of three games against Centereach to capture the league title but dropped all three. Now Smithtown East is first with six games to play and needs one more win to secure a spot in the playoffs.

"We've got two series left," Indelicato said. "We'll see what we can do."