Sole leads Sachem North to Class AA crown

Alec Sole couldn't have dreamed of a better day Wednesday. Well, maybe throwing a no-hitter and hitting four home runs would have eclipsed his performance.

Back to reality, the Sachem North righthander had a memorable 18th birthday. Sole threw a four-hitter, walked none, struck out seven and went 2-for-2 with a double, RBI, three runs and two walks, including one intentional, to lead No. 7 Sachem North to an 8-0 home win over No. 8 Commack in the Suffolk Class AA final.

Sachem North (21-4) won its first county baseball championship since 1987. The Flaming Arrows went 5-0 in the double-elimination tournament, and Sole won two games.

"This game definitely had the most meaning," Sole said. "We haven't made it this far, so it's a special outing. My changeup dropped and they missed it every time. I pitched well and hit my locations, and even when I messed up, they missed."

Said Sachem North coach Tom Gambino: "He probably put in the bases, too. He's been great all year. That's why he was the League II MVP. This was probably his best pitching performance. He had all three pitches working."

Sole retired the first 10 batters before allowing a single in the fourth. Two of the hits he permitted were bloopers, and no Commack runner reached third.

"He pitched a hell of a game and took us home," said Justin Carlo, who went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs. "He threw the fastball well and kept them off balance."

SEE PHOTOSSuffolk 'AA' final: Sachem North 8, Commack 0

Sole led off the bottom of the first with a single, Carlo followed with a single, and Brendan Garry scored Sole with a single. Nick Teta hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. In the second inning, Mike Scarlato (2-for-3, three runs) led off with a walk. With two outs, the next five batters reached, including a two-run double to deep center by Carlo and a run-scoring single from Teta for a 5-0 lead.

"It's real important to jump out early," said Garry, who went 2-for-3 with an intentional walk and two RBIs. "We didn't do that the past few games."

Added Gambino: "In the playoffs we have been hitting with two outs. In a tournament like this, you have to do that. We talked about coming out early and being aggressive with the fastball and we did that."

An impressive run by Commack (21-7) came to an end. After losing in the first round, Commack won six consecutive games to get here, including four by one run.

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The Flaming Arrows have won 17 of 19. They will play Carey for the Long Island Class AA championship at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Farmingdale State.

"I didn't expect us to get this far," Sole said. "I knew we had a talented group, but we surprised everyone because we kept going. We come close every year, but this year was special. We had the right group."

So what could have made the day better for Sole?

"Maybe a birthday cake," he said. "I can't ask for much more."