Weber lifts Bay Shore to 12th county title

With the opening strains of "Enter Sandman" blaring from the Bay Shore PA system and Liz Weber jogging out to the circle for the final three outs, you could be forgiven for wondering if maybe it was Mariano Rivera who was copying Bay Shore.

After all, the Marauders have proved to be an even more consistent institution than the Yankees' closer, with six state championships, nine Long Island championships and 28 consecutive playoff appearances.

And after three quick outs in the seventh inning, top-seeded Bay Shore also clinched its 12th county title with a 5-0 win over No. 6 Whitman Thursday in Game 3 of the Suffolk Class AA finals. Bay Shore (24-1) faces East Meadow at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Mitchel Athletic Complex in the Long Island Championship.

Weber allowed five hits, struck out four and walked none. She managed to shut down Whitman after pitching against them four of the last six days (parts of Game 2 were played on Tuesday and Wednesday due to weather).

"She's a very competitive kid and she's been preparing for this all year," coach Jim McGowan said. "When you see a pitcher three days in a row, you're more likely to make contact. She might not have had as many strikeouts as earlier games, but I still thought she threw a powerful game."

Bay Shore got on the board in the third inning after a two-base throwing error scored Courtney Syrett from second. Kelsey Fischer scored on a passed ball and Taylor McGowan, Nicole Marzillo and Giana Panariello had back-to-back-to-back singles for another run, giving Bay Shore a 3-0 lead.

"You definitely have to respond to their errors," Fischer said. " . . . You have to be very cognizant of what's going on and know where the ball is."

SEE PHOTOSBay Shore 5, Whitman 0

In the fourth, Amber Fogarty doubled and scored on Weber's triple. Weber scored on a Syrett groundout for the final margin.

Whitman (17-7) tried to rally in the fourth, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Weber struck out Elizabeth Quinn. They never got another runner into scoring position.

"I didn't want them to come back, and I knew that if I laid it over the plate they could tie it up," Weber said. "I wasn't going to let that happen."

Rivera couldn't have said it better himself.