Sarra: Bellmore JFK provides first big playoff thrill
We impatiently wait for the postseason. The playoffs offer new life for all teams - a fresh start. The possibilities are endless. And this year, we got served early. How's this for a start to the Class AA baseball playoffs?
Massapequa, a Long Island baseball giant for the previous four years, is gone. The Chiefs were eliminated by a young Bellmore JFK squad with veteran pitching and a blessed coach.
Bellmore skipper Eric Passman noted that his team peaked at the right time and didn't fold under pressure against the four-time defending Long Island champs. Good thing, too. Passman needed a sweep to be available for his only daughter's wedding Friday evening. The boys obliged with a neat two-game sweep.
Had the teams split the first two games, Passman would have been forced to make a difficult decision. I know where I'd be - walking down the aisle, not along the coach's box.
"We beat a storied program," Passman said. "We weren't intimidated and we believed we could beat them. The boys' win made life a lot less stressful in the Passman household."
This is the furthest a Bellmore team has gone in the Class AA playoffs. Not to be outdone, North Shore, the 15th seed in the Class A playoffs, knocked off the second seed, defending Long Island champion Clarke.
We've already said goodbye to two perennial champions. That leaves Class B champion Southampton as the only defending Long Island title-winner that can win another crown in the same classification. Class C winner Oyster Bay has moved up in class and could meet Southampton for the B title. We conceivably could have four new Long Island winners.
There was parity in Suffolk Class AA. Defending Suffolk champion North Babylon didn't even qualify for the postseason. Such is the state of the sport this season. The county championships are wide open and very interesting.
No. 12 Bellport upended No. 5 Smithtown West, 3-2. The Clippers hadn't participated in the postseason since 2000.
This time of year is magical. Just ask Passman. His club finished 11-10 and did something no other team could do in five years: knock out Goliath.
His resilient group is led by senior power hitter Joe Gallitto, who has five home runs, and pitchers Kevin Archbold (Albany-bound) and Rob Stalzer (Gettysburg), who've thrown extremely well and waited for the young core of hitters to catch up.
Passman points to shortstop Noah Shulman, an all-county sophomore hitting .386, as the key to an exciting future. Sophomore second baseman David Leiderman had an immediate impact on the varsity with a clutch base hit and a sacrifice bunt in the win over Massapequa. And talented sophomore leftfielder Jordan Leopold will keep these Cougars in the mix for years.
"Shulman is a hitting machine," Passman said. "And I brought up a 10th-grader [Leiderman] to play in a big game and he moved a runner in a critical situation, got himself a hit and played great defense. It's been great."
It's all fallen into place for Passman.
The only walk Passman wanted to see Friday was the one with his daughter Sarah down the aisle.
