Thomas Costarelli strikes out 11 as East Islip cruises to victory
East Islip pitcher Thomas Costarelli delivers to the plate during a Suffolk League IV baseball game against Smithtown West in Smithtown on Monday, May 12, 2025. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
When senior lefty Thomas Costarelli is on – East Islip is near impossible to beat. And Costarelli was on the top of his game Monday.
He allowed two hits, walked four and struck out 11 over six shutout innings as East Islip cruised past host Smithtown West, 10-1, to clinch the Suffolk League IV regular season baseball title.
Costarelli struck out the side in the first inning and had multiple strikeouts in each of the second, fifth and sixth innings to improve to 7-0. He has an earned run average of 0.29 with 79 strikeouts, 10 walks and 17 hits allowed over 47 innings.
“When he’s on like he was today, we only need one or two runs,” East Islip coach Sal J. Ciampi said. “He was definitely fresh and had some real pop on his fastball and command of his pitches.”
East Islip (15-1,17-1) used a six-run third inning to blow the game open. They added a four-run fifth for good measure for a 10-0 lead. Smithtown West (11-5, 12-5), which lost for the fourth straight game, averted the shutout when Jax Cascione doubled and scored when pinch hitter Connor Biglin singled him home in the bottom of the seventh.
East Islip scored six times in the third. Costarelli and Mike Tramaglini lined back-to-back RBI singles, and after Lucas Patton’s sacrifice fly, John Talt capped the barrage with a two-run single for the 6-0 lead.
“We were playing for the early lead, and we came away with the big inning,” Ciampi said. "There was a walk, an error and a hit batsman mixed in there. Our guys did a good job putting it all together and taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Talt, who went 2-for-3 with three RBI, highlighted the four-run fifth with an RBI single, the only hit of the inning as Smithtown West pitchers walked four batters.
With the comfortable lead, Costarelli pounded the zone and never allowed a runner to reach third base. The East Tennessee State-commit did not give up a hit in his final three innings.
“He [Costarelli] was unhittable,” Smithtown West coach Al Nucci. “He mixes it up, commands all the quadrants in the zone, and changes speeds well.”
“I’ve worked with him since the eighth grade and he’s become such a dominant pitcher,” said former major leaguer Neal Heaton, who serves as Costarelli’s pitching coach. “I’ve seen him grow over the years and develop three quality pitches. He’s a phenomenal athlete and everything comes easy for him. What I really like is his mound presence and composure and that will benefit him at the next level of baseball.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
