Eastport - South Manor baseball stays undefeated after Brady McGowan's lead-saving play stops Hauppauge rally
Eastport South Manor's Memphis Lanier (1) throws a pitch in the first inning during the Suffolk High School Baseball game between Hauppauge and Eastport South Manor on Thursday May15, 2025 at Hauppauge High School Credit: Bob Sorensen
The Eastport-South Manor baseball team always seems to find a way.
Take Thursday’s 4-3 Suffolk League V win over host Hauppauge for example.
ESM was clinging to a 4-2 lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Roman Dixon ripped a grounder to the left side, and ESM shortstop Brady McGowan made a sliding stop to keep the ball from trickling into the outfield. One run had already scored, and the tying run was rounding third when McGowan picked up the ball. He fired to third baseman Logan Walsh, who started a rundown.
Walsh threw to catcher Thomas Gargiulo, who tossed it back to McGowan for the game-ending tag to maintain the undefeated season for the Sharks (18-0, 17-0).
“Brady did a great job on the slide, keeping the ball in the infield,” said coach Jim McGowan, also Brady’s father. “Once he saw the runner take a hard round, Logan at third base does a great job getting back to the bag. So we executed the play — not that you practice those a ton, but those are definitely situations that you go over. We were able to execute the rundown, everybody kind of being in the right spot.
“It was an odd way to end the game, but it was a great way to end the game for us.”
Memphis Lanier (4-0) allowed five hits over 6 1⁄3 innings and Ralph Betner pitched the final two-thirds of an inning for his fifth save.
“We all love each other,” Brady McGowan said. “We love being here. We work our butts off every day, so seeing the results is just crazy.”
Ian Rivera struck out 12, walked five and allowed four hits and two earned runs in a complete game for Hauppauge (11-8, 10-7).
Daniel Egbert led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. After a strikeout, Tucker Brown singled to put runners on first and second with one out. ESM then intentionally walked Yale commit and pro prospect Michael Oliveto for the third time, putting the winning run on base.
“I hope that we’re all watching him on TV in the near future,” Jim McGowan said. “He’s a great player. The old adage: You can’t let the best player beat you.”
Betner recorded a strikeout before the game’s final play.
“It’s pretty intense, but Ralph, he’s come in all year and he’s done that exact same thing,” Lanier said.
ESM broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh on Connor Minihane’s RBI sacrifice fly and Bennett Smith’s RBI double.
The Sharks led 2-0 after Lanier’s two-out, two-run double in the fourth.
After Oliveto – who has 13 intentional walks – was given his second free pass to load the bases with two outs in the fifth, Cole Wood hit a two-run single to tie the score.
“If we did it again, and they asked me, we can put Mike on again,” Hauppauge coach Josh Gutes said. “We’ll take Cole Wood in that spot any day of the week.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
