Hauppauge's John Margolies hits three-run triple, strikes out five of last six in win
Hauppauge relief pitcher John Margolies closes out the win at a Suffolk League V baseball game against Hauppauge in West Babylon on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
John Margolies pumped his fist after his fifth strikeout and the final six West Babylon batters were in the books.
Margolies was the stopper Hauppauge needed to take the third game of a pivotal three-game series with West Babylon on Thursday.
He threw two shutout innings and struck out the side in the seventh inning to punctuate Hauppauge’s 8-5 win over West Babylon, in a Suffolk League V baseball game.
“It’s a huge series win for us,” said Hauppauge coach Josh Gutes. “We were very young last year, and they swept us. Beating them two out of three and keeping their offense to a minimum is impressive.”
West Babylon (5-2) threatened to score or scored in every inning. The Eagles scored and left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings. Hauppauge starter Vin Crafa allowed three hits and walked five. Crafa managed to wiggle out of both jams with minimal damage.
Trailing 1-0, Hauppauge scored five runs with one out in the second inning, keyed by a Margolies three-run triple to the right centerfield for a 5-1 lead. Kevin Walker started the rally with a leadoff home run.
“It was a good pitch to drive,” Margolies said.
West Babylon responded with a run when centerfielder Elijah Outlaw (three hits) lined a two-out, run-scoring double to make it 5-2.
The Eagles cut the deficit to 5-4 in the fourth. Outlaw led off with his second double, moved to third on Brandon Hancock's single and scored on a Ryan Adams sacrifice fly. Hancock then scored on Jace Alvino’s groundout.
The back-and-forth affair took on the same likeness to the second game of the series on Wednesday where West Babylon came away with a 15-14 win.
Hauppauge (5-2) extended the lead with a three-run fifth. Walker drilled a run-scoring double to ignite the rally for the 8-4 lead.
West Babylon cut the deficit to 8-5 in the bottom of the fifth and had the bases loaded with two outs.
“They are a momentum-fueled team,” said Hauppauge catcher Chris Diesso. “They keep coming for you. They’re never out of the game.”
Alvino, the big-hitting Penn State commit, worked the count full against reliever Ian Rivera. He tried to check his swing on a full-count curveball but was called out by the field umpire, setting off West Babylon coach Vic Manzella, who was ejected from the game.
“He definitely swung,” Diesso said. “That’s why I asked the home plate umpire to please check it with the field umpire.”
The rest was left to Margolies to shut it down.
“He pounded the zone against the top of their lineup,” Diesso said. “We needed that.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
