Center Moriches washes out of state Class B baseball playoffs with semifinal loss
Center Moriches pitcher Dan Gilroy, center, watches the field from the dugout during their New York State Public High School Athletic Association semifinal game against Chester at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y., Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: /Heather Ainsworth
BINGHAMTON — It was start-and-stop baseball. Fierce thunderstorms pounded the upstate region Friday afternoon. With lightning strikes all around, fans were evacuated from the baseball stadium at Binghamton University. The first storm caused a short delay in the third inning of the Center Moriches–Chester state Class B semifinal playoff.
The Devils had a two-run lead at the time of stoppage. When play resumed, Chester scored two runs in the fourth inning to tie the score before the lightning sirens sounded and the stadium was cleared for an hour and 15-minute delay.
This time when play resumed, Chester scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning on the way to a 5-2 win over Center Moriches to claim a spot in the Class B championship game on Saturday at 10 a.m. against Medina (20-1) at Binghamton University.
The Center Moriches season came to a stunning end in a game that lasted four hours and 15 minutes.
The downpours that interrupted the game on two occasions caused a short delay and then the hour-plus delay didn’t help Center Moriches starter Dan Gilroy keep his rhythm. The staff ace had thrown three shutout innings, striking out five, before the rain washed away his momentum.
“It wasn’t just the rain and the delays,” he said. “Both teams played in the bad weather. We were just too aggressive and made mistakes we don’t usually make.”
Center Moriches (20-4) scored twice in the bottom half of the first. Leadoff man Luke Rebore-Costanzo singled through the five-hole and stole second. JT Bonventre continued his torrid hitting with a line shot to left for an RBI single for the 1-0 lead. Bonventre moved to second on the throw to the plate. He scored when Gilroy popped up behind second base and the fielders collided with no catch being made to make it 2-0.
Chester (18-5) took advantage of the short rain delay and jumped all over Gilroy in the fourth. Brandon Jenkins hit his second triple in as many at-bats to lead off. Nick Sharp followed with a run-scoring double. After a walk to Aidan Francisco, the runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, and Mason Diaz lifted a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score at 2.
The umpires cleared the field in a deluge.
“We have no excuses,” Center Moriches coach Paul Gibson said. “We had a terrific season. But we allowed this one to slip away. Both teams had to play in miserable conditions. We made baserunning mistakes uncharacteristic of our team.”
Gibson was right. Center Moriches’ downfall wasn’t all weather related. There were wasted scoring opportunities and poor baserunning that ran the Devils out of a few innings. The Devils had two runners thrown out at the plate and two erased at third base, short-circuiting potential rallies.
Gilroy exited after five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. Reliever Rich Roberts struck out four and allowed one run in two innings of work.
“It’s disappointing for sure,” Gibson said. “We had such a hot start and then it got away from us.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
