Connetquot baseball's DJ Filippone strikes out 10, offense backs him up to win Suffolk Class AAA title
Connetquot celebrates after defeating Commack for the Suffolk Class AAA baseball championship on Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Selden. Credit: Dawn McCormick
DJ Filippone was feeling it as he exited the mound to a standing ovation. He fired his final pitch, No. 119, to record his 10th strikeout and the heavy lifting was finished. Filippone put Connetquot on the doorstep of another Suffolk County Class AAA baseball championship.
Reliever Jack Doucet recorded the final four outs to help Connetquot put the polish on an 11-4 win over Commack and claim the title Saturday afternoon at the Middle Country Athletic Complex in Selden.
Connetquot (21-3), which won its third Suffolk crown in six years and 10th overall, will meet Massapequa (22-3-1) for the Long Island Class AAA championship at Middle Country Athletic Complex at 3 p.m. on June 6.
It will be a rematch of last year’s Long Island final.
“I had to fight through some adversity on the mound today,” Filippone said. “I was slipping a bit in the wet conditions, and it was a tight zone. I was near the pitch limit and really wanted that last strikeout.”
Commack used a two-out rally to take a 2-0 second inning lead as the teams played amidst 35 mph wind gusts that forced temperatures to dip into the 50s at gametime. Fans and players were also treated to a three-minute heavy downpour. Undeterred Jacob Abzug and Nick Schumacher grounded two singles up the middle and Justin Gomez worked a full-count walk to load the bases with two out. Leadoff man Robbie Mascia drilled a two-run double down the leftfield line.
Connetquot answered in the bottom half of the second. The T-birds loaded the bases with one out after an infield error, hit batsman and a Tyler Cope single. Andrew McQuade reached on a fielder’s choice to score Gavin Beisel from third to make it 2-1. Matt Lineman’s infield single scored Damian Sosa to tie the score. Jagger Adamo drilled a line drive RBI-single to score Cope. Fillipone drew a full-count walk to score McQuade and Mike Mallon lifted a sacrifice fly for the fifth run and a 5-2 lead.
“We’ve answered the bell all season,” Connetquot coach Rob Burger said. “We came back in our first playoff game against Patchogue. Our guys believe that we can grind down opposing pitchers and utilize a deep lineup and our team speed to win.”
Connetquot added to its lead with a three-run third. McQuade had a two-run single and Adamo lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2.
Commack drew to within 8-4 in the fifth but Connetquot answered in the bottom half of the inning. Adamo walked, Filippone singled and Mallon dropped a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position. Chris Steeneck drilled a two-run single for the 10-4 lead.
“Up and down our lineup are hitters,” Adamo said. “It could be anyone. We hit when it matters.”
McQuade, a freshman leadoff hitter, had three hits and helped the T-birds seal the win with an insurance run in the sixth. McQuade singled, stole second and scored when Mallon added an RBI-single for the final margin. Mallon also had three hits.
“We found a lot of holes and didn’t put the ball in the air,” Burger said of his offense totaling 14 hits.
Now the T-birds get another shot at Massapequa in the Long Island final.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
