Jason Strickland, Tyler Hodella combine on 3-hitter to lift Miller Place
Miller Place # 14 Jason Strickland.Suffolk High School baseball game between Miller Place and East Hampton. Tuesday April 19, 2022. Miller Place, NY Credit: Pablo Garcia Corradi
Miller Place got a little taste of the postseason in 2021. A year later, the Panthers’ appetite has grown.
A junior-laden team a year ago, Miller Place won three of its last four regular season games to, as coach Rick Caputo said, “get to .500 and scrape our way into the playoffs.”
With all but two players back, the Panthers this season are looking experienced, confident and aggressive. In Tuesday’s chilly conditions, the host Panthers got a date with East Hampton in a matchup of Suffolk VI unbeatens and showed how far they’ve come in a 6-0 victory.
Starter Jason Strickland and closer Tyler Hodella combined on a three-hitter and Bradley Riegel had three RBIs including the drive of the game — a two-run double to the base of the centerfield wall in a three-run fourth inning — for Miller Place (7-0, 6-0). Mike Schleider and Gio Cassino each added an RBI and Panthers stole five bases and were swift on the basepaths whenever there was a chance to advance.
“We hit and we run and we manufacture up and down the lineup,” Riegel said. “I think you could put the depth of our order up against anybody in Suffolk County.”
“One of the things I really like about this team is that it doesn’t depend on just one or two outstanding players,” Caputo said. “On any given day it could be any one of our hitters or pitchers that makes the difference in a win. It’s really a team.
East Hampton (9-1, 9-1) is a program on the rise, however Miller Place stopped its ascent cold — at least for a day.
Strickland struck out six over four innings to earn the win. After a 15-pitch first inning that included a pair of those strikeouts, Miller Place scored twice in the bottom of the first with the key hit being Cassino’s run-scoring flare into center.
“Those runs allowed me to keep attacking without as must pressure as a [scoreless] game,” Strickland said. “I was spotting my fastball well and my curveball ended up being a big piece for me today.”
Hodella came on for the fifth and allowed only one hit over the final three innings while striking out four for the save. He also went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and Justin Klein had two hits and two stolen bases for Miller Place
Colin Ruddy collected all three hits for the Bonackers, going 3-for-3, and reliever Avery Siska retired all six batters he faced in the fifth and sixth innings.
The Panthers broke it open in the fourth with all of its first six hitters reaching base and plating three runs. Klein and Hodella started it with walks before Schleider singled to center to score the first run. Riegel’s blast to center scored Hodella and Schleider for a 6-0 lead.
“We lost in the first round of the playoffs last year,” Hodella said. “We came back this season wanting to play harder. We want more than just a taste of the playoffs. We want a lot more.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
