HS roundup: Chris LaMacchia, Nick Rizzo lift East Islip past Half Hollow Hills West
Nick Rizzo of East Islip poses for a portrait during Newsday's 2023 baseball season preview shoot at Newsday's photo studio in Melville on March 23. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Chris LaMacchia drove in Alex Ciampi with a walk-off two-out single in the eighth inning to give No. 2 East Islip a 4-3 victory over No. 5 Half Hollow Hills West in a Suffolk Conference III elimination baseball game on Monday. Nick Rizzo struck out eight in eight innings and had an RBI double in the first inning. Luca Pipia hit a home run for Half Hollow Hills West (14-10). East Islip (17-6) will visit No. 1 West Babylon on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Conference III final.
Babylon 6, Center Moriches 0: Daniel Madsen pitched a four-hitter and struck out six to lead No. 1 Babylon (20-0) over No. 3 Center Moriches (12-8) in Game 1 of the Suffolk Class B championship series. Andrew DiPalma had three stolen bases and an RBI. Joe Hanson went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Center Moriches will host Babylon on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Game 2.
Seaford 11, Carle Place 0: Sean Costello went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs and two RBIs as No. 1 Seaford defeated No. 6 Carle Place in a Nassau Class B semifinal. Stephen Ierides hit a solo home run in the third inning. Seaford (21-1) will host No. 5 Wheatley on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at SUNY Farmingdale in Game 1 of the finals.
SOFTBALL
St. Anthony’s 8, Kellenberg 0: Mila Fiordalisi struck out seven in six perfect innings as No. 1 St. Anthony’s beat No. 2 Kellenberg in the CHSAA semifinals. Bella Cruz had two hits and Jackie Morra and Sarah Bielski each had two RBIs. St. Anthony’s (21-3) will play Tuesday at 5 p.m. for the CHSAA championship at Hofstra.
Hauppauge 11, Kings Park 1: Sam Fehrenbach struck out 12 batters in a complete game to lead No. 3 Hauppauge over No. 2 Kings Park in the third round of the Suffolk Class A playoffs on Sunday. Stefania Abruscato went 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBIs. Kayleigh Collins went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Kadie Cain went 2-for-2 and scored three runs. Hauppauge (17-4) will host No. 8 Bayport-Blue Point on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Kings Park (15-3-1) will host Islip on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.
Bayport-Blue Point 4, Mt. Sinai 2: Erin McMahon struck out 12 and drove in a run in No. 8 Bayport-Blue Point’s win over No. 5 Mount Sinai in the third round of the Suffolk Class A playoffs. Nikki Echevarria had a hit and an RBI. Renee McGowan had a hit and scored two runs. Mount Sinai (18-4) will host No. 7 East Islip on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.
BOYS TENNIS
Volk rallies. Half Hollow Hills West’s Bryan Volk came back against Commack’s Eric Benderly for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal win and then got by Ward Melville’s Harshith Pennabadi, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a semifinal on Monday to reach Tuesday’s singles championship match at the Suffolk Individual boys tennis championships. Volk will meet defending county champion Eddie Liao of Commack in the 3 p.m. title match at Smithtown East. Laio defeated Mount Sinai’s Juan Perez in the quarterfinals and East Hampton’s Max Astilean in the semifinals. In doubles, Shashank Pennabadi and Gabe Bursztyn of Ward Melville and Bobby Stabile and Giancarlo Volpe of Westhampton both won quarterfinal and semifinal matches without dropping a set. The teams will meet for the county doubles title on Tuesday at Smithtown East.
