Sports Notebook: West Baseball Nears League Title

Baseball: West inches closer to league title; East finishes at .500

First-place Smithtown West met second-place West Islip in a crucial three-game series in League III last week, and the Bulls took two of three to move a step closer to clinching the league championship. West improved to 12-3 in league play while West Islip fell to 11-5.

West took game one on Tuesday, 4-3, behind a strong effort by starter James English, who went six innings. English allowed nine hits and walked two while striking out six, and helped his own cause by driving in a run in the Bulls’ three-run fourth with a suicide squeeze bunt. Tyler Reinig doubled in two for the other runs. Anthony Gatto got the save, his fourth of the season, leaving the tying run on third.

West hammered out an 18-9 win in Wednesday’s second game, with two home runs by Reinig, including a grand slam in a 10-run fourth inning. West smacked five round trippers in the game, with shots by English, Nick Zito and Nick Dellasperanza. Ricky Alessi had four hits and four runs scored, while Gatto went 3-for-4. Doug Zhong got the win and is now 5-0 on the year.

West dropped the third game of the series Friday, 2-1, managing just three hits off West Islip’s Chris Anderson. Zito took the loss. West looks to clinch the league title this week when it faces 6-9 East Islip.

Smithtown East won two of three against East Islip to finish the season with a 9-9 record in League III. After dropping game one on Tuesday, 7-4, East won the second game on Wednesday in extra innings, 7-6. Matt Ginobbi’s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth scored Kyle Craig with the game-winner. Ginobbi also tied the game in the bottom of the seventh with a run-scoring single. East Islip out-homered the Bulls, 4-1, but Alex Indelicato’s bomb was a fifth-inning grand slam. Chris Rubin got the win in relief.

East took the rubber game on Friday, 7-5, after trailing 5-0. Dan Walsh went the distance for East, striking out seven to earn the victory. East took the lead for good in the top of the seventh when Kenny Anello doubled in two runs to put East up, 6-5. East has two non-league games this week.

Softball: East makes the playoffs, West still rolling

Smithtown East won two games and lost a thriller to league champion East Islip this week, clinching a playoff berth in the process. East dropped a 5-4 decision to East Islip on Tuesday, as East Islip scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh.

East rallied to win its next two League III games to improve to 10-6 in conference play. East blanked Newfield, 12-0, on Wednesday, with Jessica Mulderig driving in half of the runs on three hits. Samantha Moss allowed one hit over five innings to earn the win. East followed with a 1-0, extra-inning victory over Hills East on Thursday. Corrine Vazac allowed just three hits over eight shutouts innings and got the win when Madison Proventher scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the eighth.

West softball won its 13th conference game of the season Wednesday, beating Centereach, 4-1. Melissa Koster got the win, striking out six and scattering six hits. Kayla McCoy had the big hit, a two-run home run that gave West a 2-0 lead. West dropped a 3-0 decision to East Islip, which clinched the League III title with the win. Koster took the loss.

West boys track finishes 5-1, beats defending champion Bulldogs

Smithtown West is headed into the Suffolk County team championships on a roll, its latest win a 94-47 decision Monday over defending county champion North Babylon.

West, recently ranked among the top five boys track teams on Long Island by Newsday, had double winners in Chris Ingram and Fred Walter. Ingram won the 200 and the 100, posting a personal best 11 seconds in the latter race, while Walter continued his strong season with wins in the shot put and discus. Other winners were Pat Harty (400), Kevin Harty (800), Mike Lynch (3,200), Devin Mirenda (long jump), Mike McCann (high jump), and the pole vault duo of Kyle Budney and Matt Rapp.

Girls Lacrosse: West wins two, East splits pair

West won two of its three games this week to improve to 7-7 in the League I standings, beginning with a 20-7 trouncing of Brentwood on Wednesday. Kirsten Viscount scored five goals and added three assists, while Nikki Heldberg and Jackie Wilkom added four goals apiece.

West lost a 10-9 battle with Lindenhurst on Friday. Heldberg’s fourth goal tied the score, 9-9, with less than two minutes left, but Lindy notched the game-winner with 39 seconds remaining. Kelly Barbarite scored three goals for West, which followed that loss with a 15-12 win over Patchogue-Medford on Saturday. Viscount had four goals and four assists, while goalie Catherine Donaghy made 13 saves. Heldberg and Barbarite each had a hat trick in the game.

East rolled to a 16-9 victory over Whitman on Wednesday, getting six goals from Marissa Grennan. Shannon O’Connor had three goals and four assists, and Elizabeth Pellechi had three goals and one assist. Goaltender Ericka Parks made seven saves in the win. East lost to Ward Melville on Friday, 14-4. Christina Fini led East with three goals. East is 5-8 in League I.