Vincent Mercogliano
Greater Westchester Area

The first round of the Section 1 baseball playoffs on Saturday featured 24 games and lots of intrigue, with several notable upsets, pitching performances and coaching decisions.

The headline was 17th-seeded Brewster’s upset of top-seeded Hen Hud in Class A. After the game went to extra innings, junior Jason Gonch provided the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth for the surprising 3-2 win at Sunset Park. Fellow junior Christian Lando earned the win with four shutout innings in relief, including working out of a big jam in the fifth. With runners on second and third with no outs, Lando induced two infield popups and a fly ball to right to end the inning without allowing a run.

In a battle of Rockland County rivals, 11th-seeded Nyack beat No. 6 Pearl River, 3-2, in Class A. The Indians had been swept by Pearl River during the regular season, but Cyrus Shirazzi provided the game-winning hit in the seventh inning. Another road team in Class A that came away victorious was defending state champion Byram Hills, the No. 10 seed. The Bobcats rolled the dice by saving ace Frankie Vesuvio against No. 7 Pelham, but senior Anthony Russo got the job done in an 8-2 win.

In Class AA, there were two major upsets. Twelfth-seeded Horace Greeley beat No. 5 White Plains, 6-3, thanks to an 11-strikeout performance from sophomore left-hander Brandon Neeck, who recently made his verbal commitment to the University of Virginia. And in a matchup of two Dutchess County rivals, No. 13 John Jay-East Fishkill knocked off fourth-seeded Arlington with an 8-2 win.

The only double-digit seed to win in Class B was No. 10 Albertus Magnus, the defending champion. The Falcons went on the road to No. 7 Ardsley and won convincingly, 10-0. Senior right-hander James Reilly, a James Madison commit, struck out six over six innings for the win.

In a year that has been dominated by pitching, there were a total of 14 complete game wins thrown in the 24 games – Neeck, Tappan Zee RHP John Daly, Rye RHP George Kirby, Eastchester RHP Greg Satriale, North Rockland LHP Eric Sandusky, Mamaroneck RHP Truman Devitt, Mahopac RHP Brendan White, Clarkstown South RHP Nick Tagaris, Fox Lane LHP Robert Lichtenberger, Briarcliff RHP Joe Canonaco, Valhalla LHP Steven Franzese, Keio RHP Shutaro Wakayama, Croton-Harmon RHP Scott Giordano and Westlake LHP Tom Cosentino.

White had the performance of day, striking out 12 over 10 innings on 114 pitches while also hitting a walk-off double in a dramatic 2-1 win over Ossining in Class AA.

 

** Here are all of the scores from the first round, with Monday’s quarterfinals schedule. 

Class AA

Saturday, May 21

First round

Ketcham 3, New Rochelle 0

North Rockland 5, Carmel 0

Mamaroneck 12, Port Chester 1

John Jay-EF 8, Arlington 2

Horace Greeley 6, White Plains 3

Mahopac 2, Ossining 1 (10 innings)

Clarkstown South 4, Yorktown 2

Fox Lane 3, Suffern 0

 

Monday, May 23

Quarterfinals

No. 8 Fox Lane at No. 1 Ketcham, 4:30 p.m.

No. 10 Clarkstown South at No. 2 North Rockland, 4:30 p.m.

No. 6 Mahopac at No. 3 Mamaroneck, 4:30 p.m.

No. 13 John Jay-EF at No. 12 Horace Greeley, 4:30 p.m.

 

Class A

Saturday, May 21

First round

Brewster 3, Hen Hud 2 (8 innings)

John Jay 7, Nanuet 1

Harrison 5, Yonkers 0

Tappan Zee 1, Sleepy Hollow 0

Rye 2, Beacon 0

Nyack  3, Pearl River 2

Byram Hills 8, Pelham 2

Eastchester 5, Lakeland 4

Monday, May 23

Quarterfinals

No. 17 Brewster at No. 8 Eastchester, 4:30 p.m.

No. 10 Byram Hills at No. 2 John Jay, 4:30 p.m.

No. 11 Nyack at No. 3 Harrison, 4:30 p.m.

No. 5 Rye at No. 4 Tappan Zee, 4:30 p.m.

 

Class B

Saturday, May 21

First round

Briarcliff 8, Hastings 0

Valhalla 4, YMA 0

Keio 2, Blind Brook 0

Pleasantville 5, Pawling 4

Croton-Harmon 6, Rye Neck 2

Edgemont 11, Dobbs Ferry 0

Albertus Magnus 10, Ardsley 0

Westlake 7, Putnam Valley 2

Monday, May 23

Quarterfinals

No. 9 Westlake at No. 1 Briarcliff, 4 p.m.

No. 10 Albertus Magnus at No. 2 Valhalla, 4 p.m.

No. 6 Edgemont at No. 3 Keio, 4:30 p.m.

No. 5 Croton-Harmon at No. 4 Pleasantville, 4:30 p.m.