Neither Southold nor Mattituck has ever won a state baseball championship. Today, they’ll both get a chance to make history. Each team, in the semifinals in their respective classes, needs two wins to claim the state title.
Mattituck (25-1), playing in the Class B bracket, will face off against the champions of Section 10, Ogdenburg Free Academy at SUNY Broome Community College at 10 a.m. The Blue Devils (18-5), got to the state semifinals by knocking off Albany Academy for Boys, 2-1 in the sub-regionals and then Plattsburgh, 9-5 in the regionals.
“We know they have a real good pitcher who I assume we’re going to see,” Tuckers head coach Steve DeCaro said. “They’re a perennial champion up there, too. They’ve been to the states a couple of times. We know they like to run but we like to defend the run so that’s great.”
DeCaro said he looks to the heart of the order to produce for the Tuckers to come out on top.
“We have to make sure our 4-5 guys really do the work,” DeCaro said. “Last time our bottom of the order guys, Johnny Dwyer and Mike Onufrak got the big hits and now would be nice for the Nishs to have a big game.”
Both Ian and James Nish hit over .400 during the season but haven’t been as effective in the playoffs. That should change come game time. When the moment calls, it’s just a matter of time before either if not both step up.
With many distractions in this the final week of school with finals, the Tuckers have stayed focused.
“As soon as 2:45 hits, we get to go out and practice,” DeCaro said. “It’s the highlight of our day.”
There’s still two games left until the goal they’ve been shooting for all season comes to fruition. But they’re not trying to look past game one.
“Our guys are thinking one at a time,” DeCaro said. “They’ve been playing together for years, we’ve been practicing together since March, they’re focused.”
Joe Tardif takes the mound for the semifinals.
If they win the semifinal, they’ll play the final at the same location against the winner of Westhill and Livonia at 4pm.
Southold (22-2), playing in the Class C bracket, will play Hoosic Valley, the champions of Section II at Binghamton University. The game is slated to start at 10 a.m. After a bye in the sub-regional, the Indians beat Norwood-Norfolk, 11-1 to get into the semifinal.
“It’s been all business,” First Settlers head coach Mike Carver said about the week of practice leading up to the semifinals. “We’ve been doing a lot of hitting, a lot of batting practice, trying to simulate situations with the kind of pitcher we’re expecting to see. One of their pitchers is a big lefty who throws the ball hard so we’re trying to simulate that.”
During finals week a team could lose focus here and there but Carver vehemently denied that claim.
“If anything it’s easier to be focused,” Carver said. ‘The guys know that this is it.”
After Southold beat Tuckahoe 8-5 in the regionals, DeCaro and Carver had an embrace. DeCaro congratulated Carver for something that he’s waited 20 years for.
“This has been a long time coming for me,” Carver said. “As the years go by you start to wonder, ‘are we ever going to get there?’ and after we finally won that game last week, the first thing I finally said to myself was that we did it. We got there.”
“I told the boys,” he continued. ” Hopefully we get to play two games and win everything but just getting here is exciting. It’s all about the experience.”
If Southold wins the semifinal, they’ll play the winner of Tioga and Geneseo at 4 p.m. The championship will also be played at Binghamton University.
Alex Poliwoda is the most likely starter for game one.
Both teams are already the winningest teams in school history. And for both North Fork teams to be able to do this at the same time makes it all that more special.
“This is my fourteenth year here at Mattituck,” DeCaro said. “Since we’ve always played next door to each other, I’ve gotten to know Mike really well. I know they’re rooting for us and we’re certainly rooting for them.”
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