After a wild 10-inning win Saturday, the Mattituck baseball team celebrated in style. Mattituck advances to the state semifinals next weekend. (Credit: Daniel De Mato)
One out remained.
Leading 4-2 in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon, the Mattituck baseball team was on the verge of punching its ticket to the state semifinals next weekend.
The Tuckers punched that ticket eventually, but it required a lot more baseball than it looked like it would.
Albertus Magnus outfielder Christian Conklin launched a two-out, two-run home run to right field to tie the Class B state quarterfinal game and send it into extra innings.
The Tuckers, dealt a heavy blow, bounced back to prevail in an 10-inning classic at Mamaroneck High School in the second game of a state quarterfinal doubleheader.
The Tuckers rallied for stunning five-run rally in the 10th inning, all with two outs, to win 9-5 and advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 1983, according to coach Steve DeCaro.
Mattituck will be vying for the first state title in program history in Binghamton next weekend. The Tuckers will play Ogdensburg Free Academy at SUNY Broome Community College at 10 a.m. next weekend in the semifinals. If they win, the finals are at 4 p.m. on the same field.
Mattituck improved to 25-1 while Albertus Magnus finished its season 18-6.
The Tuckers’ rally in the 10th inning started innocently enough with a slow infield single from Mike Onufrak up the third base line. Jon Dwyer doubled home a run to make it 5-4. The Tuckers then loaded the bases for Chris Dwyer, who cleared them with a double to center field.
Just like that, the Tuckers had an 8-4 lead. They tacked on one more in the inning and Albertus Magnus got one back in the bottom half for the final 9-5 score.