Calhoun ousts Mepham in quarterfinals

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With a spot in the Nassau Class AA baseball semifinals on the line May 19, the stakes were extremely high for the sixth meeting between district rivals Calhoun and Mepham in an 11-day span.

Calhoun, which took two of three against Mepham in the final regular-season series to earn the Conference AA-III title and No. 2 playoff seed, made the most of its second chance to end the Pirates’ season. Senior Dylan Hughes pitched a six-hit shutout to lead the Colts to a 4-0 home victory in the decisive game of a roller coaster quarterfinal series. 

Hughes, who struck out seven and walked only one, got all the support he would need in the bottom of the second inning when Rob Backus hit a two-run, bases-loaded single to right, scoring Mike Porkorny and Matt Pelcher. Calhoun (15-7) tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the sixth on RBIs from Porkorny and Anthony D’Andrea, two late-season additions to the roster.

“We got to the same point last year, but we lost a tight third game of the quarterfinals to MacArthur with Dylan on the mound,” Colts coach Art Canestro said. “I’m so glad he was able to get some redemption.

“Losing this series would’ve been a huge disappointment,” he added. “The wind was out of our sails a little after they beat us the other day, but the kids stayed focused and played great.”

Hughes’ toughest moment came in the fifth when the Pirates (14-8) put runners on the corners thanks to two-out singles off the bats of Ryan Connolly and Matt Conry. But Hughes, who saved Calhoun’s 10-7 victory in the series opener three days earlier, recorded a flyout to center to end the threat. “I love the pressure,” Hughes said. “Mepham has a deep lineup. The guys couldn’t have played better defense behind me.”

It was the second shutout of the series. On May 17, Mepham sophomore Mike Proios held the Colts to three hits and fanned six as the seventh-seeded Pirates stayed alive with a 4-0 home victory. T.J. Rullo, who drove in four runs in the first two games, had a two-run single in the third.  

In the series opener, Calhoun trailed 7-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth before exploding for eight runs on eight hits. Leadoff hitter Jake Gargiulo belted a two-run tie-breaking triple off the fence. “We hadn’t had an inning like that all year,” said Canestro, whose team advanced to meet third-seeded East Meadow in a best-of-three semifinal series.   

 Backus, who was the winning pitcher, led off the inning with a double. He scored on a single to center by Hughes, who started at shortstop and closed the door when he relieved Backus with two on and none out in the seventh. After D’Andrea singled, Jack Pugliano doubled home Hughes to make it 7-4 and brought the tying run to the plate. Mike Losak followed with a clutch triple and also scored during the outburst. Porkorny and Pelcher also had key hits.