Lindenhurst tops Calhoun for L.I. crown

A pitching duel between juniors Joey Christopher of Calhoun and Rich Vrana of Lindenhurst was the theme of Sunday night’s Long Island Class AA baseball championship game at Farmingdale State College.

Each allowed only one run through five innings, then the Bulldogs broke through with an unearned run in the top of the sixth and went on to defeat the Colts, 4-2, before an estimated crowd of 1,500.

Vrana took a three-run lead into the bottom of the seventh but was on the verge of being lifted by coach Mike Canobbio after Calhoun pushed across one run and brought the potential winning run to the plate. But Vrana, who allowed four hits, got Dan Sullivan on a fly to center to end it.

It was the only postseason loss for Calhoun, which swept Oceanside, Carey and MacArthur in best-of-three series’ to capture its first Nassau County title since 2002. Christopher allowed one earned run on six hits in six innings of work. 

The Colts took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when senior Ryan Kass doubled, advanced to third on junior Jake Thomas’ fly to center and scored on a wild pitch. Sophomore Zach Goldstein drove in sophomore Frank Trimarco for their other run.