East Meadow seeks strong finish

East Meadow got a taste of its potential on the diamond just before heading into the bye week, knocking off a Hicksville team that was not only unbeaten but also ranked No. 1 on Long Island, 7-4, on April 18. Sophomore Brian Kavanagh pitched six innings, struck out eight and didn’t allow a single earned run or walk before giving way to senior Ben Fritzen, who slammed the door on a potential Comets rally in the seventh.

The Jets returned from the break with another win last Monday, knocking off Plainview-JFK, 2-1, in eight innings. Junior Billy Thomas provided not one, but two big hits, driving in freshman Zach Fritz from first base with a booming double to give East Meadow the walkoff win. His sixth-inning single plated senior Robbie Bergmann to tie the game at 1-1. “We were getting guys in scoring position but [needed] the big hit [earlier in the game],” coach Ken Sicoli said. “He drove the ball hard and far in key situations [late].”

Thomas’ late-game heroics backed the outstanding pitching of senior Matt Sumkowski who went the distance, allowing just five hits and one earned run while striking out eight. “It was the best game we played all year,” Sicoli said. “The pitching was great and the defense played well behind him.”

The pitching and defense also came up big in the earlier win over Hicksville after Fritzen came out of the pen in the seventh inning with the tying run at the plate and nobody out. He induced a popup to third, a groundout and a popup to second to not only knock off the Comets but help the Jets (4-7) snap a five-game slide before the bye. “He came in, threw strikes and did a great job,” Sicoli said.

Thomas drove in a pair of runs with two singles and a double as part of a 3-for-4 day at the plate, and Fritz plated a pair with a double. “We had a decent amount of hits in the game, but in one inning we had six and [scored] four runs,” Sicoli said. “We’ve had a lot of hits in other games but spread them out [across innings].”

Kavanagh has been a catalyst in the field and at the plate, holding down some hefty responsibilities for a sophomore. On top of pitching and playing shortstop, he’s also batting leadoff and hitting at a .415 clip. Thomas, meanwhile, has been an anchor as the No. 5 hitter and entered the final two series with an average hovering near .350. Fritz the starting third baseman and a rare freshman cleanup hitter, sported a .385 average, while senior designated hitter Rich Rankel has a sparkling .420 mark at the plate.

East Meadow closes out the regular season with a three-game set against Oceanside with games slated for Saturday (9:30 a.m.) and Tuesday (4:45 p.m.) at Oceanside. The Jets host the middle game of the series on Monday with the first pitch scheduled for 4:45 p.m.