Hewlett relished underdog role

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No. 16 Hewlett entered its Nassau Class A postseason matchup with No. 8 Lynbrook having won just once in its previous seven games. But against the Owls, the Bulldogs looked far from a struggling team, as they did just about everything right on the field and came away with a 6-1 victory to advance to the third round of the playoffs.

J.J. Lantigua gave Hewlett five strong innings on the mound, in which he gave up just three hits and struck out seven. The Bulldogs offense gave him an early lead to work with, and continued to tack on runs throughout the contest. 

“Moving on feels awesome,” Hewlett head coach Andrew DeBernardo said. “This is where we wanted to be and where we knew we would be. We play in the toughest conference in Nassau County, there is no doubt about it. Once you come out of that, things get a little bit easier for you.”

Lynbrook was eliminated from postseason play with the loss, providing a tough ending for its 12-win season. But, the club’s head coach, Al Mazzaro, had nothing but positive things to say about his group after the defeat. 

“I told my team to keep their heads up and that they had a successful season,” Mazzaro said. “We won’t let a playoff loss define us.”

For the Bulldogs, going into the higher ranked Owls’ home territory, with Lantigua battling illness all week, represented a difficult task. But Hewlett’s lefty starter came up large for his team, giving up just one run in the fourth inning. 

“Pitching like this today feels amazing,” Lantigua said after earning the win. “My curveball was working today, and so was my fastball. I was really able to hit my spots.”

At the plate, Aaron Kadosh, Jesse Metz, and Josh Pincus each delivered two hits for the Bulldogs. Hewlett’s offense also benefitted from several aggressive baserunning plays.

In the third inning, Mike Curiel stole second base, then scored a batter later on a Kadosh single. In the fourth inning, the Bulldogs created another run with runners on first and third. After a pitch was released by Lynbrook’s Justin Baeyens, Jesse Metz broke for second base. When the Owls tried to throw him out at second, Andrew Genovese headed and home from third base and scored to give Hewlett a 3-0 advantage. 

In the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs put the game out of reach, when a Kadosh suicide squeeze bunt ended up plating two Hewlett runners, extending the team’s lead to 6-1. 

“We always want to put the pressure on the team we’re playing,” DeBernardo said. “Let them make the plays. Once or twice it backfired on us, but for the most part we did what we were supposed to do.”

James Falk finished off Hewlett’s season preserving victory, pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh inning.

Hewlett continued its Cinderella story the following day, eliminating No. 9 Island Trees, 3-2, behind pitcher Andrew Genovese who allowed four hits and also scored the winning run. The Bulldogs’ run ended May 19 with an 8-5 loss at top-seeded Carey.