Oceanside advances to semifinals

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After spending consecutive springs winning huge postseason games on the road, Oceanside, by virtue of being the top seed in Nassau Class AA, is finding out that having home field advantage in the playoffs can be beneficial.

After splitting the first two games of their quarterfinal round series with No. 9 Farmingdale, the Sailors found themselves playing in an elimination game. Playing on its home diamond, Oceanside got contributions from its veterans and its youth to take the clincher 2-1. Senior Nick DiLorenzo’s sacrifice fly drove home senior Kyle Martin with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Sophomore Brendan McFall got the start and was solid over 5 1/3 innings on the mound. Martin, who struck out nine batters and gave up just two hits to pick up the victory in the series opener, earned the win in relief. The Sailors advanced to the country semifinals and a matchup with No. 4 Massapequa. Oceanside took two of three from the Chiefs during the regular season.

Head coach Mike Postilio was impressed, but not surprised by McFall’s performance. “We sent a sophomore out to pitch in an elimination game, and he gave us everything we could have ever asked for and more,” Postilio said. “He pitched with a lot of confidence. We expected him to give us a great effort. Once we scratched out that second run, we knew we were in great shape with Kyle on the mound to get the final three outs.”

Martin led off the bottom of the sixth inning by smacking a single through the hole between short and third. Rather than wait for a teammate to bunt him into scoring position, he took it upon himself to attempt to swipe second base. Farmingdale pitched out, and its catcher made a strong throw, but Martin made an outstanding slide and snuck his left hand in ahead of the tag. 

After a fielder’s choice moved Martin to third, DiLorenzo drove a 1-1 pitch to center that was deep enough to put the Sailors on top for good. Martin shut the Dalers down quickly in the top of the seventh.

Despite its low seed, Farmingdale was more than a reputable opponent. The Dalers dropped a pair of one-run games to Oceanside (18-3-1) during the regular season, and were tough on everyone in Conference AA-I all season long. 

The opening game was all Oceanside. With Martin mowing down hitters, and DiLorenzo (2-for-3 with three RBI) and senior Justin Halper (two RBI) leading the offense, the Sailors put Farmingdale on the brink of elimination with a 12-2 rout.

But, the Dalers were not ready for the off season. With his team trailing by one and down to its last out, Nick Bifolco singled to drive in a pair of runs to give Farmingdale a 3-2 walk-off win and force a third and deciding game.