Oceanside returns to baseball finals

For the second consecutive season, Oceanside entered the Class AA baseball playoffs as underdogs, and for the second straight year, the Sailors have peaked at the right time, taken on all comers, and marched all the way to the Nassau finals.

Senior third baseman Morgan McCarthy went to 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, and junior Kyle Martin went the distance on the mound to lead the Sailors to a 4-1 win over Syosset, and a sweep of last week’s best-of-three semifinals. Senior catcher John Condon added two hits, an RBI, and scored a run.

No. 5 Oceanside, which improved to 18-7 and has won 12 of its past 13 games, will take on No. 2 MacArthur in the best-of-three championship series. The Generals, who have a record of 18-6, earned their way to the finals with a sweep of Valley Stream Central.

Despite a relatively young roster, Oceanside coach Mike Postilio is by no means shocked by his team’s return trip to the finals. “This group is resilient, and never feels as if it is out of a game,” Postilio said. “The program has the mentality of expecting to win, so it’s not a shock that we’re in this position. These are great kids who prepare well and understand how to approach big games. For their sake, I really hope we can go a step further.”

As has been the case for much of the past two seasons, the Sailors won the opening game of the semifinal series in dramatic fashion, pulling out a 3-2 extra-inning win. Max Jennings earned the win in relief for Oceanside.

Trailing 2-0, and down to their final strike, the Sailors showed some of their never-say-die resilience. The first of two epic at-bats by freshman Dylan Judd got things started. Judd singled to give Oceanside a little glimmer of hope, and then Brian DiDominca crushed a long double to get the Sailors to within a run.

Junior Nick Vlahakis’s clutch single tied the score, setting the stage for more heroics from Judd. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Judd battled back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk to give the Sailors the victory.

As has been the case throughout the postseason, Martin was dominant in the clincher. The righthander struck out 11 batters and walked just one. He has struck out 43 and yielded just three runs in three playoff starts. Martin was also banged out a couple of hits to help his cause. He will get the ball in the second game of the finals.

McCarthy and Condon have been stellar in the playoffs. McCarthy was 3-for-4 with four RBI with the team facing elimination against Mepham. Condon’s mammoth walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of an opening round playoff game with Herricks gave the Sailors a 1-0 win.