Bulldogs feisty in playoffs

Seeded No. 15 in the 16-team Nassau Class A baseball playoff tournament and mired in a six-game losing streak, Hewlett wasn’t expected to make much noise in the postseason but proved a feisty foe and nearly emerged from its round-robin bracket.

The upset-minded Bulldogs were in the hunt to reach the semifinals and played a fourth strong game in a row but lost at second-seeded North Shore by a run for the second time in five days, falling 1-0 on May 15. The Vikings won it on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when Billy Bianco brought home Connor Lynn, who stole second base and went to third on a passed ball after entering as a pinch runner.

“It was a heartbreaker,” Hewlett coach Andy DeBernardo said. “We made it a lot further than anyone thought. We just couldn’t push a run across.”

Ryan Perro, who hadn’t thrown for a few weeks due to a sore elbow, allowed the Bulldogs just two hits and struck out seven. He had to work in the first two innings, making 49 pitches, but needed just 50 the rest of the way and retired the side in order in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. Hewlett got a leadoff single from Mike Agurkis in the seventh, moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt. But Perro got a comebacker and a strikeout to end it, advancing the Vikings into the semifinals versus defending county champion Clarke, which is seeded third.

“If we would’ve executed, we could’ve beaten North Shore in one or both games,” DeBernardo said. “We did just about everything right, but we didn’t do enough.”

Hewlett’s starting pitcher, sophomore Andrew Genovese, tossed a gem of his own. He pitched 15 innings in the playoffs — all against North Shore — and allowed only two earned runs. “We brought him up less than a month ago and he handled it well,” DeBernardo said. “He’s got a very good mound presence.”

The Class A playoff arrangement changed this year with the 16 qualifiers divided into four, four-team double-elimination brackets. The Bulldogs opened with a 2-1 extra-inning setback to North Shore on May 10 but rebounded to send their two other bracket foes, Mineola and Lynbrook, packing for the season.

With its losing streak at seven games and facing elimination, Hewlett won for the first time in three weeks when it held off Mineola on May 12, 2-1. R.P. Mairiono had a miraculous save, getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh inning to preserve the win for Aaron Kadosh. Alex Messados knocked in Josh Pincus with the winning run in the sixth. Mike Curiel had the other RBI.

The following afternoon, the bats came alive and pitcher Matt Brodsky struck out nine in a 10-4 victory over Lynbrook. Zach Metz (3-for-5, three runs) and Agurkis (two RBIs, two runs) led the offense’s biggest performance since a 14-5 win at Great Neck North on April 22.

“Our goal was to win a playoff game, and we won two,” DeBernardo said. “The program is moving in the right direction.”