Lynbrook ousted after winning conference

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An outstanding season on the baseball diamond came to a disappointing end for Lynbrook as the Owls dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to visiting Mepham in a Class A elimination game on May 18. 

Matt Nilsen singled with two outs in the top of the ninth to bring home fellow senior Mike Valentino with the game-winning run. Valentino had led off the inning with a triple. Southpaw Brian Porricelli pitched the final two innings to earn the win. 

Senior Nick Valeriano went seven strong innings for Mepham, allowing three hits while fanning seven. Senior Dan Werzinger gave Lynbrook, which finished with an overall record of 14-8, a brilliant eight innings on the mound. Werzinger scattered seven hits and yielded just a pair of earned runs.

The win exacted a little revenge for the Pirates, who were on the short end of a 2-0 contest when they traveled to Lynbrook to open up the postseason earlier in the week. Paul Scibelli went the distance to earn the shutout. Nick Tuzzio’s two-run homer in the bottom of the first accounted for all of the game’s offense.  

“Overall, it was a great season,” Lynbrook head coach Al Marrazzo said. “I’m just disappointed that it had to end for the guys. This was just one of those seasons where you enjoy it; win or lose. They’re a great group on and off the field. Five of the seniors were here for three seasons. The senior class is going to be missed. They left their mark.”

Scibelli and Tuzzio each earned All-County honors for the second straight season, Tuzzio, who hit .450 during the regular season and led the team in hits, home runs and RBI, was also selected as the most valuable player in Nassau Conference A-IV. Scibelli picked up four wins on the mound as the Owls won their first conference championship since 2006.

While Tuzzio and Scibelli earned many of the accolades, senior catcher Justin Baeyens, an All-Conference honoree, was the team’s rock. Baeyens was a defensive stalwart behind the plate, throwing out 50 percent of would-be base stealers. He also hit .400 and served as the team’s closer, earning four saves and a win.

“Justin was probably the most important player on the team,” Marrazzo said. “He put it all together, both mentally and physically. He always had a lot of skill, and this year it all came out.”

Senior second baseman Sean Sebazco was remarkable on defense for the Owls. With Tuzzio, Sebazco, Baeyens, and two-time All-Conference center fielder Tom Sullivan, Lynbrook was as good as any team up the middle. Seniors Dom Sinopoli and Jack Maroney did a great job manning corner outfield positions.

Marrazzo will have a young team in 2018, but juniors Ryan Mueller and pitcher/outfielder Tanner Ceylan, along with the arrival of a strong core of players from the freshmen class, should enable the program to continue to thrive. Mueller picked up three wins on the mound.