Seaford playoff stay is brief

Seaford was unable to carry its late-season momentum into the playoffs.

After entering the Class A baseball postseason tournament winning eight of nine games, two close losses quickly dashed the Vikings’ championship dreams. Seaford was bounced from the double-elimination Class A playoffs  with back-to-back 4-2 defeats to North Shore and Mepham.

“We didn’t play that terrible, but there were no heroics in either game,” Seaford coach Mike Milano said. “We didn’t score enough runs.”

In the playoff opening at North Shore on May 14, Seaford fell behind 3-0 before a two-run homer from Johnny Leonardi VI in the top of the sixth got the Vikings within a run. North Shore halted the Seaford momentum however with a crucial insurance run in the bottom of the sixth and starting pitcher David Aufiero kept the Viking bats at bay in the seventh as part of a complete-game six-hitter to out-duel Zach Grof.

The next day facing elimination at home against Mepham, the Vikings trailed 2-1 after four innings before the game was suspended by rain. The game resumed two nights later at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale with Chris Pupa relieving Nick Calandra on the mound but the Viking bats did not ignite.

“We just couldn’t get enough hits with men on base in the two games,” Milano said. “We never could string together a good offensive game or even a good couple innings.”

Seaford also had a quick playoff exit last year with the Vikings bounced in three games off a 17-2 campaign. This season it appeared Seaford might not reach the postseason at all when a 7-3 loss at Valley Stream South on April 17 dropped the Vikings to 4-6 in Conference A-IV, but the team rallied from the adversity to win eight games in a row and finish 11-7 league play.

“At that point the team made a decision that they were going to play better,” said Milano of his players’ response with their backs against the wall after the Valley Stream South loss. “They figured out how to win games down the stretch and deserve a lot of credit.”

Junior shortstop Tim Saulpaugh was instrumental in Seaford’s late surge with an over .400 batting average to earn All-County honors. Calalandra and Grof earned All-Conference and All-League honors, respectively, for strong showings on the mound this spring.

Seaford will graduate 12 seniors including two who are committed to play college baseball next year in catcher Vinny Pecora (Molloy) and Leonardi  (Virginia Wesleyan). Milano said the large senior class holds a special place in his heart for continuing the program’s streak of reaching the playoffs in every year since 2004 along with their strong character off the diamond.