County title for MacArthur baseball

A big second inning was all MacArthur needed to secure the program’s first Nassau County baseball title in two decades.

A two-out single by junior Jared Wolfe drove in two runs to cap a four-run inning in what proved to be all the necessary offense in the Generals’ 4-3 series-clinching victory over Oceanside in the Nassau Class AA finals on June 3 at Farmingdale State. A complete-game effort from sophomore pitcher Bobby Lewis helped seal MacArthur’s first county championship since 1994 in a sweep of the best-of-three series.

“I’m really happy for the guys,” said head coach Steve Costello, who was in his first year at the helm of the program during the Generals’ last championship run. “It was pure unadulterated joy when that final out was made.”

The county title moved MacArthur to the Long Island Class AA title game against Connetquot last Saturday at Dowling College, where the Generals’ playoff run came to an end in a 3-2 loss. With a victory, they would have advanced to the state semifinals in Binghamton this weekend.

The disappointment of falling in the Long Island finals could not erase what was accomplished in claiming county supremacy. Second-seeded MacArthur’s four-run, second-game second inning came after Oceanside jumped out to a 2-0 lead in its first at-bats, marking the Generals’ second straight rally from an early deficit. They trailed 4-0 in the series opener before striking for seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings en route to a 7-4 victory.

MacArthur had three hits and capitalized on three Oceanside errors in the second-inning outburst. Senior Ryan Cunningham had one of his two hits in the rally, and scored what proved to be the winning run on Wolfe’s two-RBI single. Wolfe and Cunningham each had two hits in the two wins over Oceanside, and were offensive leaders throughout the magical 2015 season.

“They came up big,” Costello said. “They stepped up against some very tough pitching.”

Also coming through in a big spot was Lewis, whose win to clinch the county title was his fifth this year. He struck out five and had just one walk in his seven innings of work.

Senior Jack Wall came through on the mound in Game One of the finals following his first regular season as a starting pitcher after coming out of the bullpen as a junior. Wall rebounded from a fourth inning in which he gave up all four Oceanside runs to toss a complete game with five strikeouts to pick up his eighth victory on the season.

MacArthur’s playoff journey began with pitcher Nick Mannarino notching a win in the decisive game of a best-of-three quarterfinal series against Calhoun on May 21. The Generals then swept 10th-seeded Valley Stream Central in the semifinals.

MacArthur entered the season with just three full-time returning starters, which Costello said makes the championship that much more meaningful. He sensed a determination during the start of preseason practices, he recalled, adding, “From that first meeting we were determined to win a title.”