Rocks sweep Cold Spring Harbor

East Rockaway’s baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with sweep of last week’s home-and-home series with Cold Spring Harbor. Senior pitcher Luke Burggraf gave up two hits and struck out 10 over five innings to lead the Rocks to a 7-2 home victory April 14. Junior Sean Bohan and sophomore David McClure had two hits apiece.

The previous afternoon, junior Anthony Tesoriero picked up his first varsity win by striking out eight batters and surrendering just one earned run over 5 2/3 innings to lead the orange-and-black to a 4-2 win. Sophomore Billy Humes was solid in relief, picking up saves in both games. David Hobbs went 3-for-3.

While the pitching has been strong, head coach Dan Vito hopes the bats are starting to wake up. “We hit the ball very well in scrimmages, but really haven’t found our groove,” Vito said. “It’s going to start happening. Hitting is contagious. A few guys are starting to heat up. Once we get everyone going at the plate, we should be tough to beat.”

East Rockaway, which improved to 4-2 in Conference BC, 4-4 overall, opened the season with a 6-5 loss to Valley Stream North. Senior catcher Andrew Bashford’s first inning grand slam was the highlight of the game. McClure was 3-for-3 in the loss.

The league season began with a 2-0 win over Malverne. Hobbs got the Rocks in the win column with a brilliant complete game one-hitter. The senior righthander struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. Malverne’s Tim Ohl nearly matched Hobbs giving up just three hits and one earned run.

The Rocks completed the sweep of the two-game series with a 20-2 rout of the Mules. Hobbs went 2-for-2 with a three-run homer to lead the offensive explosion. Junior Tom Dolan had three hits and knocked in a pair of runs. Humes struck out six in five scoreless innings to earn his first varsity win.

Prior to taking on Cold Spring Harbor, the Rocks dropped a non-league contest to Long Beach, and a pair of conference games to Locust Valley. After a 9-4 loss at home, the Rocks traveled to Locust Valley for what would turn into a marathon affair.

With the Falcons playing shoddy defense, the Rocks got out to a comfortable 6-2 lead. Suddenly, the bats went cold for the Rocks, and Locust Valley mounted a comeback. The Falcons tied it at 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth.

Each team has numerous opportunities in extra innings, but each time came up empty. The Falcons finally broke through when Mark Vessalico drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to plate the winning run.

Vito likes the makeup of his team. “They’re a great group that is working hard to get things right,” he said. “We’re climbing the ladder rung by rung. We hope to be playing our best baseball come playoff time.”

The Rocks host Carle Place on Monday at 10:30 a.m.