Lynbrook Falters at Home as Bethpage Takes Series

The Lynbrook Owls faced some of the conference’s top competition at the end of their regular season schedule. First, the . And this past week, the Owls were able to pull out just one game out of the three-game set against Bethpage.

But Lynbrook will still make the playoffs, for the first time since 2006.

In the series opener at Lynbrook on Monday, Bethpage got on the board early and eventually took the series lead with a 9-8 win. Anthony Dedona led the Bethpage offense with a home run and two RBIs. Joey Schulteis went a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Andrew Marks hit a home run for Lynbrook.

Lynbrook pitcher Alex Weingarten, coming off his first loss of the season, got the start and pitched a solid outing, but ended up with a no decision. Pitcher Billy Hoffmann pick up the win for Bethpage as Chris Stein worked through a two-inning save to preserve the victory.

In the second game, Lynbrook looked to even the series on the road. Leading for the majority of the game with Will Norris on the mound, the Owls seemed primed to pick up the much-needed win. However, the Golden Eagles rallied for six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the score at 9-9.

Lynbrook responded by scoring five runs in the eighth inning and eventually held on for a 14-9 win. Vinny Sharkey singled home Billy Mackie in the extra inning for the eventual game-winning run. Spencer Kirsch picked up the win on the mound for Lynbrook and Weingarten went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs and four runs scored. Bethpage hit two home runs in the losing effort, one from Dedona and another from Matt Salemi.

In the third and deciding game at Lynbrook’s Marion Street field, Bethpage’s Dedona, who hit home runs in the previous two games, got the job done on the mound, pitching a complete-game two-hitter while striking out 11 batters. He added a third home run in the series with a three-run shot in the top of the third inning to help Bethpage win, 6-1.

Danny Grossi pitched well for Lynbrook, but was tagged with the loss in the series finale. Michael Milillo hit his first home run of the season for the Owls.

Lynbrook (11-8 overall, 10-7 conference) and Bethpage (11-7 overall, 10-7 conference) finished even with each other in Conference A-III, both trailing undefeated Plainedge (19-0 overall, 17-0 conference). All three teams will be featured in the upcoming playoffs.

The playoff seeds will be determined on Thursday night. Lynbrook is expected to receive a potential 11- or 12-seed heading into its first-round match up against an opponent to be determined.