Baseball Team Named Suffolk County AA Champions

Congratulations to the Connetquot High School varsity baseball team for claiming the Suffolk County AA title! 

Before their big win over Ward Melville High School on June 4, the T-Birds played Longwood High School on May 30, taking two out of three games in the semifinal series, thus earing  their way into the Suffolk County AA championship round. Coach Rob Burger’s T-Birds split the first two games in the series with Longwood and took the tiebreaker 2-0. With this win, Connetquot improved to 19-5 while Longwood finished 17-8.

Matt Brown-Eiring pitched No. 3 seed Connetquot to the county finals with a five-hit shutout that included 10 strikeouts in the third game of the series. Additionally, Josh McGee and Josh Barbara drove in runs in the first inning to account for all the scoring in the game.  

Seeded No. 3 in the county at the beginning of the tournament, Connetquot defeated Longwood, Sachem East and William Floyd, high schools, earning a well-deserved spot in the championship best of three series with No. 1 seed Ward Melville High School. Losing the first game at Ward Melville 1-0, the Thunderbirds defeated them at home by a score of 5-4 on June 3 to even the series. 

Connetquot overcame a 3-2 deficit in the second game by scoring three runs in the third inning to take the lead and limit the visitors to one more run, to take the decision by a final score of 5-4. Joe Savino pitched five innings and contributed toward the win for the T-Birds. Derek Yalon came into the game in relief and limited Ward Melville to one run in the last two innings. Yalon also earned a save for his outstanding effort. Additionally, Matt Brown-Eiring had two RBIs for Connetquot, whose record improved to 20-6 with this win.

During the game which crowned the team Suffolk County AA champions, coach Rob Burger and his team defeated Ward Melville High School by an incredible score of 14-1. In the best-of-three series, Ward Melville won the first game 1-0 at home, while the T-Birds won the next two by scores of 5-4 and 14-1. Matt Brown-Eiring earned the win with John O’Connell in relief to preserve the victory. Connetquot took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and never looked back.

Connetquot certainly brought their A-game for the tiebreaking game, producing an amazing 15 hits, including a towering home run to deep center field by Alex Ungar. With this victory, the T-Birds won their eighth Suffolk County championship title and the first since 2015. 

Jared Yalon finished with four RBIs, Alex Ungar with three, while James Goff, Josh McGee and Joe Zimmerman provided two apiece. The T-Birds, boasting a record of 21-5, will play current New York State champion Massapequa High School on Saturday, June 8 for the Long Island championship title at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at noon. Good luck, T-Birds!


Boys Track Team Soars to the Top

Representing the Connetquot High School track and field team, senior Tom Domozych won the pole vault at a recent competition, making him the Suffolk County champion with a new Connetquot High School record of 14’6”. Tom will compete in the New York State track and field championships being held on 6/7 at Middletown High School. 

Junior Mike Domozych placed third in the pole vault, setting a new personal record at 13’6”. Additionally, sophomore Micah Cooper set a new personal record with a jump of 12’6”, while junior Justin Miele set a new personal record of his own with a jump of 12’. Junior Dalton Otto also put on a stunning display of athleticism and jumped an impressive 12’6”.