WALK OFF WIN PROPELS NORTH SHORE TO SEMIFINALS OF COUNTY TOURNAMENT
 North Shore pitcher Jack Aughavin (Photo by Adrienne Daley)
By Tristan Vitale
After a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory on Thursday, the North Shore varsity baseball team has now secured a spot in the semifinals of the Class A Nassau County Tournament. The win came on a walk-off in the seventh inning against Warriors of Wantagh, just five days after the Vikings had beaten the same Wantagh team 2-1 on a walk-off hit in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors came out strong, getting to work right away and scoring a run in the first inning to take the early lead. They later scored again in the fourth inning to give themselves a 2-0 lead. However, they would not put up any more runs on the board for the rest of the game. The Vikings, on the other hand, started off slow and then began to produce later on in the game. The bats began to become alive for North Shore in the bottom of the fourth inning as Billy Bianco scored on a sacrifice fly by Thomas Aufiero to cut the Wantagh lead to 2-1. Bianco then scored again in the next inning to tie the game 2-2 off an RBI single by Jack Aughavin. The score was still knotted at 2 as the teams entered the seventh and final inning of the game. In the bottom of the inning, Nick Lucchese worked a one-out walk and then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for the Vikings. Then in the next at bat a ground ball by Bianco led to a Wantagh throwing error that allowed Lucchese to score for the unorthodox walk-off win. Throughout the entire game Wantagh was held in check by the North Shore ace Aughavin who pitched a complete game while only allowing six hits and striking out six batters. The Vikings will look to continue their streak on Memorial Day as they take on the Red Devils of Plainedge at home in the first game of a best two-of-three series for a chance to play in the county finals. BACK TO HOME PAGE |
