Sachem North baseball earns 12th win of season, clinches series against Commack
Sachem North's Rob Kienzle (27) drive in two runs in the third inning during the Suffolk High School baseball game between Sachem North and Commack on Friday April 26, 2024 at Sachem North High School Credit: Bob Sorensen
The Sachem North baseball team added another chapter to what maybe the most compelling turnaround story in Suffolk County.
It escaped trouble again and again, and pulled out a 4-1 Suffolk II victory over Commack on Friday at its Bill Batewell Alumni Field. Rob Kienzle’s two-run double was the big hit in a three-run third inning, and relievers Sam Morreale and Ryan Palm stranded six runners in scoring position over the final four innings. It was the second time in three games that Sachem North beat the defending Long Island Class AA champion in three days.
Sachem North (12-2, 12-2) wrote a very different story a year ago when it lost seven games in the final inning and missed the postseason. And nothing begs for an explanation like when a team completely reverses its fortunes.
To find Sachem North’s secret sauce, one only needed to meander into the parking lot some 30 minutes after the final out. There in a circle — standing, sitting on lawn chairs or propped on the open hatch of an SUV — was a sizeable group of North players laughing and socializing.
“This team is super-close, comfortable together [and] we like each other,” Morreale said.
“Last year’s team wasn’t connected like this one,” Kienzle said. “We were tired of losing. There’s less messing around and more accountability. We found our way to connect.”
This three-game regular season series against Commack (9-4, 8-3), which concludes on Saturday, was a major measuring stick for North. That was clear when Palm, who was summoned to finish Wednesday’s 6-3 extra-inning win and is the scheduled starter for the finale, was called upon to get the last three outs Friday.
“Every win on our league is important but, of course, winning this game meant a lot,” Sachem North coach Tom Gambino said. “Commack has been the team to beat — set the standard teams get measured against — for five seasons or more. And this wasn’t like we outplayed them. We’re very similar and our grinding style worked for us.”
Gambino added, “We’re no All-Star team, but they really compete, never give an at-bat away and make [opponents] earn everything they get.”
The Cougars got a first-inning sacrifice fly by Max Horowitz, but Kienzle sidestepped disaster by escaping a bases-loaded jam. Sachem North’s three-run rally came with two outs and featured Lucas Singleton’s tying RBI single and Kienzle’s two-run single to right. Tommy Ford’s RBI single in the fifth provided an insurance run.
Morreale, who considers volleyball his primary sport, entered in relief with the bases loaded in the fourth and got an inning-ending groundout. He utilized his big curveball for a strikeout in the sixth with two runners in scoring position.
Palm took over with one on and none out in the seventh. He loaded the bases on a pair of hit-by-pitches to bring up the go-ahead run, but struck out the final two batters to end it.
“I don’t think any of us knew this was coming at the start of the season,” Palm said of the turnaround.
Added Morreale, “Everyday it seems like more is possible for this team.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
