Kyle Colleluori leads Huntington to first Suffolk baseball title since 1960
Huntington begins their celebration after defeating Bay Shore in the Suffolk baseball Conference II final at Huntington High School in Huntington Friday June 18, 2021 Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The players raced to a spot behind the mound and dissolved into a pile of happy Huntington humanity.
So many Blue Devils over the years would have loved to be where these Blue Devils were, celebrating a county baseball championship. But these Blue Devils were the first ones to win it since 1960.
The drought is over. This top-seeded group outlasted third-seeded Bay Shore, 7-4, Friday at Huntington to win the Suffolk Conference II title game.
"It’s been a long time coming for Huntington, for the Town of Huntington, for the Huntington Blue Devils and the baseball program," coach Bill Harris said. "It’s just a huge, huge accomplishment."
Huntington (17-3) hadn’t been to a county final since 1965. Now the team will ride a 12-game winning streak into its Long Island Championship game against Garden City on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale.
"I love our chances," Kyle Colleluori said.
Colleluori earned the win, firing a complete game and allowing only three earned runs. The senior also blasted a three-run homer. Chris Segreti delivered three hits, including a solo homer, and Jaden Italiano had three hits, too.
"It means the world to me," Colleluori said of this title. "After losing last year [to the pandemic] — we thought we were going to have two shots at this and then all of a sudden we were down to one. And now we’re here, and we took the one shot and we ran with it."
Bay Shore (15-6), which got four hits from Coltrane Calloway, also ran a long way. The Marauders made the program’s first county final appearance since 1962. The last title? Try 1945.
"We’re not happy we lost it," coach Mike Herbst said. "But I’m very proud of these boys. I’m very proud of their accomplishments."
Colleluori rocked starter Chris Rouleau for his homer to center, good for a 3-0 lead in the first.
"I think it set the tone," Harris said.
It was 4-0 after two, then 4-3 after a third-inning Bay Shore rally that included a two-run homer by Jason Ambos.
It was 6-4 in the sixth, and then Segreti launched his homer over the centerfield fence for the exclamation point.
"This is like the best thing that Huntington has done in a while," Segreti said. "Baseball hasn’t been Huntington’s strong suit."
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