Evan Kay, Commack breeze into state Class AA baseball final
Commack's Evan Kay pitches during their state semifinal matchup on Friday, June 9, 2023, in Binghamton. Credit: JORGE MARCANO
BINGHAMTON — Twenty-eight!
That’s the number of consecutive scoreless innings Commack junior righthander Evan Kay has thrown in the high school baseball playoffs.
Kay fired a two-hitter and struck out 10 as Commack eliminated Shenendehowa, 9-0, in a state Class AA semifinal at Mirabito Stadium on Friday. He retired 16 consecutive batters to end the game and walked none in an 83-pitch effort.
Commack (25-2) will meet Ketcham (27-2) for the state Class AA championship at Mirabito Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I felt like I had good command and the defense had my back,” said Kay, who improved to 6-0. “And that diving play in rightfield early in the game really got me fired up.”
Kay entered the game having thrown three straight playoff shutouts.
“He’s been amazing,” Commack coach Matt Salmon said. “His confidence has continued to grow with every outing. And he gets into a very good rhythm and looks comfortable out there.”
The Commack offense, which has rocked opponents all season, scoring in double- digits in 18 games, was at it again.
The Cougars scored three times in the first inning, keyed by Kay’s two-run single for a 3-0 lead.
“We jump on teams right away,” Salmon said. “Get the lead and dictate the flow of the game. And our offense keeps coming at teams all the way through the lineup.”
Shenendehowa (19-7) tried to answer in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Ethan Farina smoked a ground-rule double over the 375-foot sign in left-centerfield. Kay struck out Austin Caldwell for the second out and then the Commack defense kept his scoreless streak intact.
Cleanup hitter Brendan Gonzalez hit a low line drive to rightfield, but Alex Hildebrand got a great read on it, charged hard and made an all-out diving catch to keep Shenendehowa off the board.
“I wasn’t letting him down,” Hildebrand said. “He’s been awesome. My coach had me move in just before the pitch and put me in a great position to make the play.”
Commack scored two in the third, keyed by Kay’s RBI single and Matt Mayer’s sacrifice fly, and one in the fourth on Aidan Murphy’s RBI double to open a 6-0 lead.
“We put pressure on the defense every inning,” said Murphy, who went 4-for-6 with two runs scored. “I set the tone as the leadoff batter and then we all swing the bats. And we’re aggressive on the bases.”
The Cougars added three more runs in the sixth for the final margin.
Commack stole eight bases, pounded 13 hits and gave Kay all the support he needed — and then some.
“I had a week to think about this game,” Kay said. “My rhythm was great and I just pounded the zone.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
