Commack baseball repeats as Suffolk champs with emotional victory
Commack’s Joe Patane Jr. #11 hits an RBI scoring Anthony Chiappetta (30) during the Suffolk High School baseball Class AA finals, in game s of the best of 3 series between Commack and Smithtown East. Credit: Andrew Theodorakis
Matt Salmon stood on the infield dirt when it was over, a championship winner in his first season as Commack’s head coach following the baseball program’s offseason of heartbreak. And he was speaking of a deeper meaning he saw in a set of numbers.
He had moved up from assistant coach after the tragic passing in January of Bryan Bonin — gone at just 33 from melanoma.
Bonin’s Cougars took Suffolk and Long Island Conference I titles last season. Now, Salmon’s Cougars had just repeated as county champs on this Memorial Day.
Top-seeded Commack clinched first prize with Monday’s 9-6 victory at fourth-seeded Smithtown East in Game 2 of the best-of-three Suffolk Class AA finals.
“Coach Bonin wore No. 24 and I wore No. 2, and we just finished [county play] with a record of 24-2,” Salmon said. “Those boys earned it. It was a really special way to finish the Suffolk County season with that record because those numbers mean a lot.
“Bryan was my best friend. I talk to him a lot during the games.”
The Cougars will try to repeat as Long Island champs Saturday when they face Nassau AA winner Massapequa at Farmingdale State.
“After the tragedy of Coach Bonin, we wanted to come out this year even stronger and just do the same thing,” senior catcher Anthony Chiappetta said after contributing three hits.
Joey Patane Jr. drove in three and earned the win. The senior righty yielded two unearned runs and stranded five in scoring position over three innings of relief.
“I just focused on throwing strikes and getting the outs, and that’s all that mattered,” Patane said.
It was 4-4 going to the sixth. Commack then struck for three against Ben Kennedy and Matt Wild. Patane and Chris McHugh delivered RBI singles off Wild. The third run crossed on an error.
Smithtown East (16-9) persevered, cutting it to 7-6 against Patane, scoring on an error and a balk.
But in the seventh, Commack got two more off Wild, scoring on another error and another Patane single.
Evan Kay retired the final two batters for the save after replacing Patane with runners on first and second.
“I think it was an unbelievable season,” Bulls coach Rob Christensen said. “I think coming into the year, no one knew who Smithtown East was … I couldn’t be more proud about the way our guys played.”
