Aidan Murphy, Evan Kay propel Commack baseball past Whitman
Aidan Murphy of Commack rounds second after hitting his second home run of the game during a Suffolk League I baseball game against Whitman in Commack on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Commack saw its season opening 11-game win streak halted on Tuesday with a one-run loss to Whitman. On Wednesday, the Cougars set out to start a new run and picked up a little payback in doing so.
Aidan Murphy hit a pair of home runs and righthander Evan Kay twirled a three-hit shutout as Commack resumed its front-runner stance against the Wildcats with a 4-0 Suffolk I baseball victory at its Bryan Bonin Field.
Murphy already had a good feeling about the defending county Class AA champion Cougars’ chances before they even went out for batting practice.
“I could see the killer instinct in everyone’s face,” he said. “Every player in the locker room looked ready to do what we do best.”
“The attitude was exactly what you want from your team after a loss,” Commack coach Matt Salmon said. “There was no feeling that we’d had a setback. Looking at them, it was like [Tuesday] never happened.”
Murphy’s home runs — to lead off the first and fifth innings — give him four on the season to go with three triples and a .500 batting average. His first homer was a no-doubter and came off a 2-and-0 fastball. His second was a laser down the right field line.
Kay used a fastball, curve and changeup, pitched efficiently and was ahead of the Whitman hitters throughout. He didn’t allow a Wildcats runner past second base. When a pair of errors allowed Whitman (8-5) to bring the tying run to the on-deck circle with one out in the seventh, Kay bore down and recorded the final two outs on strikeouts.
“I’ve been confident after last season when I was always coming in for big situations and shutting the door,” Kay said. “After the second inning, I felt so good that I thought I’d be in complete control . . . I was living all over the zone with all (my pitches).”
And while the final inning in the field was less than stellar for Commack (12-1), its effort also included a pair of fine diving catches by centerfielder Ryan Krzemienski. “My favorite play,” he said.
It’s been a most-rewarding season thus far for Murphy after an extremely disappointing 2022. He was sidelined at the beginning of the season with an elbow injury, made it back and then was hit by a case of bacterial pneumonia that hospitalized him with a chest tube for nine days. He was cheering from the dugout instead of playing while the Cougars won the county title.
“I’ve had a chip on my shoulder,” Murphy admitted.
Added Kay: “he has to be one of the best players on Long Island right now [with] the way he’s playing.”
Murphy was texting with Salmon on Tuesday night after the loss and was prophetic about Kay pitching Wednesday.
“I told [Salmon] that Evan was the only guy I’d want on the mound after what happened,” Murphy said. “He never disappoints.”
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.
