Connetquot's Nolan Britt finds his stuff vs. Ward Melville
Connetquot pitcher Nolan Britt throws during a Suffolk baseball game against Ward Melville on Monday. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Connetquot righty Nolan Britt struggled in the season opener against Suffolk League IV rival Ward Melville and was tagged with his first loss.
Oh, what a difference two weeks can make.
Britt scattered three hits, walked one and struck out seven in a 3-0 win over previously undefeated Ward Melville in East Setauket. Britt only needed 88 pitches and retired 11 of the final 12 batters to end the game.
The contrast was obvious – Britt was brilliant this time.
“He was a different pitcher today,” said Ward Melville coach Lou Petrucci. “He was clearly dominant. He pounded the strike zone and only walked one. He was never in trouble.”
Ward Melville (5-1) managed only four baserunners but squandered a golden scoring opportunity in the second inning. Patriots cleanup hitter Nick Carnovale launched a long leadoff triple to right centerfield. Carnovale was left stranded when Britt induced a weak groundout and two infield popups.
“I made some adjustments in my delivery this week in practice and I felt great,” Britt said. “I was falling off the side of the mound and not throwing strikes in my first two starts. Today, I was in the strike zone all game.”
Connetquot (5-1) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Anthony Scarabino led off with a single and stole second. Rocco Armenia drilled a run-scoring double for the 1-0 lead.
“We’ve had some timely hits,” said Connetquot coach Dwayne Page. “And Nolan put it together and our defense was excellent.”
Ward Melvile threatened to tie the score in the fifth. Anthony Competello doubled with one out and moved to third on a stolen base. With two outs, Rob Looney then lined what looked to be a game-tying single. Right fielder Ryan Cerrone saved the shutout with a diving catch to end the inning. The hard-charging Cerrone fully laid out for the catch.
“I especially liked the aggressiveness of the catch,” Page said. “And it helped us keep momentum.”
Connetquot responded with two runs in the sixth. Rob Page led off with a line drive triple over the head of right fielder Alex Moraitis. Eric Duignan followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Dylan Cerrone lined a two-out triple down the rightfield line and scored on a wild pitch.
“I led off with a key hit and my teammate drove me in with a big run,” Page said. “We needed that.”
The teams will meet four times this season in Suffolk’s League IV. They’ve split the first two games.
“We don’t get to dwell on a tough loss and that’s good,” Petrucci said. “And they don’t get to savor it for too long. We get right back at it again tomorrow [Tuesday]. Momentum is always the next day’s starting pitcher.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
