Kyle Flood big relief for Smithtown West in win over West Islip
Mike Cascione of Smithtown West gets a base hit against West Islip on Monday. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Smithtown West had a palpable sense of urgency in Monday’s first game of a crucial three-game baseball series against West Islip on Monday.
The Bulls entered the week tied with East Islip atop the Suffolk League IV standings, and West Islip was one game behind both squads.
So when Smithtown West coach Al Nucci inserted junior righthander Kyle Flood — slated to start later in the series — in the middle of an at-bat to protect a two-run lead with a runner on second and two outs in the top of the fifth inning, it was clear the Bulls had all hands on deck.
Flood needed one pitch, a 1-and-2 curveball, for an inning-ending strikeout. He allowed only a single over the next two innings to secure a 5-3 home win.
“Huge character and guts on Kyle's part coming in there,” Nucci said. “He's pitching later in the week, and I didn't really want to use him … But Game 1 of the series is huge, especially when you can beat those guys, any time you can beat West Islip. We've been battling for years.
“Kyle did a great job coming in and closing the door. We needed to get it done.”
Smithtown West (10-1, 9-1) is one league win away from a playoff berth. Flood will start against the Lions on Thursday.
“It’s just mainly my defense behind me,” Flood said. “I can always count on those guys to make plays. And really [catcher] Zack [Aronson] just telling me where to put the ball and exactly what to throw.”
Said Smithtown West lefty starter Brady Austin: “He gutted out a big seven-out save. That was definitely big for us in Game 1.”
Austin lasted 4 2/3 innings for his fourth win, striking out nine, walking five and allowing three hits and two earned runs. Lions starting righthander Evan Byrnes, who allowed zero earned runs in 24 previous innings, tossed two innings for West Islip (8-4, 7-3) and should be available later in the series.
Bulls junior shortstop Michael Cascione went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored. Cascione seemingly hit a leadoff homer that cleared the leftfield wall, but the umpires ruled it a ground-rule double. He ultimately scored following a throwing error to make it 1-0 after one inning.
In the second inning, Cascione had a two-run double and scored on a double steal and Nick Friscia had an RBI groundout to make it 5-0.
For West Islip, Ben Delanoy had a fourth-inning RBI double, Conor Kenefick had a fifth-inning RBI single and Will Delanoy scored on a fifth-inning double steal.
“We're just so fun to be around,” Cascione said. “What are we, 10-1 now? We're winners. That's what I love about this team.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
