Lynbrook looking to make playoffs

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Lynbrook’s No. 5 hitter at the plate with the bases loaded and one out, coach Al Marrazzo knew exactly what he wanted.

“I wanted the game to be over,” he said of the Owls’ 2-1 victory over Great Neck North on April 24.

So Marrazzo put on the a sign that made both the hitter, senior Mike McHenry, and the runner at third base, senior Mike Milillo, blink: suicide squeeze, first pitch. As soon as the opposing pitcher started his delivery, Milillo broke for the plate. McHenry laid down a bunt and Milillo crossed with the winning run. Sometimes it’s that easy.

Of course, nothing comes easy in baseball, least of all for Lynbrook, not even in the midst of a five-game winning streak. The Owls survived for two weeks as a No. 13 seed in last spring’s playoffs, winning a series of nailbiters before finally falling in the last inning of a best-of-three quarterfinals series against Island Trees. After a tough start left them 2-6 in mid-April, they’ve returned to their winning ways. But nothing has been easy.

Senior Alex Weingarten pitched April 24 against Great Neck North and all he did was carry a perfect game into the seventh inning. However, the Owls weren’t doing much against Weingarten’s counterpart so the game was still scoreless when Bryan Baiman broke the spell with a one-out double. He eventually came around to score and, impossibly, the Owls were three outs from losing on a day their ace pitched particularly well.

“I was thinking, `Poor kid. Here he’s got a perfecto going and we can’t score,’” Marrazzo said.

But the Owls managed to tie the game and then load the bases in their final turn. Marrazzo, taking no chances on a double play or any other such bad luck, immediately called for the squeeze. The next day junior Austin Bilello cracked a pair of homers, junior Chris Roepken drove in four runs and Brian Bilello went 4-for-5 as the Owls won 16-6. They made it five straight with an 8-3 win over Great Neck North on April 26, with junior Ian Reid earning the win for the Owls.

The winning streak came on the heels of a 1-0 loss to Seaford, during which the Owls had the potential tying run thrown out at the plate to end the game. Weingarten shut out Mineola on April 17, and the next day Milillo hit an eighth-inning grand slam to beat West Hempstead.

The hot streak lifted the Owls to first place in Conference A-IV at 7-6, including 6-5 in conference play. They were set to begin a three-game series with second-place Manhasset earlier this week. They’ll conclude the regular season with a series against Valley Sream South, with an eye on another postseason berth.

“If we’re lucky enough to make the playoffs, we’ll be better for all of this,” Marrazzo said.