V.S. Central upsets East Meadow

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Valley Stream Central’s improbable run is not done yet.

After beginning the Nassau Class AA baseball playoffs by taking down Port Washington, and nailing down the program’s first postseason win in 13 years in the process, the 10th-seeded Eagles continued their incredible story by eliminating No. 1 East Meadow.

Central scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning of the third and deciding game of the series May 21 to power it to a 7-4 road win over the Jets, who won the Conference AA-I regular-season championship.

“This was a very tough series against a very tough opponent,” VSC coach Frank Alesia said. “Pretty much every single game has come down to the last few innings. I’m just really glad we were able to step up at the right time, pick each other up at the right time, and come away with a win.”

Late in the game it looked as if Central’s Cinderella story would come to an end, as the team was in a 3-0 hole. The Eagles were failing to generate much against East Meadow pitcher Ryan Wallstedt, who excelled on the mound in his first-ever varsity start.

“He kept them off-balanced all day,” Jets coach John Marciante said of Wallstedt. “He threw probably 20 percent fastballs and 80 percent everything else, and he did a great job.”

But in the top of the sixth inning, Wallstedt’s defense let him down, as one defensive miscue after another allowed Central to scratch across four runs in the frame, and take its first lead of the day.

In the bottom of the sixth, East Meadow answered with a game-tying RBI double by Matthew Mascia. Neither team scored in the seventh.

In the top of the eighth the Jets defense once again was problematic, as two infield errors allowed the Eagles to push across the decisive runs.

The three-run lead would be more than enough for Central starting pitcher Elijah Tavarez. He finished off a complete-game effort and secured the series win for the Eagles, who advanced to face No. 2 MacArthur in a best-of-3 semifinal series.

“It was a crazy game, but I’m glad we could come back,” Tavarez said. “This run has been really exciting. I can’t even explain how great it’s been.”

The thrilling victory came after Central was able to extend the series with a 6-2 win in Game 2.  The Jets won the series opener, 3-2, behind Marcus Kabigtin’s walk-off single and the pitching of Joe Minucci.

Despite the devastating finish, Marciante is still pleased with what his team was able to accomplish this spring. “I’m proud of these guys,” Marciante said. “They were the one seed for a reason. They did the job all year, and unfortunately it just ended on a bad note.”

Meanwhile for Central, the surprising postseason run will continue. “We’re really starting to come together,” Alesia said. “Hopefully we can take this nice win, and bring it in to next week.”