Wild finishes highlight spring season

There was no shortage of thrilling finishes and heartbreak on Nassau County high school athletic fields this spring, capped by a nearly 4-hourlong Long Island Class A softball championship game between MacArthur and Bayport.

Here’s a recap of the 10 wildest postseason endings to the 2022-23 sports year.

Carey 6, Plainedge 5: Class A softball first round: The Seahawks trailed 5-1 in the top of the sixth inning but staged a comeback of epic proportions still down three with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the seventh. Caylee DeMeo had a two-run single and winning pitcher Lauren Peers followed with a towering fly that dropped between outfielders, bringing home the tying and winning runs.

Calhoun 6, Mepham 5: Class A baseball semifinal: The host Colts were down three runs and down to their last out in Game 3 with nobody on base in the bottom of the seventh before pulling out a win for the ages. A hit batter, a single, and a walk set the stage for Joey Goodman, who blasted a walk-off grand slam over the fence in left.

Calhoun 6, South Side 5: Class B boys’ lacrosse semifinal: Jayden Finkelstein had a hat trick and an assist and junior goaltender Mark Restivo made 13 saves to propel the Colts to victory. Jake Lewis, Braden Garvey and Shaun Walters also scored as Calhoun avenged a 10-5 regular-season defeat to the Cyclones.

North Shore 11, South Side 10: Class C girls’ lacrosse semifinal: The Vikings trailed by five goals in the first half before rallying and eventually winning in triple overtime on a goal by Kylee Colbert.

Garden City 7, Calhoun 6: Class B boys’ lacrosse championship: Garden City, which defeated the Colts handily, 16-8, April 21, had its hands full in the rematch on the county title stage and scored the decisive goal with 1:48 remaining off the stick of Carson Kraus. Lewis scored three times for Calhoun and had the potential tying goal nullified with seconds remaining due to a crease violation.

Garden City 9, Long Beach 8: Class B girls’ lacrosse championship: For the second straight year Long Beach fell a goal short of topping Garden City for the county title. A late goal by Garden City’s Kendal Morris with 2:41 left in the second half proved the difference. Delaney Chernoff had a hat trick and Delaney Radin added four points for the Marines.

Manhasset 13, North Shore 12: Class C girls’ lacrosse championship: The Vikings dropped an OT heartbreaker after leading 12-9 with less than six minutes remaining in regulation. Colbert had seven goals to finish the campaign with 101. Ava Bartoli and Daniela Martini scored twice apiece.

Seaford 1, Center Moriches 0: L.I. Class B softball championship: Scoreless in the bottom of the ninth, the Vikings captured their first Long Island crown in walk-off fashion on Kaitlyn Young’s bases-loaded single to left with one out to bring home Gabby Bellamore. Pitcher Skyler Secondino dominated in the circle with 15 strikeouts.

Babylon 6, Seaford 5: L.I. Class B baseball championship: One strike away from making more program history after winning its first-ever county title, Seaford baseball was unable to shut the door against Babylon. The Phantoms scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win it in unbelievable fashion after the Vikings plated three runs in the top of the inning.

Bayport 4, MacArthur 2: L.I. Class A softball championship: After defeating Clarke for the county title, MacArthur gave everything it had in a marathon L.I. title game before falling in 12 innings. The Generals tied it in their final turn at-bat on star pitcher Taylor Brunn’s RBI double.