Baseball: Mattituck’s supporting cast chips in
SUFFOLK COUNTY CLASS B TOURNAMENT | TUCKERS 9, ROYALS 5
It was good for Mattituck to see its usual cast of characters like Chris Dwyer, Marcos Perivolaris and Ian Nish do good things in the high school baseball team’s playoff opener on Wednesday. Perhaps just as gratifying, however, for coach Steve DeCaro were the contributions made by supporting cast members such as Jon Dwyer and Victor Proferes.
All of them played roles in steering the top-seeded Tuckers to a 9-5 defeat of No. 4 Port Jefferson in Game 1 of the Suffolk County Class B semifinals at Mattituck High School. The series will go to Port Jefferson for Game 2 on Friday. A third game, if needed, would be played Saturday in Mattituck.
The Tuckers (20-1) are chasing what would be their fifth county championship in 13 years.
Jon Dwyer singled in one run and doubled in another. Proferes relieved the starting pitcher, Joe Tardif (6-1), and pitched two and two-thirds innings, with two strikeouts. He also handled a comebacker to initiate a 1-6-3 double play.
“These are guys that might not get to play every day but they stepped up today,” said DeCaro. He added, “It was awesome seeing these guys add to the win.”
The Tuckers snapped a 3-3 tie with four runs in the fourth inning. Mike Onufrak walked, went to second base on a wild pitch and then scored when Jon Dwyer doubled down the third-base line. Later, Perivolaris and Chris Dwyer both smacked run-scoring doubles off the outfield fence, and Nish singled home another run for a 7-3 lead.
In the sixth, Chris Dwyer doubled for the second time before coming home on a ground-rule double by Nish. Then James Nish singled past the first baseman, scoring his twin brother for a 9-5 score.
Port Jefferson (11-10) had gone in front, 3-0, in the first. In the bottom half of the inning, Tardif led off with a double, stole third base and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Perivolaris.
The Tuckers drew even at 3-3 in the third. Will Gildersleeve singled and was advanced a base on a groundout by Christian Figurniak. Onufrak singled up the middle for a run, reaching second base on a throw from the center fielder. Then Jon Dwyer singled Onufrak in.
