No break for student athletes

With five minutes and 42 seconds remaining in Mattituck High School’s 2-0 win over Southold in the Town of Brookhaven Summer Soccer League on Monday night, head coach Dan Sullivan took back Mike Garrett out of the game.

It wasn’t that Garrett was playing poorly.

“You’ve got to catch in about an hour,” Sullivan said. “I’ll give you an extended break.”

You read that correctly. Garrett, along with goalkeeper Jack Golder and center back Sean Murphy, had double duty in a unique doubleheader that night. A one-hour soccer game that kicked off at Center Moriches H.S. at 5:45 p.m., followed by an 8 p.m. baseball game in Eastport.

“It’s fun going straight from one game to another,” Garrett said.

When Chicago Cubs baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks uttered his famous line, “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame… Let’s play two!” years ago, he probably didn’t have what that quartet has accomplished this summer.

“I love it,” Murphy said. “Win or lose, I’m playing with my friends, especially the younger kids. It’s great to see some of the younger kids learn.”

High school players have been known to participate in sports across the fall, winter and spring seasons. Some, such as recent Mattituck graduate Trevor Zappulla, earned Suffolk County championships with the lacrosse and track teams this spring.

But playing two team sports only hours apart is a rarity.

Sullivan is the head coach of both teams at the school and in the summer leagues, which makes it easier for him to coordinate things. There have been challenges.

Given that some players have jobs and family vacations, Sullivan realized that sometimes it has been a challenge getting a baseball team together. He decided to place a team in the summer league last year. The soccer league has been around for years.

“I felt kids just have to keep playing and playing just like soccer,” he said. “I’ve been blessed. I’ve had a couple of parents help and coach a lot of the [baseball] games, too, so I don’t have to go to all of the baseball games. Because the soccer season is next season up I tried to make that my priority.”

One of the challenges has been making sure that there are enough players at each game. During the Tuckers’ scoreless draw with Center Moriches on June 19, Sullivan had to pull Golder from the goal so he could help fill out the baseball lineup in a nearby game.

Golder understood.

“It’s tough sometimes when we’ve got to leave one game early to make the other one,” he said. “My favorite thing to do is play sports with all my friends so I do it. I would play four sports if I could. It’s a lot of fun.”

When Garrett couldn’t make it to a baseball game, Murphy, normally a third baseman, was called on to catch.

“I hadn’t caught in years and that was fun,” he said. “Just being able to like come from one place to another it feels so energizing.”

Playing two sports can mean a long day, especially when you have a summer job.

“I go to work and then in the morning,” said Murphy, who is a dock hand at a local company. “I still leave work early sometimes and come into play soccer and usually baseball right after. I work in the sun all day. It’s a lot.”

Added Garrett: “I get home pretty tired, but this is going to be my last season. I’m going into my senior year. I try to take every opportunity I can get to play while I can.”

After the summer playoffs, the Mattituck soccer team starts practice on Aug. 21 and meets archrival Center Moriches in its non-league season-opener on Aug. 28.

“I can’t wait,” Golder said.

On Monday, the Tuckers blanked their North Fork rivals in the soccer match, 2-0, behind Erick Morales’ two goals. In the baseball nightcap down the road, Mattituck dropped a 12-7 decision to the Pat-Med Raiders. Golder had a two-run, Murphy hurled two innings in relief and Garrett caught the entire game.

“We were very successful on the soccer field against our North Fork neighbors,” Sullivan said. “We were missing several guys, but I was proud of the older ‘veterans’ who stepped up, and also the younger guys who are eager to get out there and learn the varsity game. 

“On the baseball field, we battled against a strong team. We were missing several of our returning varsity players due to work or commitments with their other travel teams, but we battled. This summer we have certainly taken our lumps, but the guys are working hard, and many are playing positions they’ve never played before. It’s a great opportunity for game-like experience against some very talented competition across the board night after night.”