by George Caratzas
FINAL: Comsewogue 3, Westhampton 1
Warriors hang on to win on a lineout to third base pic.twitter.com/r74l5ix2qn
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 14, 2025
On the back of a solid outing from its starter and clutch hits from its stars, the Comsewogue Warriors picked up their first win in league play.
The Warriors (2-4) welcomed the Westhampton Hurricanes (1-6) on Monday, as the two sides squared off for the first of three meetings this season. Despite a slow offensive day on both sides, Comsewogue rallied late, scoring twice in the fifth and once in the sixth to take home a 3-1 victory.
Westhampton cracked the scoreboard first, putting up a run in the opening frame against Comsewogue starting pitcher Josh Lubell. After back-to-back walks put a pair of runners aboard, Lubell struck out a pair to move an out away from escaping the jam. With runners at the corners, Westhampton right fielder Brian Danowski took off from first, allowing shortstop Cooper Daniels to scamper home on the throw to second. Lubell put the inning to bed there, getting a strikeout to avoid further damage.
Following the laborious opening frame, Lubell settled down. He pitched around a pair of walks in the second, before sidestepping a two-out triple from Westhampton designated hitter Kyle Salerno in the third. The fourth inning was Lubell’s easiest frame of the day, as he picked up a strikeout as part of a 1-2-3 inning.
“Lubell really struggled with command in the first couple innings,” head coach Joe Caltagirone said in a postgame interview with Axcess Baseball. “He came back in the third and fourth innings and really reduced his ball totals and got some quick outs. That certainly helped give us some length.”
The fifth inning came with another two strikeouts, as the Comsewogue starter exited, down 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, Warriors first baseman Joey Rizzo singled to left-center field to lead off. With Westhampton starter Erik Olsson on the mound, consecutive walks loaded the bases with nobody out.
This brought up Comsewogue’s best hitter: catcher Joe Perri. After getting ahead in the count 2-0, Perri ripped a ball back through the middle to plate a pair and give the Warriors a 2-1 advantage.
Warriors take the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single by Albany-commit Joe Perri
Westhampton goes to the bullpen as Comsewogue leads 2-1 with two men still aboard pic.twitter.com/GYy1AhVQZf
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 14, 2025
“At the plate in my first two at bats, I got a little bit too big,” Perri said. “In my last at bat, I just wanted to stay short and through the ball. Came up big for my guys.”
After taking the lead, Caltagirone pulled the plug on Lubell, opting to bring Ryan Autino from third base to the mound. Autino easily handled the assignment, as he registered a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless sixth.
The Warriors tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth. Right fielder Brandon Prush kicked things off with a one-out single before Lubell tucked a double into the right-field corner to drive in the third Comsewogue run of the game.
That would prove to be plenty for Autino, who used a groundout, a pop out and a line out to third base to wrap up a clean 3-1 win.
“He threw a lot of strikes,” Caltagirone said. “You always want to work ahead in High School baseball and pound the zone. That’s exactly what Autino did and even picked up a couple of strikeouts to go along with some weak contact.”
Perri went 1-for-3 on the day, driving in a pair of runs with his fifth inning single. Autino had a hit and a walk out of the leadoff spot. Rizzo had arguably the best day of any Warrior, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
“Our guys locked in,” Caltagirone said. “They really started to focus on middle-away and hitting the ball where it’s pitched. In the beginning, we saw some swings that were uncharacteristic of who we are, but then they locked in, and you could notice the differences in those swings.”
On the mound, Lubell went five, allowing one earned run on three hits. He also walked eight batters but limited the damage by striking out eight.
Next up, the two sides will rematch on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. at Westhampton High School.
