No. 1 Connetquot forces a winner-take-all against No.4 Sachem North with a 7-0 victory. Dylan Wilkinson fired a 2-hit shutout with 8 Ks. Aaron Pace had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs pic.twitter.com/kYQETm9CsH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2025
Dylan Wilkinson saved his best for the biggest moment of the season. The hard-throwing RHP took a perfect game into the fifth inning as the No. 1 Connetquot Thunderbirds staved off elimination and forced and winner-take-all with a 7-0 win over No. 4 Sachem North on Saturday night at Middle Country Park.
It was a primetime pitching match up between Wilkinson and Ryan Palm, who entered the game with a record of 15-1 over the last two seasons. The Connetquot offense was up to the task, however, putting up 4 runs in the fourth inning, much to the delight of their hometown faithful. The stands were electric, just as you would expect from two bitter League rivals.
Wilkinson’s dominance was the story in this game, as he struck out the side in the first inning.
With two outs and nobody on in the second inning, Brandon Bartick and Santino Capozzola followed with singles which put Bartick on third. Aaron Pace came through with a two-out single to score Bartick but Capozzola was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The game was broken open in the top of the fourth inning. The rally started on a leadoff error by the third baseman which allowed Joe Scarabino to reach. DJ Filippone singles to left field and Brandon Bartick drove in Scarabino with a single to center to make it 2-0. After a sac bunt by Capozzola, Aaron Pace ripped a two-run single to left and Andrew Amarando – who was the hero on Wednesday – followed with an RBI single of his own to make it 5-0.
End of 3: Wilkinson has been dominant – 9 up, 9 down
Connetquot leads 1-0 pic.twitter.com/cFs3I5uCG3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 1, 2025
In the top of the fifth, they tacked on two more on another two-run single by Pace to make it 7-0.
With the way Wilkinson was going, that was plenty. The only question was whether he would carve his name into Long Island baseball history with a no-no. That question was put to rest in the fifth inning with 2 outs when Travis Szober laced a clean single to right field for their first base runner of the game. After a walk issued to Niko Moraitis, Wilkinson ended the jam with a pop out to first.
He wound up finishing with a two-hit, complete game shutout to lower his ERA to 0.80 for the season. Him and Filippone’s excellence on the mound have put them back in a position of strength entering today’s Class AAA Championship.
Pace led the offense, knocking three hits and driving in 4 runs.
“He’s been a stud behind the plate and hitting, he’s probably been one of our best hitters in this postseason and he’s really been a stud.”
There’s no question that Connetquot expects to win. They were loud, they brought the energy and they are not lacking confidence.
“We are the hottest team right now – we have a 4-game win streak, we’re looking to win the Suffolk County Championship.”
With a win, it would be their first title since 2019 while Sachem North is looking for their first title since 2011. First pitch at 3pm at Middle Country Complex.
