by Trevor Dugan
Brendan Rivera finishes off a complete game shutout as Longwood moves to 10-0 and clinches a playoff berth!
FINAL: Longwood 3 – Walt Whitman 0 pic.twitter.com/AJV7AD8hyY
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 20, 2026
If Brendan Rivera wanted to be any better Monday, he would’ve had to be perfect.
The Longwood senior dominated the Walt Whitman offense, tossing a no-hitter in Longwood’s 3-0 victory over their Suffolk League I rival. With the win the Lions improve to 10-0, and become the first team in League I to clinch a playoff berth.
Rivera allowed just four baserunners over his seven innings. After an E5 in the bottom of the first, the SUNY Cortland bound right-hander retired 12 consecutive batters. Pounding the strike zone with all of his pitches, he finished with five strikeouts and one walk.
“He mixed up his pitches very well today,” Longwood head coach Ryan McSherry said of Rivera. “He’s got some giddy up on his fastball, and he can pitch backwards too with his slider, it plays in any count, and he commands all of his pitches for strikes.”
Despite Rivera’s dominant start, Longwood’s bats had to work hard to manufacture runs against Walt Whitman SP Robbie Halfon. The sophomore RHP turned in a complete game of his own for the Wildcats, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out three batters over seven innings.
Rivera said after the game that he was well aware of how well Halfon was pitching, and used it as mental fuel for his Monday masterpiece.
“He had a great game, props to him,” Rivera said of Halfon.” When I see their pitcher doing really well, it motivates me to go out there and battle with him, just put my best out there and give my team the best chance I can.”
Longwood grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first when second baseman Stephen Moscatiello was driven home on an RBI groundout off the bat of centerfielder Tyler Groblewski.
Things held at 1-0 until the top of the fourth, when third baseman Ryan Audette scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Matt Reany to give Longwood a 2-0 lead.
Walt Whitman’s lone scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth, when Rivera surrendered his only walk to give the Wildcats their first baserunner since the first inning. The next batter reached on a catcher’s interference, and both runners moved into scoring position with one out, but Rivera forced two straight groundouts to keep the no-hitter and shutout intact.
The Lions added one more insurance run in the top of the seventh thanks to another sacrifice fly, this time by Moscatiello, before Rivera finished off his no-hitter to give Longwood a 3-0 victory.
After the final out, there was some confusion as to whether or not Rivera had actually thrown a no-hitter, since a first inning error had originally been scored as a hit by the home scorekeepers, so Longwood’s celebration was relatively mild. But after a brief deliberation, both sides agreed that the “hit” was, in fact, an error.
Once the no-no was confirmed as legitimate, Rivera was deservedly congratulated by his teammates and coaches, but coach McSherry says the focus now is staying locked in for the playoffs.
“The main thing now is keeping our heads on straight,” McSherry said. “Humility is a big thing, being 10-0 is a blessing obviously, but it can also be a curse. We can’t think we’re invincible, because that’s how trap games happen.”
Longwood and Walt Whitman will meet for the second game of their three-game set Wednesday, April 22, at Longwood High School.