By Anthony DiCocco
With Fleischman out of the game and two runners in scoring position, Macklin Smith sends a sacrifice fly to left field to score the go-ahead run. On the same play, Pat-Med’s throw to third base goes awry, allowing a second runner to come home.
2-0 Longwood Top Seventh. pic.twitter.com/Agt8c56g9Z
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 29, 2026
While locked in a pitchers’ duel with Patchogue-Medford starter Thomas Fleischman, Ryan Audette took over to preserve Longwood’s undefeated run.
Aside from a bases-loaded threat in the third inning that went nowhere, baserunners were scarce against Fleischman in Medford, N.Y., on Wednesday. He nearly carried that trend into the seventh until Audette outdueled him once again, this time while standing in the batter’s box. After already matching Fleischman with six shutout frames up to that point, Audette battled back from an 0-2 count and slashed the 2-2 pitch into right-center field for a leadoff double.
With Audette standing at third base following an error, Fleischman recorded a big strikeout to keep him there, but was removed from the game in favor of Connor Davis with his pitch count at 108.
Right fielder Julian Lange drew a walk with Fleischman off the bump and stole second base, setting the stage for Macklin Smith to deliver. After breaking up Fleischman’s bid at a second consecutive no-hitter in the fifth and getting dinged up behind the dish earlier in the contest, Smith plated Audette with a sacrifice fly to left field.
On the same play, an errand throw to third allowed Lange to trot home with an insurance run for Jagger Franco, who struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to close out the Lions’ 2-0 win over the Raiders — their 14th straight to open the season.
To even get to that moment, Audette needed to take his already dominant start to another level in the bottom of the sixth stanza. After winning a marathon, 12-pitch at-bat for the first out, an error and double combined to put two Raiders in scoring position.
However, Lange ran down a ball in foul territory and got it to Smith quick enough to keep the go-ahead run at third base. Audette bore down from there, needing just three pitches to pick up his seventh strikeout on the 104th and final pitch of his outing to escape the jam.
Despite taking a loss, Fleischman pitched well enough to earn a victory. The right-hander totaled seven punch outs across 6 ⅓ innings while surrendering one run on three hits, two walks and two hit batsmen.
Smith singled and tallied the game’s only run batted in. Along with racking up three strikeouts and a save, Jagger Franco singled and walked, while Brayden Franco collected a base hit and was plunked.
Patchogue-Medford managed three hits and three walks against Audette, with Chase DeSantis notching their lone extra-base knock on the day and Evan Picciano walking twice.
The Lions have their eyes set on attempting to complete the sweep against Patchogue-Medford at home on Thursday to continue their perfect season. Conversely, the Raiders, who fell to 6-6 overall and 6-5 in League 1 play, will aim to snap their three-game skid during their final crack at handing Longwood their first loss of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Middle Island, N.Y.