by Trevor Dugan
Luke Krzemienski tossed four shutout innings, and Robbie Mascia’s solo HR was the difference in Commack’s 2-0 playoff win over Longwood
They shared @GetGameChanger player of the game honors Thursday pic.twitter.com/zR7Ov47yCK
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 21, 2026
Luke Krzemienski pitched five shutout innings, and Robbie Mascia’s solo home run was the difference in No. 4 Commack’s 2-0 playoff win over top seeded Longwood on Thursday.
The teams met at Longwood High School for a continuation of Wednesday’s game, which was suspended after two scoreless innings due to heavy rain.
Commack’s Dean Kirschbaum and Longwood’s Jagger Franco each pitched two scoreless innings on Wednesday, but did not return to the mound Thursday.
When play resumed Thursday, junior right-hander Ryan Audette took the mound for Longwood to begin the third inning. He was rudely greeted by Commack sophomore catcher Mascia. With one out, the All-County backstop sent a towering home run over the left field wall to give Commack a 1-0 lead.
Krzemienski took the mound in the bottom of the third and went straight to work, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 shutdown inning. The junior left hander would pitch the rest of the game for Commack, finishing with just two hits allowed and five strikeouts across his four shutout innings.
“I was coming off of a bad outing, so I knew I had to lock in,” Krzemienski said after the win. “To win a playoff game, with high stakes, on the road against the number one seed, nothing better.”
Longwood threatened in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases on a walk, error, and one out single by senior designated hitter Brendan Rivera. With Commack’s lead hanging in the balance, Krzemienski forced a chopper back to the mound, which he fielded and threw to the plate for a force out. Mascia then fired to first base, completing a clutch 1-2-3 double play to escape the bases loaded jam and preserve Commack’s 1-0 lead.
“That was a huge momentum boost for us,” Mascia said. “Especially coming up to bat right after, it really fired up the dugout which continued throughout the game.”
Commack padded their lead in the top of the sixth inning. St. Joseph’s-commit commit Ryan Bush led the inning off with a single, and came around to score on an RBI double deep into the left field gap by first baseman Michael Intzirillis. Audette limited the damage to one, but Commack took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
Krzemienski retired the last six batters he faced to finish off Commack’s 2-0 win, their second straight to begin the Suffolk County playoffs.
“Morale is higher than ever,” Mascia told Axcess Baseball. “Coming off this win against the number one seed, Longwood, we feel like we can beat anybody.”
Commack will return to play on the road Saturday, May 23, for a winner’s bracket matchup with Connetquot High School at 10am.
After just their second loss of the season, Longwood (20-2) will be back at home Saturday for an elimination game against Patchogue-Medford High School.