(Photo by Stephen Takacs)
The Mineola Mustangs took down the Seaford Vikings by a score of 5-1 at Mineola High School on April 7 to bring their season record up to 3-2.
Senior James Wiercinski was Mineola’s star, throwing a complete-game four-hitter and added a RBI to help his own cause. Junior Ryan DePalma also went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Mineola took the lead early when Wiercinski’s double scored senior Chris Fischer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead over Seaford, who had just defeated Mineola a day earlier.
Seaford pitcher A.J. Cain led the second inning off with a hit and would eventually score on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.
Despite a few hits by the Mustangs, pitching controlled the game for both teams until the bottom of the fourth inning when senior Matt Demelas hit a single and junior Alex Maher added another one to put a runner back in scoring position. Fischer nailed another single to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead.
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The Mustangs blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning. DePalma started the offensive onslaught with a single and a stolen base. A walk and a bunt later put runners at second and third base for Mineola. Demelas’s single gave the Mustangs a 3-1 lead but it was Fischer’s two-run single that widened the Mineola gap.
The last six outs were put in Wiercinski’s trustworthy left hand. A double play would get the Mustangs out of trouble in the sixth inning and Wiercinski retired the last three batters in order in the top of the seventh inning to finish off a complete game win.
“I thought we played very well, especially in the last four innings we started playing Mineola-style ball,” said head coach, Helms Bohringer after the game. “Instead of watching the game, we started playing the game.”
The win put Mineola in first place in the Nassau Conference A-IV and its winning percentage back up over .500.
