BY ADAM RONIS
Patchogue-Medford faced Ward Melville in a rematch of a Suffolk Class AA semifinal from last season in which Patchogue-Medford won 7-4 in 11 innings. But right now, Patchogue-Medford seems primed for a deep run into the postseason and Ward Melville will need to go on a hot streak just to make the postseason.
Patchogue-Medford remained the lone undefeated team in Suffolk with an 8-0 win over host Ward Melville in Game 1 of a three-game series. Senior lefthander Mike Smith threw a five-hitter, walked three and struck out 10.
"The weather helps," PM coach Anthony Frascogna said. "His off-speed stuff hasn’t been getting over and he was relying on the fastball. His pitch count has been up because he’s got behind hitters. His curveball was on today."
"The guys did a great job behind me," Smith said. "They won two games from us last year, so I wanted to come out firing."
Junior Marcus Stroman went 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and three stolen bases. He has 17 for the season, breaking the program record of 16 held by Ryan Carroll. Dan Farrell went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for PM (10-0, 9-0 League I).
"He’s been coming up with big hits with guys in scoring position," Frascogna said of Farrell. "He’s our No. 4 hitter and sometimes a high school kid in the four hole thinks he needs to swing for the moon every time. He tries to work the count and put the ball in play where it is pitched."
Patchogue-Medford has lost in Game 3 of the best-of-three county championship the last two seasons. While the pitching remains the same, the offense has improved a lot. Last season the pitchers were under a lot of pressure to perform because the offense didn't put up a lot of runs.
"Everybody hits the ball hard from one to nine," Farrell said. "We played good last year in the playoffs, but didn’t get the breaks. It’s more laid back this year. Everyone is loose and it’s fun. We’ve been together for a few years."
For Ward Melville, it will take a lot of work to return to the semifinals. Ward Melville is 2-8, 2-5. The Patriots need to win 7 of its final 11 to make the playoffs.
"We're in a slump," WM coach Lou Petrucci said. "We didn't play good baseball today."