Vikings roll through Pittsford-Sutherland, next up Waverly

The Grand Island baseball team is back where its basketball team ventured in mid-March — one victory away from a berth in the New York State Class A state championships.

Senior Thomas Albarella tossed a masterful 1-hit shutout as the Vikings beat Pittsford Sutherland, 4-0, in the subregional late Tuesday afternoon at Frontier High. Grand Island, now 19-4, faces Waverly (Section 4) on Friday at ESL Ballpark in Rochester, looking to punch its ticket to the Final Four in Binghamton a week later.

Albarella struck out five and was backed by an efficient Grand Island defense, particularly by third baseman Caden Sharkey, who has five assists. The Vikings were resourceful and aggressive on offense, executing a double steal for one run and using a couple of perfect bunts to set up a crucial two-run double by Don Collure that gave Grand Island a 4-run cushion in the fifth.

That was more than enough for Albarella, who kept the Sutherland hitters off stride all afternoon with a mixture of fastballs, sliders and off-speed stuff. He recorded 12 of his 21 outs on ground balls. Considering the circumstances, he said he had never pitched a better game.

“No, I can’t say I have,” Albarella said. “Everything felt good today. I knew my defense was behind me. I just tried to fill up the zone. I knew they were going to make the plays.”

Albarella made one of those plays in the first, fielding a comeback and starting a 1-6-3 double play as shortstop John Chiarenza made a strong turn at second. He retired 12 in a row after that, including three straight fine plays by Sharkey in the second.

Sutherland put two on after an error and a walk in the fifth, but after a   coach’s visit to the mound, Albarella got Hudson Lazenby waving at a nasty slider to end the threat.

“He’s pitched some really good games for us,” said Grand Island head coach Dean Santorio. “But that was by far his best overall performance. To go 103 (pitches) against a good baseball team, to be in the zone most of the game except for once or twice where it got away. I can’t say enough about his confidence and leadership and pitching with command all day.”

Albarella said he simply tried to mix his pitches, fill up the strike zone, and let his defense do its work. The Vikings are a smart baseball team, a throwback, a pleasure to watch.

“The entire team has great baseball IQ,” Albarella said. “Most of us have been together for six years. We know each other in and out. Everything just works cohesively.”

The Vikings have won eight in a row and are three wins away from a state title. They lost in the state championship game in 2012. Santorio’s team has the pitching and defense to keep it going.

“I told these guys, in my opinion baseball is sometimes the hardest,” said Santorio, a 1986 GI grad. “To win five or six baseball games against good playoff teams, where you play well and get good pitching every day, it’s hard to do. Thankfully, we’ve played five really good (playoff) games. I’m just looking forward to the next one Friday.”

Feature Image Credit/Scott Kolis