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Sports

Mineola Sinks Seaford 12-3 on Senior Recognition Day

Senior Mustangs take season series from Vikings and one win away from playoff berth.

The Mineola varsity baseball team honored its seniors both on the field and off Thursday afternoon in the “Senior Recognition Day” 12-3 victory over Seaford.

Fittingly, nine of the 12 Mustang runs that scored Thursday were senior players.

“There are certain groups over the years that you grow fond of,” Mineola coach Helms Bohringer said, calling the players a special class for the length of time they have spent with him as their skipper.

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“Since the majority of this group has been with me 3 years and Jimmy Bulva with four, you kind of grow as a group. That’s why at the end of games we use the word family because we are one big unit. It’s a nice feeling to have the seniors play well on senior day.”

Before the game, each of the senior and their accompanying parents were introduced by assistant coach Barry Silverstein, gathering before taking the field to take the rubber match of a three game series against Seaford in Conference A-VI play.

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The Mustangs were led by senior captain Jim Bulva who pitched and hit his way over the Vikings on his wind-swept .

The 6’6 righthander struck out seven over six innings of 3 run ball while allowing seven hits.

Bulva also went 2-2 at the dish with a first inning triple and a two-run single in the second to cap a 4 run onslaught in the frame.

Senior Ryan Jenkins sparked the Mustangs in the bottom of the first by drawing a leadoff walk and ended up on third when Seaford catcher David Hraska overthrew his target.

Craig Weber’s grounder to shortstop allowed the speedy Jenkins to plate the first of 12 runs for the Mustang offense.

Stolen bases were a common theme for Mineola as they combined for six stolen bags on the day.

Bulva followed Weber’s RBI force out with a laser to right center that landed the senior on third base, scoring on a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of Nick Palma for a 2-0 cushion.

Seaford ran themselves out of the inning after Michael Lasher was thrown out by Jenkins trying to turn a single into a double to end the inning.

“Early in the game, we really didn’t make plays,” Seaford Coach Mike Milano said. “Mineola has been hitting great this entire series. They’re a tough team to beat.”

Mineola exploded in the second inning for 4 runs after Tom Ward tripled home Billy Sullivan to start the rally.

Seaford starter Kalista struggled through three innings, allowing 8 runs on five walks and five hits. Mineola took advantage of the righthander’s inability to locate in the zone, putting runners on base and into scoring position with their dynamic running game.

“Mineola ran the bases extremely well,” Milano said. “They took advantage of our inability to stop the running game from time to time and they deserve to take two of the three.”

If Seaford could sweep the three game set from a next week, the Vikings would have the opportunity to at least tie for first place in Conference A-VI.

Bohringer was able to give seniors that weren’t given the start an opportunity to get an at bat late in the game with Mineola up big.

Seniors Mike Cerqueira and Joe Morra each recorded pinch-hit RBI singles in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Senior captain Nick Moran drew a walk and later scored in a pinch-hit appearance in the bottom of the sixth.

Mineola has to win one of the three games against Valley Stream North in order to clinch a playoff berth.

The Mustangs take to the road for .

 


1 2 3 4 5 6 7

R H E Seaford 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

3 7 2 Mineola
2 4 2 3 0 1 –
12 9 2 Mineola Batting Statistics















Player PA AB H 1B 2B 3B HR SAC BB K RBI Runs BA OB% SLUG SB Craig Weber 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 .000 .500 .000 1 Ryan Jenkins 4 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 .333 .500
.333 1 Jimmy Bulva 3 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 1.00 1.00 1.000 1 Nick Palma 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 .000 .000 .000 0 John Caputo 3 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .333 .333 .333 1 Billy Sullivan
3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 .500 .500 .500 0 Steve O'Connor
3 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500 .500 .500 1 Tom Ward
4 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250 .250 .500 0 Tommy Breslin
3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 .000 .500 .000 0 Mike Cerqueira
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.00 1.00 1.00 0 Nick Moran 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .000 1.00 .000 0 Joe Morra 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1.00 1.00 1.00 0
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