On Tuesday afternoon, the baseball team dismantled Commack, the reigning Class AA Long Island Champions, 10-0 on Jeff Adams Field.

Despite the Bears scoring double-digit runs for the ninth time this season, they were held scoreless for the first three innings. The Cougars failed to score over their first four innings as Matthew Ramirez allowed just two hits over that span to keep the game level.

In the bottom of the 4th, the Bears finally broke the deadlock. Anthony DeCesare was hit by a pitch to put the Bears’ first batter on base. Two outs followed, which allowed DeCesare to advance to third base before an Aaron Artsen double gave The Brook a 1-0 lead.

The Cougars looked to respond in the 5th by opening the inning with a pair of singles, but Ramirez didn’t flinch as he picked off the runner at second before inducing a ground out and a line out to end the threat. In the bottom half, the Bears broke it open.

Shea Corona opened the frame with a double to left. Josh Diaz followed with a walk before Aiden Ruiz strode to the plate with one out. The sophomore took strike one, then sent the next pitch over the right field wall to give the Blue & White a 4-0 advantage. DeCesare followed with a single, and Mateo Lopez reached on an error. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, putting two runners in scoring position for Larry Hotaling III. The junior took advantage by stinging a line drive to center that plated both Bears for a 6-0 edge.

The five-run frame put the Bears firmly in control, and Ramirez ensured it was more than enough. The junior followed the offensive outburst with a shutdown 6th, sitting the Cougars down in order with just six pitches. In the Bear-half of the inning, a Decesare single led to an error by the centerfielder that brought in two runners along with DeCesare for a 9-0 lead. Later in the inning, Juju Martinez capped the day’s scoring with a sacrifice fly that scored Lopez (single).

In the 7th, Ramirez again sat Commack down 1-2-3 with nine pitches to slam the door shut on his complete game shutout. He finished his outing by retiring the last eight batters he faced.

Hoatling III’s 3 hits and 2 RBIs and Ruiz’s 2 hits and 3 RBIs paced the offense. Ramirez finished with 4 hits and 1 strikeout over his 7.0 innings of work.

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