Smithtown Christian baseball advances to state semifinals

Two years ago, Smithtown Christian didn’t have a varsity baseball team. Last year, the Knights weren’t in a league and played what coach Tony Passalacqua categorized as an intramural season.

On Sunday, the Knights punched their ticket to the state semifinals.

Vaughn Beresford struck out seven and allowed one hit in four scoreless innings and went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs to lead Smithtown Christian to a 12-0 win in five innings over Eldred (Section IX) in the state Class D Southeast Regional Final at Cantine Field in Saugerties.

Smithtown Christian (14-2) will face North Warren Central (Section II) in a semifinal at 4 p.m. on Friday at SUNY Binghamton.

“I told them to go celebrate and they just were very calm,” Passalacqua said. “They said, ‘No, Coach, we’re not done yet.’ ”

The only hit Beresford allowed was a bunt single in the third inning. Otherwise, the junior kept Eldred (5-7) in check.

“He’s just a bulldog,” Passalacqua said. “He’s just a competitor. He refuses to give in, he refuses to lose and he finds ways . . . He mixes up his pitches and he’ll spot them. It doesn’t matter what the count is, he won’t give in.”

Quincy Gibbs struck out two in a hitless fifth inning.

Smithtown Christian jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Two runs scored on errors and Beresford drove in Erick Aristy on a one-out single.

“We played our game. We ran like crazy. We forced them to make throws,” Passalacqua said. “We pounded baseballs and we played great defense.”

Caleb Calder plated Beresford on a double to left in the third inning.

In the fourth, Luke Ruggiero scored on a passed ball and Gibbs scored on a single by Beresford, who scored on an inside-the-park home run by Calder to give the Knights an 8-0 lead.

Being the only Class D team on Long Island, Smithtown Christian hadn’t played in a competitive game since May 16.

“We just had to adjust and adapt,” Beresford said. “We went in there with an energy and a competitiveness, but we were loose and relaxed.”

Gibbs went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs, Calder went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run and Aristy went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs.

The Knights will be looking for their first state title since 2014. 

“Our main objective is to win a state championship,” Beresford said. “This was just another piece of the puzzle. We’re already looking forward to our game on Friday.”