Rye’s baseball team beat Harrison 8-0 on Tuesday to complete a sweep of the Huskies and finish the regular season on a six-game winning streak. The Garnets (15-5) also secured the No. 1 seed in the Section 1 Class AA playoffs.
In a game that was rescheduled due to Saturday’s weather, the Garnets struck early with three first-inning runs against last-place Harrison (4-16). The first five batters got on base, then junior Luke Ontaneda hit a triple to right field, driving in seniors Jamie Morris and Lucas London, and junior Charlie Rodilosso.
That was all the scoring the Garnets needed, thanks to a combined shutout from sophomore pitchers Clayton McCarthy and Michael Bubeck. McCarthy didn’t allow a hit in four-plus innings, striking out seven Huskies. Bubeck got the final seven outs of the game for the save.
“It was great to sweep Harrison, our rival,” said Rye coach Mike Bruno. “Especially to get the win today, we clinch a share of the league title with Clarkstown North.”
Harrison couldn’t find the strike zone in the third, hitting junior Ben Fineberg with a pitch, walking the next two batters, then hitting senior Michael Talbott with another pitch to score a run and make it 4-0.
Senior Nolan Hutson singled in the sixth, then two more Garnets got hit by a pitch. Ontaneda then hit a ground ball and reached first on an error, allowing two more runs to score.
To put a bow on a successful regular season, Hutson homered to left field in the seventh, scoring Talbott to give Rye an eight-run lead.
It’s been another season of streaks for the Garnets, who started 0-2, then won nine straight before losing three in a row. Rye is hot once again, entering the postseason with six straight wins since the late-April skid.
