Chris Lollo rose to the occasion for Sachem on Saturday.
Kings Park was one of the hottest teams heading into the Suffolk County Class AA playoffs, but were neutralized by Lollo, who recorded the first postseason no-hitter for Sachem in nearly 30 years.
Sachem North beat Kings Park, 4-0, at home in an outbracket playoff game. The Flaming Arrows now advance to the first round of the playoffs where it will travel to third-seeded Smithtown East on Monday at 4 p.m.
Lollo, a junior, faced 24 batters, had five strikeouts and walked three in the victory. He pitched against Connetquot in a losing effort earlier in the week.
“Monday‘s start was a big difference compared to this performance,” said Sachem coach Tom Gambino. “It was night and day. He was locating, and had a nice rhythm on the mound. We’re happy for him and hope we can keep it going for the rest of the playoffs.”
Sachem’s offense was spurred by Christian Jimenez, who was 2-for-3 with three RBI, and hit a two-out, two-run double. Alex Rosati was 3-for-3 and scored two runs.
Eric Reichenbach threw Sachem’s last playoff no-hitter in 1987, the same year the Flaming Arrows won a Suffolk County championship. Assistant coach Gary Comstock was on that team, as was Bob Kohn, the father of current senior infielder Troy Kohn.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro