St. Mary's Varsity Baseball team was eliminated from the CHSAA playoffs when it lost to Kellenberg at New York Tech on Thursday, May 29. The loss was the end of a final run in which St. Mary's had put together its first winning streak in many years. The regular season ended with St. Mary's defeating St. Dominic's for its first victory in the conference in five years. Many regard the Nassau/Suffolk CHSAA as the toughest division in the state.

The win carried St. Mary's into the playoff where they faced Chaminade in a first round playoff elimination game. Chaminade finished in a tie for first place and were Newsday's selection to win this year's championship. In what many call the biggest upset in high school baseball, St. Mary's stunned Chaminade beating them 4 - 2 behind Michael Collette's five-hitter. Brian Dalton, St. Mary's coach said he thought his team could pull an upset because they had been playing well all year but were just not getting the breaks they needed to win more.

Although the team lost in the semifinals it had a successful season. For the first time in 15 years it had won a playoff game. Three of its players, seniors Ryan Parnell, James Conkin and freshman Jonathan Matteo were named to the All-Conference team.

"The coaching staff could not be prouder of this team's accomplishments," said Dalton , "and we are looking to build on this for next year." With the team losing nine players to graduation, it will have to rebuild, starting with its four returning letterman, juniors Nick Thompson and Gregor Polius, sophomore Anthony Bonomo and freshman Jonathan Matteo.

Coach Dalton stated while winning the games against St. Dominic's and playoff victory over Chaminade were highlights he hoped that they would encourage more players to try out for the team next season.

St. Mary's will start again in September with a fall program. The coaches and returning players are eager to continue its building process.