There are no easy outs in the Garden City lineup, and you don’t need to look any further than an at-bat by No. 9 hitter Jack Murphy against one of the most dominant pitching staffs in Long Island history to prove that.
When East Islip scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning, that alone would have been enough offense for the team to win 20 of the 24 games it played entering Thursday. But not against an offense like Garden City.
When Murphy stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, he knew he needed to come through because there was no guarantee how many scoring opportunities Garden City would generate. Even as he fell behind in the count, he kept a positive mindset.
“I was staying confident,” Murphy said. “I knew [the count] was 0-2 against a good pitcher [Thomas Costarelli], but I didn’t let that get to my head. I had to stay focused, stay locked in.”
After fouling off some tough pitches, Murphy drove a long fly to leftfield that one-hopped the fence for a three-run triple as Garden City defeated East Islip, 10-5, in the Long Island Class AA baseball championship/state Class AA subregional at Farmingdale State College on Thursday.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Murphy said. “But I looked up, I saw it keep going and I just kept running.”
Jack Murphy of Garden City triples bringing in three runs in the bottom of the fourth putting Garden City the lead 4-2 over East Islip during the Long Island Class AA baseball final on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Farmingdale. Credit: Dawn McCormick
That hit gave Garden City a 4-2 lead and highlighted a four-run fourth inning.
Skylar Lang followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in an elated Murphy, who charged into the dugout after scoring.
“This means everything,” Murphy said. “It’s been a hard-fought season and this is what we dreamed of coming into the season. What we dreamed of ever since we were little.”
Garden City (24-4) will play Fox Lane in the state Class AA Southeast Regional final at Hofstra at 10 a.m. Saturday after the Trojans captured the third Long Island title in program history.
East Islip (22-3) allowed one run or fewer in 20 of 24 games entering Thursday, including one total run in four postseason games.
“I think that proves to everyone on Long Island what we’re truly capable of,” Murphy said. “I think a lot of people may not have thought we were going to come into this game and score runs, especially because of their pitching staff, but I think we showed them exactly what we’re made of.”
Garden City junior pitcher Joe Carey knew he had a tough task going toe-to-toe with East Islip’s elite staff and strong offense. Carey allowed three runs and six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in six innings for the win.
The Trojans added five runs in the fifth, highlighted by Kyle Walsh’s RBI double, Shea Burns’ RBI single and Lang’s two-run double.
Michael Tramaglini went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, Chris Rizzo was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Costarelli went 2-for-4 with a run scored for East Islip.
Walsh went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Connor Griffin was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs, Chris Desiderio went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run and Will Jewell had an RBI and a run for the Trojans.
“Everyone on our lineup is a dog,” Walsh said. “We’re able to compete with any pitcher. Every player in the lineup does their part and that was really big.”
Walsh reflected on the first day of practice when coach Dave Izzo had the team watch a video of the 2021 team celebrating its Long Island title. That added to the team’s drive.
“I’m very happy for them that they get to experience this,” Izzo said. “I’ve always said this is why coaches coach. That feeling that you get when you win a championship, you can’t duplicate any other way except for that.”
The 2021 team couldn’t experience anything beyond the Long Island championship because of abbreviated seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s not the case this year.
“Hopefully we have a few more games to play,” Izzo said, “but I’m definitely pumped for these guys that they get to experience this.”
Owen O’Brien covers high school and college sports for Newsday. He’s also covered professional teams such as the Mets, Yankees, Jets and Giants since graduating from the University at Buffalo.