Massapequa baseball's AJ Conza gets go-ahead hit, earns save in come-from-behind win over Garden City
Massapequa senior AJ Conza celebrates striking out Garden City's Kyle Walsh for the final out on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Massapequa High School. Credit: Joe Orovitz
What started as a season opener to forget for the Massapequa baseball team turned into a memorable Saturday afternoon for senior AJ Conza.
Conza was the hero for Long Island’s defending Class AAA champions. Trailing visiting Garden City by two runs with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth inning, Conza drilled a fastball into the left-centerfield gap for a go-ahead three-run double. Later, he struck out a pair to lock down a save, securing the 4-3 non-league win.
“I’m very proud of myself,” Conza said. “I trusted what I knew I could do, and I pulled through.”
Through four innings, Garden City (2-1) shut down Massapequa’s bats with two lefties. Brendan Ohl started, allowing just a hit and a walk with five strikeouts over three innings, and Joe Carey struck out the side in order in the fourth. The Trojans scratched across two runs in the first, then sophomore catcher Christian Roddini came off the bench in the second and smoked a ground-rule RBI double to give them a 3-0 lead.
Things changed in the fifth, as Massapequa first baseman Joe Genova and rightfielder Chris Sultana each worked walks. Senior Ryan Moore then slapped a pinch-hit single through the right side on the first pitch, loading the bases for shortstop John Neary. He also swung at the first pitch, pulling an RBI single through the left side to set the stage for Conza.
“I was watching the pitcher, and he was throwing first-pitch fastballs,” Neary said. “Our dugout got fired up. We all had confidence after that. We knew [Conza] was about to bring us all in.”
Junior righthander Christian O’Hara held the lead with a perfect top of the sixth, setting up Conza for the seventh. Conza stranded a one-out walk, getting standout first baseman Christopher Desiderio to bounce into a fielder’s choice before striking out rightfielder Kyle Walsh to end it.
“I wasn’t feeling any pressure there,” Conza said. “I feel like I’m on top of the world right now, but I’ve just got to continue that into the next game.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
