These kinds of losses are certainly the hardest to take. Your pitcher hurls a solid game and you still can't get the job done. It leaves the pitcher wondering if he could have done more to help the team win and most of the time the answer is no. This was the situation for pitcher David Reens and the Syosset Braves last Tuesday after their 3-1 loss to Oceanside at Syosset High School.

The cold, blustery morning led itself to a pitchers duel. The sun was shining as brightly as the wind was whipping. It would be hard to get runs via the long ball on this morning. It would be hard to get runs period. David Reens took the mound shortly after 10am and got into some early trouble. The first Oceanside batter knocked a single into the outfield. Reens responded by picking that runner off of first base before the next batter got comfortable in the box. Reens allowed another single and walked a batter before finally getting out of the first with a strikeout. It was now that Reens would settle into a groove that Oceanside could not get him out of. In the third, Reens got out of a first and third jam. He produced two ground balls with a runner in scoring position in the fourth and still was locked in a pitchers duel that is so uncommon in the high scoring world of high school baseball. As so often happens in this sport, the only pitcher that could have matched Reens' brilliance on this day was on the mound for the opponent. Oceanside retired the first three batters of the game for Syosset and struck out the side in the third. In the fourth, Syosset was threatening when Oceanside got a key 6-3-5 double play. This was aided by a poor running mistake by Syosset. Oceanside got to Reens in the fifth. Reens recorded the first out rather effortlessly, getting a weak ground ball out. He then hit the next batter. That batter advanced to third on a 2 base throwing error by the Syosset catcher. The catcher tried to pick off the Oceanside runner at first but instead threw it into right field. Reens walked the next batter. With runners on first and third, Reens let up his first hard hit ball of the day. The two run double by Sal Buzzetta gave Oceanside a 2-0 lead. Syosset got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error. David Reens pitched a scoreless sixth and left the game trailing 2-1 after giving Syosset one of their better pitching performances of the year. Oceanside got a run off of Matt Zink in the seventh to make it 3-1. Matt Simpson struck out the side for Oceanside in the seventh to preserve the 3-1 win. The loss puts the Braves at 2-2 on the year in league play and 3-2 overall.

Jordan Lauterbach can be heard on "The Sporting Edge" every Friday from 5-6pm on 88.5fm WKWZ-Syosset. (Show returns to airwaves on April 28.)