The first inning made a lasting impression for Sayville in the Long Island Class A baseball championship game, at Middle Country Athletic Complex in Selden, on June 5.

The Golden Flashes went to their bullpen in the top half of the inning to escape a jam unscathed and pushed across the lone run in the bottom half that held up for a 1-0 victory over Wantagh.

“The moment that can turn a game around can happen at any time,” Sayville coach Joe Esposito said.

Sayville relievers Joe Strining and Tyler Brown were terrific, taking the mound after starting at first base and left field, respectively. Strining recorded a double-play grounder to Kyle Messina at shortstop to end the top of the first and went four innings. Brown earned the save, retiring all nine batters he faced.

“Both of those guys were ready to go and wanted the ball,” Esposito said. “Joe has been one of our main relievers and is always effective, never allowed a run all season. He’s perfect in that spot because he doesn’t show a lot of emotion, just goes out and does the job. Then Tyler came in and was just unbelievable. He was lights-out.”

Christian Danzilo pitched another gem for Wantagh, allowing just two hits. The game’s lone run was scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Sayville catcher Shane Meehan, whose battery mate to open the game was lifted after two batters.

The Warriors managed three hits against Strining and had runners on first and second in the second and fourth innings, but were unable to cash in.

“If I would’ve known it was going to end 1-0, we would’ve tried to move the runners over in the top of the first,” said Wantagh coach Keith Sachs, referring to the Warriors’ drawing back-to-back walks to open the game. “I thought we were going to put up a nice, crooked number in the first,” he added. “It’s a tough one to lose. We didn’t get much going, and neither did they.”

Danzilo kept the Golden Flashes in check and the margin at one throughout. He stranded runners in scoring position in the second, third and sixth. “You can’t tell if he’s pitching in a scrimmage or a championship game,” Sachs said of Danzilo. “He looked great today; it’s too bad we couldn’t get him a couple of runs.”

Messina had eight putouts for Sayville, which outlasted Bayport-Blue Point to take the Suffolk Class A crown and capture its first L.I. title since 2019 and second in program history.

“It was an intense game,” Messina said. “We lost some heartbreakers in the playoffs the past few years. The way this feels, I can’t even describe it.”