GARRET MEADE PHOTO | Southold shortstop Noah Mina lunging to his right for a sharp grounder that shot by him.
It was a fairly even high school baseball game — except for one devastating inning.
Third-seeded Port Jefferson erupted for eight runs in the third inning, paving the way for a 10-3 victory that knocked No. 2 Southold out of the double-elimination Suffolk County Class C Tournament on Thursday at Southold High School.
Port Jefferson (7-13), which petitioned for and was granted a waiver to compete in the playoffs, advances to a game against No. 1 Pierson/Bridgehampton on Saturday in Sag Harbor. If Pierson/Bridgehampton wins that game, it will be crowned the county champion for the class. If Port Jefferson wins, the teams will meet again on the same field Tuesday for the title.
The Royals picked up seven of their 10 hits during that crippling third-inning rally, which featured two-run singles by Esposito and Joe Booker. By the end of the inning, the score was 10-0.
Booker, Esposito and Mark Acardo each had two runs batted in for the game. Esposito also scored three times.
Southold (14-9) scored all of its runs in the sixth inning, two of them coming from Rob Mahony’s second hit of the game, a double to center field.