There was plenty of suspense at Tottenville HS on Wednesday during the Pirates’ first-round PSAL AAA playoff game against Van Arsdale, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.

And none of it dealt with whether the home team would win.

By the first inning, the Tottenville bench was already running low on paper Gatorade cups used to drink water on the steamy afternoon, forcing skipper Mike Grippo to plead with his players for re-use.

On the field, junior right-hander Jason Bassett wasn’t only pitching a perfect game but had fanned the first 10 Cardinals, en route to an astonishing 17 strikeouts in six innings. He would lose the bid at perfection due to infield errors in the fourth and fifth frames, but he would fashion a no-hitter in a 10-0 victory stopped after six due to the mercy rule.

Another bit of suspense arrived when a buzz made its way through the top-seeded Pirates dugout that New Dorp was on the verge of upsetting No. 2 Richmond Hill. Unfortunately for the Central Cougars, they couldn’t hold on and dropped a 4-3 decision.

For the past decade, it seems as if Staten Island’s advantage over the other four boroughs in PSAL sports has decidedly grown. That edge isn’t always reflected in championships, but can be seen in the depth of talent when comparing divisions. Still, some believe the quality of Island programs has dropped a notch or two, as well.

“Times are changing,” said Grippo. “There are different factors. Private schools have gained more players, and more kids are interested in different sports, like lacrosse. It’s not like it used to be in the past, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The league has teams slotted into different levels (AAA contains Tottenville, New Dorp, Curtis and Susan Wagner) to help keep things competitive.”

The Pirates methodically pecked away at the 32^nd-seeded Cardinals, scoring two in the first inning (Gary Perone RBI infield single off the leg of VA starter Penn Jurgensen and a run-scoring error); one in the second (Perone bases-loaded walk); two in the third (Michael Flashner two-run single); one in the fourth (unearned); three in the fifth (Dylan Swanson two-run double, Perone RBI single); and James Anderson’s bloop single to right that clinched matters in the sixth.

“We have to hit a little, pitch a little, bunt a little and field a little. We’re going to be playing low-scoring games,” said Grippo. “We have pitching options.”

“We can’t take any teams lightly. We have to keep our foot on the pedal,” added Perone, who is slated to be on the mound for Friday’s second-round home tilt against No. 17 Gregorio Luperon. “For me, I just tried to simplify things in the box, take one pitch at a time.”

While the 2024 Pirates might not have the firepower of former Tot teams, it does share at least one similarity to the past: the presence of an ace. The 6-foot-2 Bassett sported a fastball consistently in the low-to-mid 80s — matching the afternoon’s temperatures — according to the team’s portable radar gun.

“My fastball had a lot of life, and my curve was breaking good,” said Bassett, a transfer from St. Joseph by-the-Sea. “Most of the season, I’ve reached double digits in strikeouts in games, but nothing like 17.

“We played [Van Arsdale] twice this year, so I came in with a lot of confidence. In the sixth, I heard [Grippo] say I had one batter left, so I let everything out.”

Grippo was impressed.

“Jay knows the routine,” the coach stated. “It seems like he gets better every time he goes out there.”