Recap: Little Leaguers Claim Long Island Title

Editor's Note: The following piece was contributed by an uncle of one of the Little League players.   

Having swept through the Western Suffolk Little League Playoffs, the West Islip Gold moved on up to the Long Island Championship Series as one of the top six teams on the Island. The survivor would move on to the New York State Championship Playoffs in Staten Island.

The tournament was played at a number of neutral sites. The teams would play one another once with the top two going to a final game. West Islip swept through again. But this time it was tougher. They had three come-from-behind wins, two of them extra inning thrillers.  

The Gold opened against the East Meadow Mustangs on July 16. The Gold led 1-0 going into the last inning when East banged in a run to tie it up. But in the bottom of the sixth, Jake Russo’s sac fly with the bases loaded was the walk-off game-winner as the Gold won it 2-1 behind four pitchers who shared a three-hitter.

West Islip went on to take the next two, an 11-1 rip of East Williston and a 5-0 shutout over the North Shore Nationals. Surprisingly tough Bayport was the next challenge. With the Gold leading 2-0, Bayport tallied for a run in the fifth and another in the sixth to tie it. It went to extra innings and Bayport scored again for a 3-2 lead. But in the bottom of the seventh, Danny O’Neill doubled to right. Goose Caroselli went in to pinch run and stole third. Matt Ferrugiari doubled to right center to tie the game. Then Jim Mattera blasted a homer far over the left field wall to win it 5-3, another walk off thriller.

The Massapequa Coast was next. Coast led 3-1, but Gold’s Nick Valenti homered with a man on in the top of the sixth to save the day. In the seventh, back-to-back solo shots by Mattera and Louis Antos put them ahead by two. Massapequa scored in their half, but it was too little, too late and West Islip won it 5-4.

In Plainview, the Tournament final was another beauty - against East Meadow again. Behind ace Ray Weber, the Gold won it 4-2. It was Russo again with a sharp double to left center in the fifth to knock in two runs and sew it up. West Islip emerged as the Long Island Champs.

They moved on to the New York State Championships, hosted by Staten Island. But here they fell to Saratoga and Fayetteville. A sad ride home would be more than offset by the memories of a Long Island Championship and a well-deserved trip to the state tournament.