Sports
Coast Little League Opens Up With Big Win
The Massapequa Coast 12-year old team defeated North Bellmore on Monday.
The Massapequa Coast Williamsport Little League team, a group of the top local baseball players aged 12 and under, opened up their season on Monday afternoon with an 13-2 win over North Bellmore/North Merrick at Burns Park.
Massapequa Coast is the defending Long Island Champions from 2010 when they defeated North Bellmore to capture the District 31 title. The District is made up of teams from the Massapequa Coast, Massapequa International, Uniondale, Seaford, Wantagh, Bellmore, Merrick and lastly North Bellmore/North Merrick Little Leagues. They nearly made it to the Little League World Series as well, a nationally televised tournament in Williamsport, Pa.
“We came in with a game plan and we executed it. There are a few things that we need to work on, but it feels good to get the first win under our belt,” said head coach Brian Schirmacher.
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Coast started off on the right foot with two big home runs in the first inning; a three-run home run from Austin Torres, followed up by a two-run shot from Teddy Turano. Brandon Fanizza singled home a run in the next inning to extend the score to 6-1.
Turano came in to pitch in the bottom half of the second inning and collected three strikeouts against NMNB. In the next inning, Stevie O’Donnell knocked in two more runs with a single to help pad the lead to 9-1
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Andy Hyatt and Turano combined to not give up a single run in the next two innings. Fanizza collected his second RBI in the fifth inning as Coast pushed hard for the 10-run mercy rule. They added two more runs in the final inning to close out the 13-2 run.
Massapequa Coast advanced to the next round of their opening season tournament on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., where they will play either Wantagh or Bellmore at Seaman’s Neck Park in Seaford.
Below is a roster of the 2011 Massapequa Coast Williamsport Team:
#2- Jake Sabia
#3- Justin Schirmacher
#7- Teddy Turano
#9- Dylan Nealis
#10- Albie Fanera
#13- Chris Keenan
#14- Austin Torres
#23- Brandon Fanizza
#24- Stevie O'Donnell
#25- Mark Rodriguez
#41- Andy Hyatt
