The Massapequa Coast 9-10 Year Old Baseball team has topped the rest of New York, winning the State championship earlier this week with a 6-0 defeat of Pearl River of Section 4.
The six sectional champions from around the state, with Coast representing Section 6 Long Island, competed in the weeklong tournament for a chance to move onto the Northeast Regionals. The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Little League, located in Glenville, which stands just outside of the state capital of Albany, hosted the tournaments’ games.
On Thursday, July 21, Coast defeated the host team of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, the Section 3 winners, on the opening day by an 8-6 margin. Just a day later, Coast took on Section 1 winners Fredonia, who received a bye in the first round. The extra time did them no good as Coast continued their offensive surge with a convincing 12-2 win.
On Sunday, Coast met with Horseheads Little League of Section 2. Known for their solid offensive play, this team figured to be a potential roadblock. However, it was the Coast bats that couldn’t be matched, as they pulled out a dominating 22-4 win. Horseheads committed eight defensive errors to aid in the loss.
On Tuesday, Coast, now a perfect 3-0 and outscoring opponents by a 42-12 margin, met Pearl River, who held a 4-1 record. They previously lost to Horseheads, but with the double-elimination format in place, they rallied off three consecutive wins to reach the finals against Coast.
Ace pitcher Nick Collins saved his best for last as he threw a one-hit shutout to lead Coast to the New York State championship. Collins had a no-hitter going into the fifth inning, but it was ended by a single from Kyle Muldoon.
Massapequa Coast will move on to the Regional Tournament, which will serve as their last step of a historic run in 2011. The tournament will be played from July 30-August 8 and be hosted at field locations in Cranston, Rhode Island.
