Sports
Waterford Conn. Defeats Massapequa for LL Eastern Region 9-10 Title
Post 11-1 victory over Mid-Atlantic/NY State Champions
The incredible run of the Massapequa Coast Little League's 9-10 year-old team came to an end Sunday as they came up short in the Eastern Regional Little league championship.
Coast was on the wrong end of a Liam Spellman complete-game three-hitter as the Waterford South, Conn. All-Stars won the 2011 title 11-1, in five innings, at the Senator John H. Chafeee Athletic Complex in Cranston, RI on Saturday afternoon.
Waterford scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the title game early under the mercy rules.
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The lefthanded Spellman reached only a 57-pitch count. He retired the side in order three of five innings and needed only 16 pitches to retire the final six Massapequa batters. The hurler also had three strikeouts and had excellent defense behind him.
Shortstop Trevor Yeomans was a busy and efficient Waterford infielder, registering five assists, including three in the last two innings.
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The champions struck right away in their first at bat on consecutive bunt singles by leadoff batter Jamal Brennan and another by Eric Pinch. Dylan Bosco stroked an RBI single and Trevor Yeomans followed with another RBI single combined with a throwing error for a 3-0 lead.
Massapequa scored its only run and recorded its only hits in the second. Anthony Patullo and Ross Mitton singled with one out before Connor O’Rourke sliced a single just inside the third base bag to score Patullo. But Spellman ended the threat by retiring the next two batters on a groundout and a swinging strikeout.
Waterford countered with another run in the bottom of the second when Nathan Landon and Brennan walked with one out before Bosco delivered another RBI single. Two fielding plays by Massapequa infielders halted more scoring, Third baseman Anthony Patullo finally tagged third base on a prolonged force play after catching a grounder while first baseman Dylan DeGiovanni corralled a hard ground ball against his chest and then tagged the bag to end the inning.
In the third, reliever Matt Schneidler temporarily quenched the Waterford bats and kept them scoreless by forcing two groundouts and striking a batter with the bases loaded.
In the fourth, Pinch tripled to deep right and crossed home on a groundout by Bosco. Then Spellman, who also bats lefty, crushed a shot over the 205-foot sign in right for a solo homer to pad the lead to 6-1.
Finally, the Connecticut state champions capitalized on a leadoff walk to Daniel Annibalini, a bunt single by Brennan combined with a throwing error, another error and a few wild pitches, a hit-by-pitch, an infield hit and RBI by Yeomans and game-ending single by Nick Porazzi to score the last run as Waterford South celebrated its biggest milestone championship ever.
“It’s unbelievable and I’m very proud of them,” said Waterford manager Bill Speller. “I don’t think you can even dream or imagine this, or explain what has happened to us and the town of Waterford. This is how we play, fundamentally sound- very fundamentally sound. Liam didn’t pitch well in the bullpen session, but once he came out he was pounding the zones and was perfect.”
Massapequa ended its postseason with a 19-3 record overall, losing its first game in the districts and two in the Eastern Regionals. In capturing the Mid-Atlantic title in Cranston, they defeated teams from MD, DE and PA. To reach the regionals, they were in competition with over 600 squads before winning the New York state title in Albany.
“Just think if this continued like the 12’s we’d be preparing for a World Series like they do in Williamsport, PA,” said Massapequa manager Paul DeGiovanni. “It might take years before they appreciate what they did, but we played hard and we came a long way. This is the second year a Connecticut team beat a New York team (in the regionals). Waterford was a great team and I hope the rivalry between the two states continues.”
“It was great, fantastic,” said Spellman of the regional title game. “I wasn’t good pitching in warmups, but in the real thing I was. When it came off the bat” he added of his homer, “I knew it was gone.”
