9/10 Tournament Team rallies to win American League Division Series!    (Previous Article: Williston Times 10-25-2002 Article)

The Williston Park Little League 9/10 year-old Tournament Team continued to perform miracles this past Sunday (October 27^th) by defeating the nationally ranked Northern Raiders in the Diamond Pro’s best 2-of-3 American League Division Series (ALDS). Williston Park was behind 1-0 in the bottom of the 6^th inning in the first game, and behind 4-1 in the late innings of the second game, but rallied back to sweep both games of the crucial Playoff doubleheader against the Northern Raiders. Williston Park has now reached the Final Four in the 24-team Diamond Pro’s Fall Tournament and they now advance into the Diamond Pro’s best 2-of-3 American League Championship Series (ALCS), which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday/Sunday, November 2^nd/3^rd.

The Williston Park 9/10 Tournament Team is now 27-4 during the 2002 Tournament Season, which includes the Williston Park Mayor’s Trophy Championship, the Glen Cove Mayor’s Trophy Championship, and now the Diamond Pro’s American League Division Series Championship.

In the first game of the Division Series, both teams started their ace pitchers and the game was a scoreless pitcher’s duel through five innings. In the top of the 6^th inning with two outs, the Northern Raiders worked a walk followed by a triple to take a 1-0 lead. Williston Park then needed a run in the bottom of the 6^th to stay alive. Chris Serrano led off the bottom of the 6^th with a line drive to the center field fence but the Northern Raiders had their center fielder perfectly positioned against the fence for the first out of the inning. All looked bleak for Williston Park but they reached back and did what they’ve done several times since early-June, they rallied with a single from John Quinn, a double from Matt Goodrich, an intentional walk to Jimmy Bulva, and a clutch game winning hit by Mark Scaringi to turn a 1-0 loss into a 2-1 victory in the first game of the best 2-of-3 Series. The game also featured the 15-strikeout pitching performance of Chris Serrano and the strong defense of Tommy Ward and Nick Berardi.

In the second game, Williston Park quickly jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the 1^st inning on a walk by Matt Lanfair, a steal of 2^nd and 3^rd base, and a sacrifice fly by Casey Cunningham. The Northern Raiders then erupted for four runs in the bottom of the 1^st, highlighted by a 3-run home run by their clean-up hitter, to take a commanding 4-1 lead. The lead held up into the 5^th, when Williston Park had to again reach back and rally to score three runs to tie the game 4-4 on singles by Casey Cunningham, John Quinn, and Peter Aiello; a double by Chris Serrano off the left centerfield fence; and a big triple by Matt Goodrich to right centerfield. The game remained tied 4-4 through six innings with both teams then forced to remove their starting pitchers as the game went into extra innings. Williston Park then took a 5-4 lead in the top on the 7^th on a bases loaded walk by Danny Martinucci and then Danny Martinucci came on in relief in the bottom of the 7^th to strike out the side and seal the 5-4 come-from-behind victory for Williston Park. The game also featured the strong pitching of Casey Cunningham and the fine defense of Jimmy Ward.

The ALDS doubleheader sweep now advances the Williston Park 9/10 Tournament Team into the American League Championship Series on Saturday, November 2nd, against Pelham Parkway from the Bronx.

All Williston Park Little League game information, scheduling, and results can be found at the official web site at www.wpsports.org.

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