Yaphank, NY – The Rebels reached the end of their impressive run at the Baseball Heaven Labor Day Championships yesterday capping a four-day weekend of great baseball and great fun.

The Rebels stayed hot completing pool play on Sunday with a gutsy 8-7 win over the LI Inferno Black. The back-and-forth battle featured notable performances by Eric 4 making great and critical plays in left field and Alec 14 whose pitching and hitting were clearly keys to the team’s success. Many contributed in this exciting contest.

The victory moved the Rebels to 4-0 in pool play and earned them the #1 seed of the four teams — NBNM, Inferno, Connetquot Chiefs, Stratford (CT) Titans — moving on to Monday’s play-off rounds.

North Bellmore North Merrick returned to Baseball Heaven Monday morning for their semi-final matchup with the Titans.

The Connecticut kids featured a pitcher with a tremendous off-speed pitch that kept the Rebels batters off balance most of the day. NBNM managed to manufacture a run in the third inning to take a 1-0 lead.

Rebels starter Nick 2, in spite of not having his best stuff early, relied on the Rebels best defensive game of the tournament while he got stronger as the game progressed and tougher as the pressure grew.

Kevin 38 came through in the bottom of the fifth smoking an RBI triple into the left-centerfield alley and tacking on a big insurance run for the Rebels to take a 2-0 lead into the sixth.

Nick came out in the sixth for his most dominant inning of the day, K’ing the final two Stratford batters, sealing the complete game victory, and propelling the Rebels into the final.

The win moved the Rebels’ mark to a perfect 17-0 in 2009 tournament play.

After a four-hour wait, the stage was set for a Rebels/Inferno rematch in the championship game.

This one was not to go the Rebels’ way.

The Inferno came out with bats ablaze posting a four- and a five-spot in the first two innings for a 9-0 lead before the Rebels knew what hit them. The boys in black produced hits up and down their lineup while the Rebels could not do the same. The Rebels defense could not make big plays and gave up many extra bases and extended innings. After all was said and done, the Inferno defeated the Rebels decisively, 15-3.

So, while not nearly as sweet as the top spot — but certanly better than a sharp stick in the eye, the second place finish is the culmination of four days of great work and great fun and an accomplishment to be proud of.

The Rebels continue with practice scheduled Wednesday night 7:00-8:00 at Sportsplex and a double-header against Smithtown Saturday 9:00a at Saw Mill Road School to kick-off the fall season.