Massapequa, NY – Massapequa Coast defeated the NBNM Rebels yesterday in a nail-biting battle of wills, 1 – 0.

It was a heart-breaking loss for the kids from North Bellmore North Merrick who just a few games ago had what appeared to be unstoppable momentum.

Rebels starting pitcher Nick Valeriano once again provided the rock-solid performance the Rebels and their fans have come to expect of him. In arguably the most pressure-filled game this young Rebels team has ever played, Valeriano showed great control, consistency and composure and provided the Rebels every opportunity to win this game.

The only run of the game came on a clutch, two-out single in the third inning by Massapequa with runners on first and second. Rebels center fielder Michael Proios played the hit cleanly and came up firing home. While an outstanding, one-hop throw, the hop was a little ‘in-between’ and, despite catcher Matt Coster’s fine effort, couldn’t be handled and Coast led 1 – 0.

The Rebels biggest threat came in the fifth when Alec Acri led off with a walk. Pinch-runner Matt Conry took second on a wild pitch. With one-out, Valeriano stroked a clean single to right center. Conry, who made a good read and got a pretty good jump on the play, tried to score but was cut down at home on a well-executed relay. With Valeriano moving to second on the throw, Kevin McCleneghan followed with a two-out single to center to put runners at the corners. Big lefty Brian Porricelli then grounded to second and, hustling hard down the line as he always does, was out by less than half a step for the third out.

Valeriano came out and sat Coast down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth.

But the Rebels could not convert in the sixth and a district championship on their first try had slipped away.

All in all, these Rebels have plenty to be proud of from this tournament. They clearly set the tone early putting perennial favorites Coast and Merrick into the losers bracket. They played very high quality baseball right down to the end of this tournament and were just a couple of key hits away from winning it.

In the long run, the sting of this defeat may drive them to work a little harder, focus a little more, and become closer as a team. And these may be the things that propel them up that next step when surely they return amongst the favorites in next year’s Williamsport tournament.