Announcement
North Bellmore-North Merrick Defeats Massapequa for U-11 District Baseball Title
Story by Alex Oppenheimer, Bellmore Patch
Massapequa, NY – The North Bellmore-North Merrick Rebels U-11 Williamsport team claimed the District 31 title with a dominating 13-0 win over Massapequa International Thursday night at Burns Park to finish the tournament undefeated.
Massapequa finished the tournament with a 2-2 overall record – their first loss also coming at the hands of the Rebels, a 17-7 decision.
“The kids have been preparing for over a year and have been working hard and they weren’t going to be denied this year,” Rebels head coach Sam Acri said. “I have a real team because anyone on any day comes up and shows me how to win a game.”
Eric Soloman got North Bellmore-North Merrick on the board in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly, followed by a run by Nick Valeriano on an infield error. In the next inning, Matt Nilsen drove in two of his team-high three RBIs on a single to extend the lead to 4-0.
Massapequa had a chance to score in the bottom of the fourth with Tom Harris reaching third, but Rebels pitcher Brian Porricelli helped his team escape the jam. Porricelli led the team on the mound with his impressive outing of 4 1/3 shutout innings and 12 strikeouts.
In the top of the fifth, North Bellmore-North Merrick loaded up the bases with no outs and piled on run after run. They scored nine in the inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Alex Acri and an RBI single from Nilsen.
Kevin McCleneghan came on in relief for Porricelli in the bottom of the fifth with the 10-run mercy rule in effect. He recorded the final two outs, including a strikeout of David Campos, to close out the big win and hand his team the District 31 title.
“Their pitcher was awesome tonight, and overall, it was a good game by them. I give my hats off because they are a great hitting, pitching and fielding team,” Massapequa head coach Arty Prim said. “I’m really proud of our kids and they’ve gotten much better during the year. They come out and practice everyday, and that is what it’s all about.”
North Bellmore-North Merrick will move on to compete in the sectional tournament for a chance to represent Nassau County in the Long Island championship game and potentially beyond. Their first game will take place on Sunday, July 24 at Lions Field in Port Washington against an opponent to be determined.
“We know the sectional competition because we’ve played a few of the teams in the past and we are hoping the boys could do well there as well,” Acri said.
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