Spring Teams Shine – Baseball Wins Another County, Long Island and State Title
June 1, 2016
Wantagh’s spring sports teams have continued the Wantagh post-season excellence with the baseball team winning another county championship, its third Long Island Championship and its second New York State Class A championship. All the teams had a successful year and have something to be proud of.
The Warriors’ baseball team ended their season with a 17-4 record and a 14-4 league record. The team made an incredible playoff run without its ace Will O’Brien, who injured his arm late in the season. After sweeping North Shore in the best of three semifinals, the team reached its 7th county final since 1998, all under head coach Sachs.
The No. 7-seeded Warriors took down No. 11-seeded Bellmore JFK in the three of the best-of-three final at Farmingdale State College. In game one Jimmy Joyce once again came through as he threw a complete game allowing only one run and had two triples at the plate in a game where the Warriors won 3-1. Bobby Hegarty shut out the Courgars through 6 innings in game two but a run in the 7th earned Bellmore a 1-0 win and sent the series to its final game. In the deciding game three of the series Junior Brendan Hass took the mound as a starter for only the second time this season and pitched a six inning gem allowing only one run. Haas took the mound after No. 3 starter John Fitzgerald injured his hand. The game would go to extra innings and in the bottom of the ninth Charlie Interante hit his second triple of the game putting the winning run ninety feet from home. Bellmore then walked the bases loaded and Will O’Brien stepped to the plate and hit a walk-off single bringing Interante home and the The Warriors won the county title.
Wantagh played Suffolk County champ Mount Siani in the Long Island title game and won 3-1. Pitcher Bobby Hegarty threw a one hitter and Anthony Fontana drove in the winning run. The team will now face off with undefeated Queensbury in a state semi finals match-up with Jimmy Joyce on the mound. Queensbury was also undefeated in 1998 when Wantagh faced them in the state tournament and eliminated them.
The team played Valley Stream South in their first playoff game where they beat them 8-2 which advanced them to play first place Division. The Warriors had a big win over their rival Division 11-8 and advanced to play Garden City with a chance to go to the semifinals. They would beat Garden City 5-0 which led them to meet up with the North Shore Vikings in a best of three series. Wantagh won the first game 5-2 and were led by pitcher Jimmy Joyce. With drama surrounding the next game the Warriors completed the sweep with a tight 2-1 win at home and advanced to the County Finals for the first time since 2010, the year they last won.
The girls’ lacrosse team entered the playoffs with an overall record of 13-2 and a league record of 8-1 finishing in second place in the conference. The Warriors’ finished ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 5 in the country. They played their first playoff game against the Mepham Pirates where they had a big win of 17-1. The girls then faced Plainedge at home in a quarterfinals match-up where the Warriors won convincingly 19-5. The team then faced Manhasset in semis where the girls held a one goal lead with under ten seconds to go when Manhasset tied the game as the time ran out. Manhasset then won it in overtime and the Warriors run to defend the county title ended. The seniors who are graduating made history at Wantagh bringing home the school’s first county title last year and will always be remembered for that.
The boys’ lacrosse team reached the playoffs with a 12-4 overall record and a 6-2 league record which set them up with a first round match-up against Mepham. They beat the Pirates at home 14-5 and advanced to the quarterfinals. The team faced Manhasset at Hofstra in the quarterfinals and lost in tough 17-10 game. Senior Bobby Casey was two saves short of tying the all-time saves record at Wantagh and finished a great career. The Warriors had a great season and will be graduating most of their roster giving next year’s players a great chance to prove themselves to the league.
The girls’ softball team had a historic season that won’t be forgotten as they had a perfect undefeated regular season. The team then played Island Trees from two conferences higher than them and only lost 1-0 in a very close and tense playoff game. The team looks to build on their great season for next year and advance in the playoffs.
Two golfers reached the Nassau County championships. But Raul Fernandez and Faith Francioso were unable to make the cut on day 2. For Francioso, it was the second straight year she’d played in the tournament, where wet conditions led to the front of Bethpage Blue playing very long.
The Wantagh High School track teams, boys and girls, ran hard at counties, May 26.
The girls did great with their 4×800 meter relay team, comprised of Tess Duignan, Annie Browne, Christina Weir and Casey O’Connor, who won second place that day. On top of that race Tess Duignan had energy to spare because she came in second in the 800 meter run. Her win gave her all county status.
On the flip side, the boys did great as well. Chris Mountanos placed second in the 800 meter run and also ran in the 4×800 meter relay with Rocco Piccirillo, Peter Albanese, and James McVeigh. These four athletes became county champions of the 4×800 meter relay and made a great end to a difficult season.