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OTD: Wantagh Gets to Morrell Early, Repeats As Long Island Champions

Much like they have for the past two seasons. Wantagh‘s star players shined when it mattered most. This time it was in the Long Island Championship, defeating the 24-1 Shoreham-Wading River WIldcats 4-2.

From the first pitch of this championship contest, the atmosphere could’ve been mistaken for a Wantagh home game. The first pitch of this game was driven for a lead off double over the left fielder’s head courtesy of Anthony D’Onofrio. This was just the beginning.

When the first inning was all said and done, Morrell was forced to throw 32 pitches and allowed four earned runs, handing him his worst outing of the season in just the first inning. It was evident that Wantagh was geared up for Morrell’s high-octane fastball, as the Warriors started the ballgame off with five consecutive batters reaching base.

Arm pain kept Jimmy Joyce from starting on the mound for the Long Island Championship, but it certainty didn’t keep Wantagh from winning. Southpaw Anthony Fontana was handed the ball and was terrific. The Furman-commit went 5 innings on the bump, allowing only two runs. He also chimed in with an RBI on the offensive side of the ball.

Max Effort Training

“Coach told me earlier in the week that Jimmy wasn’t feeling well and I found out yesterday I was getting the start. I was in my home, I didn’t wanna stay by myself and I was with my friends to get my mind off things and wanted to cool down and have fun, you know what I mean? This is what the game is about, to have fun,” said Fontana.

Following Fontana’s exit on the mound after the 5th inning, another huge opportunity was presented for the game 3 county championship winner, Brendan Haas. Haas once again shined in the spotlight, tossing two scoreless innings in relief to clinch the championship.

“I knew again that I just had to throw strikes, I have one of the best defenses in New York behind me and they’ll make the outs for me,” said Haas. “It feels great, best feeling in the world,” he added.

With the victory, Wantagh added to their legacy as they are now back-to-back Class A Long Island Champions. They will seek to repeat as New York State champions in Binghamton next week. If they can win two more games, they will go down as one of the best teams in Long Island history.