Déjà Vu: Valley Stream Bests Malverne For District Title

After losing to Valley Stream, 9-1, earlier in the week, Malverne's Senior Little League team hoped for a different outcome when they met the team on the baseball diamond once again Wednesday for the District 29 tournament championship.

Unfortunately the outcome was exactly the same. In what resembled a scene from "Groundhog Day," the game ended with the same score - only this time Valley Stream took home the title.

The final game, held at Fireman's Field in Valley Stream, started out well for Malverne. Their pitcher Nick Leone got on base in the top of the first inning and was able to score after an RBI by catcher Nait Williamson.

Leading 1-0, the team had momentum and confidence on its side.That was until Valley Stream got their offense rolling and knocked in four runs over the course of three innings to overtake the lead. They were ahead 3-1 by the bottom of the third.

It was starting to look very much like the game that took place two days earlier at Rath Park, which ended in a 9-1 victory for Valley Stream.

Valley Stream continued to knock in runs over the next three innings despite two Malverne pitching changes. (Leone was relieved by Matt McDaniels who was then replaced by Williamson.)

The home team continued to blast balls all over the outfield, adding to their lead while Malverne's bats remained quiet. 

And in a case of baseball Déjà vu, the game concluded with another 9-1 win for Valley Stream - the 2011 District 29 champions.

"We lost to a good team today," said Malverne team manager Mike McDaniels. "They were on an offensive tear and our team just wasn't hitting. It's tough to win when you're not putting runners on base."

On a positive note, he added that he was proud of his team's effort throughout the tournament and in tonight's game.

McDaniels added, "I'm proud of our guys for the effort and the committment they put in and I'm already looking forward to next season."