Massapequa Coast Claims Junior Division District Title Over Rival International

Massapequa Coast took home the District 31 Junior Division championship over crosstown rival Massapequa International on Thursday night at Burns Park with a 5-4 win.

Coast went undefeated in the tournament with a 3-0 mark while International finished at 2-2, with both losses coming at the hands of the newly crowned District champions. International fell to Coast in the opening game on June 29, 10-4.

“We had a couple of good plays out there, but when it got tough, we had our guys pick somebody up,” said Coast head coach John Cosenza. “It was a good win, a nice rivalry win today.”

International got a prime opportunity to take an early lead in the first, but Coast pitcher Nick Breslin escaped the jam with two runners left in scoring position. In the bottom of the second, Will Girimonte drove in two runs on a single for Coast, who would add two more runs before the conclusion of the inning to lead 4-0.

With International pitcher Chris Duffy falling into trouble an inning prior, Breslin found himself in trouble of his own. In the third, Steve Koester hit a two-out, two-run single, followed by a run walked in to cut the gap to 4-3.

After scoreless fourth and fifth innings, International got on the board again by way of an RBI single from Phil Michel to tie the score at 4-4. However, in the bottom half, Breslin came through with an RBI single of his own with two outs to give Coast the lead right back.

Bobby Honeyman, who came on in relief for the final 4 1/3 innings, shut International out in the top of the seventh to pick up the win and hand Coast the District title. Both pitchers recorded four strikeouts each en route to the win.

“Overall, we played well. I know Coast is a tough team so we had to play errorless baseball to beat a team like that,” said International head coach Joe Cappellino. “We played hard and I’m proud of my guys and I wouldn’t change anything.”

Coast will move on to the Sectional Tournament to play other District champions for an opportunity to move on to the Long Island title game and potentially beyond. Their first game will take place on Sunday, July 17 at 12:00 p.m. against the District 35 winners. The game will be held at the Levitt Complex in Selden, NY.