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The squad — an all-star team comprised of 13- and 14-year-old boys — beat its New City counterpart 10-4 on July 6 behind a strong pitching performance from Joey Arico in the game played in Stony Point.
Coach Anthony Zacchio said this is the first time this group of players won a District 18 title despite Haverstraw teams lifting the title three of the last four years.
“This group bought in right away to becoming a team, realizing that we win together and lose together. When we play for each other and not for ourselves anything is possible,” Zacchio said. “We told them just take it one game at a time and set the goal every game to just win the game in front of us and not to look ahead.”
Zacchio said the team managed to maintain its focus and not get ahead of themselves as the possibility of playing in the section tournament, the next step after a district title, became tangible.
Their trip to the title included a victory over rival Stony Point, a game Zacchio likened to Yankees-Red Sox in North Rockland due to the familiarity the players have with each other having grown up together.
Stony Point won the championship last year over Haverstraw and both Zacchio and first baseman Kedwin Lopez were on that team, he said.
The next step is the Section 3 tournament, which is double elimination and begins on July 18 at a location still to be determined. The champion of Section 3 will progress to the state championship, then a regional championship, and finally the World Series, Zacchio said.
The team roster is as follows:
- Chris Davis
- Joel Veras
- Kedwin Lopez
- Seamus Nicholson
- Carlos Rivera
- Joey Arico
- Joe Lieberman
- Jayson Lopez
- JJ Vaughan
- Randy Henriquez
- Kyle Dunn
- Nick Hernandez
- Lucas Ortiz
- Grant Ramonoff
Coaches
- Joseph Conese
- Dennis Granata
- Anthony Zacchio (head coach)
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