12 Photos
Romeo Rivas asks for time after hitting a double in the opening frame. DREW BUDD
Romeo Rivas started on the mound for the East End Majors All-Stars against North Patchogue-Medford in the District 36 Championships on July 14. DREW BUDD
Cole Maag at the plate for East End. DREW BUDD
Hanging out in the dugout. DREW BUDD
Romeo Rivas puts a ball in play. DREW BUDD
Lukert gets called out on a close play at third base. DREW BUDD
Michael Garcia came in to pitch the final two innings of last week's game. DREW BUDD
Creating a keepsake: East End All-Stars each sign their name on baseballs that each will keep to look back on. DREW BUDD
Creating a keepsake: East End All-Stars each sign their name on baseballs that each will keep to look back on. DREW BUDD
Creating a keepsake: East End All-Stars each sign their name on baseballs that each will keep to look back on. DREW BUDD
Creating a keepsake: East End All-Stars each sign their name on baseballs that each will keep to look back on. DREW BUDD
The East End Little League Majors All-Stars defeated North Patchogue-Medford, 8-1, to win what is thought to be the league's first ever district title. DREW BUDD
The definition of dominant in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others.”
That’s exactly what the East End Little League Majors All-Stars were in this summer’s District 36 tournament — and it culminated into a title for the 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds after they defeated North Patchogue-Medford, 8-1, in the finals at the North Shore Little League Complex in Rocky Point on July 14.
It’s thought to be the first time in league history that an East End Little League team has won a district title — a gentleman after the game said it was the furthest an East End team has gone, and he played in the league nearly 60 years ago. East End Little League President Bill Dawson, who also served as the Majors manager, said while it may be the first time the league has ever won a district title, he wasn’t willing to say definitively that it was or not without any real evidence of such. Either way, Dawson said it was a historical and impactful victory for the league.
“I’m so proud of every one of our players, and our coaches,” Dawson said.
Assistant coaches David Fieldman and Jason Hefter remarked how each player played a role in the team’s success, from pool play — where the team went 5-0 and outscored opponents, 67-14 — to the single-elimination playoff rounds, where East End only seemed to get even better. It shut out Moriches Bay, 7-0, on July 11 in the district semifinals before its title-clinching victory over North Patchogue-Medford.
East End didn’t waste any time to get on the board in last week’s finale. A groundout by Michael Garcia scored Romeo Rivas, who had doubled, to give the team an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A two-run base hit by Rivas in the top of the second pushed East End’s lead to 3-0 in the third inning, then a Jude Dawson line drive off the pitcher scored Rivas to make it 4-0.
Rivas was also a force on the mound once again as he was against Moriches Bay. He struck out the side in the first and third innings, and when North Patchogue-Medford threatened to score in the second, he struck out a batter to end the threat, stranding runners on second and third base.
East End scored two more runs in the fifth inning, the latter of which was driven in by a line drive single to center field by Jude Dawson. A two-run double to deep left field by Jordan Lukert capped the scoring in the top of the sixth inning before Michael Garcia worked around some issues in the bottom half of the inning to close out the win.
By winning the district title, East End advanced to the Section IV Tournament — this is all on the road to the ultimate goal of reaching the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. But due to scheduling conflicts, with a number of players being involved in other travel teams, along with family vacations, the team wound up bowing out of the rest of the tournament. Instead, North Patchogue-Medford took East End’s place and lost its first game of the double-elimination tournament to Plainview — North Patchogue-Medford played Huntington Tri-Village on Monday to try to stay alive in the tournament.
Dawson and both of his assistants were adamant about the fact that they tried multiple venues to try to keep the team’s season going, by adding players to the rosters, but ultimately, with about seven or so players missing here and there over the next week or so, it became obvious, they said, that they weren’t going to be able to field a full team and didn’t want to go into the next round without assuring officials they would be able to do so.
The coaching trio didn’t want the fact that the team wasn’t advancing to bring down the overall mood of what the team had just accomplished, though. As things were wrapping up after last week’s game, Coach Dawson had each player sign 12 different baseballs so each one had a keepsake that they could look back on in the years to come, a lasting historical memory on which all will look back fondly.
This year’s East End Majors All-Stars include Charlie Blaine, Declan Byrne, Cain Church, Jude Dawson, Liam Fieldman, Michael Garcia, Connor Girard, Travis Hefter, Jordan Lukert, Cole Maag, Romeo Rivas and Gavin Vaccaro. David Fieldman and Jason Hefter assist Dawson with the coaching duties.
