Saturday, May 19, the Big Red of Glen Cove played the opening round of the Nassau County Playoffs. This is the 25th time in the past 28 years that the Big Red Baseball Team qualified for a playoff spot.

The stage was set for the showdown between Glen Cove and long-time rival and county power, Levittown Division. The pitching matchup of Craig Hansen and the Blue Dragon's P.J. Antoniato, two of the better pitchers in the county, did not disappoint the large crowd that came to Glen Cove to see this matchup. The game was scoreless for the first four innings. It was the Big Red that struck first with a lead-off single by Matt Lindenbaum and sacrifice by Anthony Pizziatolla to put Matt in scoring position and to set up a two-out single by Tom Monahan to score Matt for the 1-0 lead. Hansen was coasting with two out in the sixth inning, when opposing pitcher Antoniato lined a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence to tie the score.

Hansen and Antoniato matched zeros until the bottom half of the eighth. With two out, Joel Basilion stepped up to the plate. Joel singled to left - then 8th grader Bruce Testa hit a two-strike curve ball to right center to put base runners at first and third. With the winning run only ninety feet away, the crowd held their breath as Frank Carrotta stepped into the batter's box. With the count at one ball, Frank took a fastball deep - it cleared the right field fence by 30 feet! A walk-off 3-run Homer to put the Big Red into the second round of the playoffs!

The stage was set this past week for the Big Red after two wins over New Hyde Park put the Big Red into second place in the division. Pitching was again led by Craig Hansen with a 6-1 victory with 12 strikeouts and Kevin McGuire in the third game with 4 1/3 innings of 2-hit relief for the victory.

Hitting stars were Matt Lindenbaum - 3 hits, Anthony Pizziatolla - 3 hits, Tom Monahan - 3 RBIs and Joe Basilion with 7 hits for the week.

On Thursday, May 17, The Glen Cove Varsity Softball team took the field against Carey High School in the first round of the playoffs. The Big Red finished their regular season with a 12-6 record. They came in fourth place out of 36 teams, giving them a very high seed in the playoffs and allowing them home field advantage.

Michelle DeJesus had 11 strikeouts, 1 walk, allowed only 4 hits and 1 earned run. Stephanie Graziosi went 3-3, scored once and had the winning RBI in the 6th inning. Glen Cove won 2-1 and advance to the quarterfinals where they will face Island Trees High School.

"These girls have won some very close games and played with an outstanding sense of team. I hope they realize how proud their parents, the community and their coach are for their hard work and dedication," says Coach Johanson.

The Glen Cove Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team ended a spectacular season with a 13-2 record, the Division Championship and trip to the playoffs. Unfortunately, the team faced a tough loss to Floral Park in the first round of the playoffs.

It was an exciting and well-played game right from the beginning. The ball was moved very quickly through the midfield with both teams playing superb defense. Glen Cove took a 3-1 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. Good shooting from Floral Park saw them take a 5-3 half-time lead. The Big Red then fell further behind, 7-3, before coming alive and gradually bringing the score back. Victoria Dilgard caused many great turnovers in defense, which Jaime Basile and Erica Schor then completed with goals. Liz Beisler's 8-metre shot brought us to within one goal at 6-7. Floral Park edged ahead, but as this Glen Cove Team has done all season, they played tough and determined. With three minutes left, the Big Red was down 9-11. The Floral Park Goalkeeper made five superior saves denying us any more. The game belonged to Floral Park, but Glen Cove walked away winners!

From Coach Jacquie Gow "I am so very proud of our Varsity Lacrosse Squad. They played hard right up to the final whistle and can certainly hold their heads up "high" as they have accomplished so much this season. Thank you everyone for being behind us and cheering us on!"

Congratulations to Coach Gow and the entire Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team on an outstanding season!

The Glen Cove Boy's Varsity Lacrosse Team ended their season 7-8 overall, including 4-6 in the league. The team played an exciting brand of lacrosse, having seven of their fifteen games decided by only one Goal!

The Big Red scored 124 goals this year, an average of 8.3 goals per game. Attackmen Joe Kopito and Chris Corbin were the leading goal scorers with 24 and 23 goals respectively. Midfielders Cam Bocchino and Jason Lindenbaum were the top assistmen with 19 and 16 assists respectively.

Defensively, the Big Red held their opponents to 112 goals, an average of 7.5 goals per game. Goalie Dan Bellissimo recorded 192 saves for a 12.8 saves per game average.

For their outstanding play, Goalie Dan Bellissimo and Defenseman Chad Driscoll-Gleason were named Honorable Mention All-County and Midfielder Cam Bocchino was named All-Conference.

The Big Red bids a fond adieu to seniors Sean Basdavanos, Cam Bocchino, Brian Cavallo, Jeff Digal, Nick DiScala, Chad Gleason, Gianni Maraia and Derek Schubert. Your hard work, accomplishments and dedication will not be forgotten. Good Luck Seniors!