The Williamsport Tournament has been considered the gold standard of youth baseball for the past 55 years. Each year Little League holds its world series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and crowns a world champion for 11-12-year-olds, and state champions for 9-10-year-olds.

In only its second year of sending teams to participate in this tournament, Manhasset's 9-10-year-old boys team captured the title of "district champions." The first step towards the state title. This is the first such championship won by any boy's team in the history of the Manhasset Baseball league.

In order to capture the district flag, Manhasset needed to win a double elimination tournament against the best players from eight neighboring little leagues. The team got off to a great start by soundly defeating Port Washington 11-5, led by Ryan Brenner's spectacular pitching, and the hitting of Kevin Heenan, who had 4 RBIs, and Matt Demitroff who had two doubles and scored 3 runs. The boys continued to move ahead in the standings with a 14-1 win over Albertson. In that game, Steven Madison pitched a dominant 4-hitter, which paved the way to the victory. The next win was against Williston Park where Ryan Brenner pitched a 3-hit, 6-0 shutout, with a clutch home run by shortstop and second basemen, Kevin Heenan.

Undefeated at this point in the tournament, Manhasset faced their toughest competition in the district, Merillon Avenue, last year's district champs. In dramatic fashion, the boys battled back from a 6-run deficit, and led by 1 after third basemen Matt Rubertone and centerfielder Matt Demitroff both hit 3-run triples. In the end, the boys lost 9-8, but had another chance to beat Merrillon in the final district champion game...and they did just that. The Brenner/Madison pitching combination proved too tough for Merillon, and Alex Snee contributed his 3rd pinch hit of the series, in the decisive 2-1 victory.

The boys, who practiced together every night, really honed their skills and talents as a team, led by coaches Bill Neenan, Jim Madison, and Scott Levy. The entire team contributed to the championship run. Chris Martelli was consistent throughout, both at the plate and in the field. Jeff Izzo also did an outstanding job in right field, as did JP Rinfret and Steven Levy who came up big throughout the series. Paul Georgetti did a great job manning first base, and Zac Koufakis, was a mainstay behind the plate doing a solid job catching in all six games. Michael Snee, TJ Mallon, and Joe Cordi also contributed to the tennis success both on and off the field.

Only 5 victories away from the New York State championship, the boys' run ended July 28, losing 6-2 to a tough Commack South team in the first round of the state subsectional. Commack went on to win the Long Island championship.

It was a great experience for the boys, their parents, and coaches, and proof that all the hard work that's gone into Manhasset Baseball is paying big dividends!