Plainview Little League recently announced the 12-year-old boys Williamsport tournament team won the Long Island Championship, beating Franklin Square 5-4 scoring 4 runs in their last at bat. The game was played at the Plainview Community Park, in front of a crowd estimated at nearly 500 people, fans in the stands, people lining the outfield fence and both stairways to the kiddie park filled with spectators.

It is the first time ever a Plainview team has won the Long Island championship in the Williamsport tournament. It was a great effort by a great group of boys who never quit and surely deserved the championship. The team has chemistry, character and a never quit attitude. They had been to the Long Island championship game as 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds only to come up short. Now they are Long Island champions.

The recap of a game, that for those who saw it, will go down as a sporting event they will always remember: Franklin Square immediately jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead but was unable to score additional runs, leaving runners in scoring position in the top of the first.

Plainview's starting pitcher Matthew Gerberg did not give up another run over the next 4 innings. Meanwhile, Plainview's starting catcher Brendan Sullivan would blast an opposite field homerun over the right field fence to dead lock the game at 1-1 in the fourth inning.

In the sixth inning, Franklin square had two outs and nobody on after an unbelievable double play turned by Steve Giustino and Dan Desimone. Franklin Square showed its character by forging 3 runs on two outs and had its best hitter up with runners on before relief pitcher Jordan Moskowitz ended the inning on a 3 pitch strike out. It did not look good for Plainview entering the bottom of the 6th trailing by 3 with the Franklin Square pitcher not having walked a batter and only having thrown 45 pitches. Up to this point in the game, Plainview had only had three hits. That would change. Matthew Gerberg would lead off the bottom of the 6th with a single up the middle to start the inning, Jordan Moskowitz with a two strike count would then lace a double up the middle to the centerfield fence, while Gerberg stopped at third. Brendan Sullivan would then reach on error by the second baseman and the bases were loaded. Next up, Joe Arena would then single a run in and the bases were still loaded with Plainview trailing by 2. After a strikeout, Jordan Sekler facing an 0-2 count fouled off some tough pitches and then singled in the second run of the inning. The bases were loaded and Plainview trailed by a one run with Craig Heller at the plate. Like Sekler before him, Heller was facing an 0-2 count when he launched a bomb to the right field wall for game ending 2 run walk-off double to complete the amazing comeback.

For Met fans put it in the book. For Yankee fans, Ball Game Over, Long Island Championship over.

This weekend, in Wellsville New York, the 12-year-old Plainview Pythons will participate in the New York State Williamsport Regional tournament. Please follow their quest for the New York State Championship at this site http://eteamz.active.com/sites/ny2/index.cfm.