Another big year for Elmont

When the 2012 high school baseball season began, the theme at Elmont was all about taking care of unfinished business. The Spartans were still smarting from a season that saw them fall a game short of the inaugural Nassau Countywide Conference title game, but they were driven to have a special year on the diamond.

A year later, Elmont pulled off one of the finest seasons in program history by winning 14 games and earning a berth in the conference title game. 

Unfortunately, the magical season finished on a down note, as the Spartans fell one step short of a championship when they fell to Great Neck South 9-3 at Farmingdale State College on May 23. Senior pitcher Sam Nagelberg went the distance to earn the win, and Matt Hirshon and Brendon Lum both banged out three hits to lead the Rebels. Elmont finished with a record of 14-5.

Head coach Robert Gates was very pleased with his team’s run to the conference title game. “The coaching staff is very proud of what the boys accomplished,” Gates said. “They’ve been working hard since junior high to improve the program. Getting to Farmingdale was one of our goals. This was a special season for the team, and a special time for the school. There was a buzz going around school, and the atmosphere at the game was fantastic. The students and faculty were very supportive of us.”

While the atmosphere was electric, the state-of-the-art FieldTurf diamond and the stadium’s bright lights may have a bit overwhelming for the Spartans. Elmont appeared a little too tight as the Rebels put six runs on the board in the opening inning. 

Junior Danny Aguilo pitched well in relief, but the Spartans could never get the big hit when opportunities arose. Each time that it appeared that the Spartans were set to break out, Nagelberg came up with a big pitch to the thwart the potential rally. Great Neck South, which won its second consecutive Countywide title, finished at 15-4.

Elmont’s road to the title game wasn’t easy. As they did a year ago, the Spartans entered the finally series of the season need a win against a strong Uniondale team.

After dropping the opening game of the series, Elmont got a huge pitching performance from Aguilo and beat the Knights 6-0. Aguilo, who earned All-Conference honors, held Uniondale to three hits while fanning eight batters in the clincher.

The following afternoon, the Spartans putting a little icing on the cake when Alvaro Pimentel had a remarkable day both at the plate and on the mound. The senior right hander struck out nine batters over five innings, and was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in a 10-6 win.

Senior captain Ricardo Tross, who won four games on the mound, earned All-Conference honors. In addition to Tross and Pimentel, seniors who played their last game for the Spartans were captain Sebastian Pimentel, Jonathan Green Groves, Darius Guy, and Enrique Sanchez.