Three years, three championships and one final title gave the Rockville Centre 12U Little League baseball team the perfect ending to its run together.
Rockville Centre defeated Baldwin, 6-1, on July 11 at Norm Dryer Diamond Field in Lynbrook to capture its third straight District 30 championship. Rockville went 4-0 and outscored its opponents 34-2. It opened with a 14-0 victory over Freeport on June 28, followed by a 7-0 win over Long Beach on July 2 and a 7-1 semifinal victory over Oceanside on July 7.
For coach Brian Fairbrother, the championship was his final time coaching the group. Fairbrother said the bulk of the players had remained together as they won at the 10U, 11U and 12U levels over time.
“This is my last year, so it's the last time coaching this group of boys and my own son included,” Fairbrother said. “I've had a lot of time to reflect, and it really just comes down to this group of boys being so close, going to school together, playing baseball together for years, and just really wanting to pull for each other and win for each other.”
That closeness translated to pitching and defense, which kept Rockville Centre in the winner’s bracket.
“Strong pitching and defense is what we preach to win games, and I think that showed,” Fairbrother said.
Against Freeport, R.J. Ramdas and Lucas Appelbaum each pitched two innings, allowing a combined two hits and no runs, and John Fairbrother, Joseph Quinlan, Nate McCuen and Riley Solomon each drove in multiple runs. Aidan Lanzi also had a hit and RBI in the game.
Carter Petrone helped lead the team past Long Beach, pitching five innings while allowing three hits and one walk and striking out seven. Dean Acheson and Matthew Bernardo each had two RBIs.
The semifinal against Oceanside was a defensive showcase. Ramdas pitched five of the six innings, while Will Cameron and Dom Pizziatolla each drove in two runs. Rockville Centre also turned an astounding three double plays in the game.
“Defense was definitely the key in that game, and R.J. pitched really well,” Fairbrother said.
Cameron then turned in a dominant performance against Baldwin, striking out 12 batters over 4 2/3 innings. Appelbaum finished the game, while Ramdas and Ben Altschuler supplied the big RBIs.
“He's got a great fastball,” Fairbrother said of Cameron. “He throws a really nice off-speed pitch, like a knuckle change-up curveball that he can locate really, really well.”
Fairbrother also credited assistant coaches Mike Lanzi, Mike Bernardo and Andrew Cameron, as well as the families who supported the team throughout the season.
“People give up their summers for this,” Fairbrother said. “It's a lot of dedication by the families and stuff like that, too. That all plays into the boys' success on the field.”
