Sag Harbor All-Stars Are Off and Running in District 36 Tournament

Sag Harbor Little League has three teams competing in the District 36 Tournament this summer, all with the hope of ultimately making it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the boys and Greenville, North Carolina, for the girls. All three teams were in action this past week.

Despite being the smallest league based on numbers, Sag Harbor’s 12-and-under All-Star baseball team expects to compete this year, manager Brent Greene said. The new format for the tournament is that each team will play four pool games and the top two teams from the pool will play in the championship on July 8.

Sag Harbor’s first game in pool play was Thursday, June 22, and despite a tough 9-7 loss to East End Little League at Hampton West Park in Westhampton, it was very much competitive against what is the defending district champions. Greene liked the competitive fire that he saw from his team despite leaving 11 players on base.

“Hats off to [East End] because they played an outstanding game and they made a few less mistakes and that makes the difference in this league,” Greene said. “It was a tough one for us to lose, but still pretty pleased with the way my team played and responded.”

The team consists of 12 players: Cole Baxter, Anthony Cappiello, Aiden D’Angelo, Matthew Dehler, Cade Fisher, Ashton Greene, Blaise Marienfeld, Cameron Mitchell, Michaël Perodin, Thomas Perri, Jaxson Schumann and Tyce Russo. The assistant coaches are Keith Schumann and Bruce Marienfeld.

Coach Greene felt that his team put in a lot of work, which paid off on Monday night when the team picked up their first win in pool play with a 10-8 victory over North Shore American. The team practices on the field two days per week and takes batting practice in the new cages at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor on Saturdays. That kind of commitment from kids at a young age is something that pleases Greene, he said, and he feels has set up Sag Harbor Little League for future success.

“You want them to have good fundamentals — hitting the ball, baserunning and playing defense,” Greene said. “We think that our Little League is growing and getting better and stronger.”

The Majors team will be back in action on Thursday, June 29, at 5:45 p.m. and then Saturday at 1 p.m., with both games being played at the Bridgehampton Fire Department Field.

The 12-and-under softball team’s run may be over after two losses to start the double elimination District 36 Tournament, but softball in Sag Harbor is definitely trending in the right direction. Sag Harbor lost to Riverhead to start the tournament on Thursday, June 22, then was eliminated by Eastport-South Manor on Monday night.

In order to promote softball and make sure the girls enjoy playing, Sag Harbor Little League used a modified set of rules during the regular season that included a max of three walks, three stolen bases, no stealing of home and a one-time through the lineup limit per inning. Sag Harbor also combined Minors and Majors into one league, which includes girls from third grade to sixth grade.

There were 12 girls on this year’s team, which included Lola Anthony, Kali Aldres, Evelyn Berkoski, Leanora Gangemi, Caroline Gregor, Gabby Hugo, Astrid Olson, Sophia Perri, Jia Russo, Emma Sokolowski, Olivia Stiglitz, and Georgia Webb. They were managed by Kerry Perri and assisted by Benjamin Gregor, Chris Gangemi and Madalyn Dydnski.

Perri has been very impressed with her team’s ability to learn and adapt to the District 36 rules.

“I think they’ve done a really nice job of trying to adapt to that,” Perri said. “Like how to anticipate things like steals of home, which is a big challenge for them.”

Dydnski, who played college softball at Lock Haven University, has helped the girls come up with some of the chants and pregame rituals that the team participates in, which is something that the girls have appreciated and enjoyed. Ultimately, Perri hopes that all of the nine sixth grade girls will play softball next year for the Pierson Middle School team.

“They’ve really come together nicely and we’re excited,” she said.

The 10-and-under baseball All-Stars started pool play well with a 15-12 victory over Southampton that began on Thursday, June 22, and finished on Sunday. They followed that up with an 8-7 victory over North Shore American later on Sunday afternoon. The continued pool play at North Shore National on Tuesday evening and will play Riverhead at the Bridgehampton Fire Department at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 1.

This year’s 10U All-Stars include: Jace Birdsall, Van Chiarello, Grady Craig, Rowan Dodds, Evan Goldstein, Henry Gregor, Ryder Hoffman, Reece Keller, Enzo Mazzeo, Frank Sokolowski, Brandon Yepez Cordova and J.B. Ziglar. The team is coached by Ben Gregor, Ike Birdsall and Mike Chiarello.

Additional information was not provided. All scores, schedules and standings can be found at llnydist36.org.