Softball team is among top four in state

The Lady Rebels didn’t quite make it to the Mountaintop this year, but they returned to the Promised Land.

That is, the Lady Rebels, a North Bellmore-North Merrick Little League travel softball team, were contenders in New York’s Little League tournament again this year after winning district and section championships. Last year the team claimed the state title, and this year it had an also impressive semifinals finish in the state tournament.

Coaches Todd Knowles, Joe Lanzisera, Kelly McArdle, Tom Simone and Luke Tarantino led the team of 12-and-younger girls this spring and summer. For many of the girls on the team, as well as Knowles, Simone and Tarantino, it was their second consecutive trip to the state tournament, which took place upstate in Dunkirk, N.Y. They earned a berth in the tournament by defeating East Meadow 4-3 in the Section 6 championship.