Thursday, October 1, 2026
With Plainedge’s Taylor Nitsch and Kings Park’s Everett Zarzicki on the mound Saturday night, it wasn’t going to take many runs to come away with the Long Island Class A baseball championship.
And it was the bat of an unlikely source, Dylan Loccisano, who provided all the offense the Red Devils needed to capture their first L.I. title since 2012.
The backup catcher’s two-run, bases-loaded single to right with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning was all undefeated Plainedge needed to secure a 2-0 victory over the Kingsmen at Farmingdale State College.
“I just wanted to make sure I got the bat on the ball,” said Loccisano, who replaced injured Jayden Gaghan for last week’s county championship series win over Wantagh. “I took the first pitch down the middle for a strike, but I wasn’t going to let another one get by,” he added. “It’s great to be a part of such a special team.”
Now 27-0 with 11 shutouts, Plainedge will face Marlboro Central in the state Class A semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Binghamton University. The state final is next Saturday at 10 a.m.
“I can’t say enough about all these guys,” Plainedge coach Colin Fratrik said. “Just a special group that comes to work every day and wants to win. It’s been a fun ride and we’ll try to keep it going for two more games.”
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As expected, the game was a pitcher’s duel throughout. It took an hour-long weather delay to end the nights for both Nitsch and Zarzicki.
After Loccisano drove home AJ Calapai and Dom Santivasci, Nitsch took a 2-0 lead into the top of the fifth. Kings Park had one out and a runner on second base when a thunderstorm that brought heavy rain forced spectators to their vehicles and the teams to their respective buses.
“We were a little anxious during the delay,” Fratrik said. “We knew there was a chance we’d get some rain, but we didn’t skip a beat once we got back out there.”
Nitsch, a senior, scattered four hits, walked none and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings and gave way to junior Jaxson Torres, who needed just four pitches to complete the inning.
“Jaxson and I have the same mentality when we’re on the mound,” Nitsch said. “I would’ve warmed back up and gotten ready if I was needed, but I had all the confidence in the world Jaxson would finish the job.”
Zarzicki, a junior, worked four innings and allowed four hits, four walks and struck out two. He stranded two runners in the first and benefited from double plays turned by the defense in each of next two innings.
Torres worked out of a jam in the sixth after the Kingsmen had runners on first and second, getting a soft pop to Santivacci at shortstop to end the threat. In the seventh, Torres struck out the first two batters before Santivacci fielded a grounder and threw to Bobby Wescott at first to set off a wild celebration.
“It’s a great feeling, but the job isn’t finished yet,” Torres said
