Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Rockville Centre 10U softball team captured the District 30 championship last month, completing a dominant run through the tournament without allowing a run in three games.
Rockville Centre opened the tournament with a 19-0 victory over Hewlett before defeating Lynbrook, 4-0, and then returning to beat Lynbrook, 11-0, in the championship game on June 30 in Oceanside.
“It was incredible to watch these girls come out,” coach Mike Eckert said. “A lot of them have played together either on the Tigers travel program or at the Little League level, but this is the first time this roster was together as a single unit. To see them go through these games and outscore opponents 34-0 was just incredible to see.”
The roster included players from throughout the Rockville Centre School District.
“The camaraderie was there from day one,” Eckert said. “These girls come from every school in the district. St. Agnes, Watson, Wilson, Covert, Hewitt, Riverside even. They’re representing everything. And the friendship is there. They love each other. They play hard for each other. And it was just incredible to see.”
Pitcher Addison Miller started all three games.
“She was just dominant,” Eckert said. “She stepped up and made pitches when she had to make pitches, didn’t get rattled by anything that didn’t go her way, and was everything you hoped a pitcher could be in that scenario.”
The team was also strong defensively as Rockville Centre did not commit an error during the tournament.
The closest game of the tournament came against Lynbrook in the second round. The teams were scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Sadie Russell delivered a two-run triple to give Rockville Centre the lead.
“Lynbrook was a tougher talent, for sure,” Eckert said. “Their pitcher was a step up in talent from what we had seen from Hewlett, but at the same time, the girls played tough, and it was a game that went back and forth until we found a way to break it open, and we got what we needed to win the game.”
In the championship game against Lynbrook, Rockville Centre broke through in the bottom of the second inning when Emma Eckert hit a three-run home run. The team had six runs in the second inning overall and five more in the third to secure the title.
“It wasn’t just one person,” Coach Eckert said. “Everybody contributed, everybody got excited when someone else succeeded. It was really incredible to see.”
Mia Ruggiero also hit a home run during the tournament, while Russell added the key triple in the semifinal victory. Emma Eckert recorded five RBIs in the opening win over Hewlett and three RBIs in the championship game.
The District 30 championship was the second straight for Rockville Centre’s 10U program. Eckert said the accomplishment came with a new group of players, as only one member of last year’s championship team, Stella DiLeo, returned.
Other members of the team included Mackenzie Carr, Seton Carrozzo, Frankie Flaherty, Madelyn Kelly, Leola Monaco, Sophie Monaco, Fiona Schaefer, Reese Vanaski and Riley Vasquez. The other coaches were Allie Vanaski, Dave Monaco, Nick DiLeo and Bill Schaefer.
