Thursday, October 1, 2026
Rockville Centre’s 11U Williamsport baseball team once again proved its resilience on the road to another championship.
Managed by Joseph Muir and coached by James Arrante, Robert Santoro and Romain Ramdas, Rockville Centre captured its third consecutive District 30 title by defeating Lynbrook/East Rockaway, 5-3, on June 29. The championship capped a tournament in which Rockville Centre rallied to win all three of its games.
“It was a pretty challenging district this year,” Muir said. “Lynbrook was a fierce competitor. We had a target on our back, and I think the boys saw that and stepped up and overcame some very tough situations.”
Rockville Centre opened tournament play with a dramatic 3-2 extra-inning victory over Lynbrook/East Rockaway on June 23 before defeating Long Beach, 13-1, two days later to earn a rematch in the championship game.
The opener tested Rockville Centre immediately after it fell behind early in the game.
“We were down 2-0 in the first inning,” Muir said. “We held them to two the whole game, went into extra innings, and we were able to bring one in the top of the seventh. That first game was pretty crazy.”
With the international tiebreaker placing a runner on second base in extra innings, Luke Ciancimino drove home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to center field in the seventh inning.
Rockville Centre then closed out the victory with a defensive gem. After recording two strikeouts, the team intentionally walked Lynbrook/East Rockaway’s No. 3 hitter before catching the lead runner in a rundown following a double-steal attempt.
“Theo Ladd threw down to the third baseman, they got into a pickle, went to our second baseman, and then the pitcher tagged him out,” Muir said. “A very, very exciting end.”
The semifinal against Long Beach followed a similar script.
“We were down in the third inning, 1-0,” Muir said. “Then we had a few big innings to come back and take care of business.”
The championship game also featured another comeback. Rockville Centre trailed 3-2 entering the sixth inning before erupting for three runs.
The rally began with a hard line drive by Rocco Sodora before Lynbrook/East Rockaway intentionally walked the next batter. Owen St. John followed with the decisive hit.
“The big hit was Owen St. John,” Muir said. “He had a nice two-RBI fly ball double to the left-field wall.”
Muir credited the championship run to contributions throughout the lineup rather than one standout performer.
“It really was,” he said. “There wasn’t just one standout player. It was a lot of different guys at different times.”
He also praised the team’s pitching depth, highlighting Ryan Arrante, Charlie Muir and Richie Lind among the arms who delivered key innings throughout the tournament.
“They are fine-tuned baseball players that focus on skill building, and they just continue to develop,” Muir said. “Here at Rockville Centre, we focus on skill building and development. Sometimes those two things are different, but skill building and development does have success early, and it yields a lot more success long-term.”
