Thursday, October 1, 2026
For the second time in three years, top-seeded Wantagh and No. 2 Seaford needed a third game to decided Nassau County’s Class A softball champion.
The local rivals traded shutout victories in Games 1 and 2, setting up a winner-take-all battle Thursday under the lights at Farmingdale State College.
Once again, it was all about the pitching.
Wantagh’s Lucy Olore and Seaford’s Rylie Betz, as they’ve done throughout the season and series, starred in the circle and it took some well-executed small ball for the Warriors to claim their first county title since 1990 thanks to a 3-0 victory.
All three Wantagh runs were scored on squeeze bunts from its No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters.
“You’re going to do whatever you have to do to score against a pitcher as good as Rylie,” Wantagh coach Christine Moran said. “Our girls executed very well. We wanted to get runners on, steal and put the pressure on them.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world with Lucy out there if we go up early,” she added. “She has ice in her veins and she comes to win.”
Olore, who threw a perfect game with 10 strikeouts in a series-opening 1-0 victory on Memorial Day, allowed just two hits in the clincher and fanned three. She was staked to an early lead in the bottom of the first when Scarlett Bartilucci squeezed home Megan Martone.
“We’ve worked so hard all year and I’m so proud of our team,” Olore said. “It was nice to score in the first inning and pitch with a lead all game. I feel like having that little bit of breathing room is a huge weight off my shoulders. Seaford beat us here two years ago and we didn’t want it to happen again."
Olore allowed hits in the first and seventh innings and faced the minimum number of Seaford batters from the second through sixth. She and Savannah Gandini had bunt RBIs in the fifth to provide plenty of cushion.
The final out was a grounder to Gandini at shortstop. She fired to Hailey Kissinger at first and the celebration was on.
“We stayed confident all the way through,” Gandini said. “We’ve been chasing the championship since March. This was our goal and we stayed locked in.”
Wantagh (17-6) will face Miller Place or Kings Park for the Long Island Class A crown June 6 at 11 a.m. at Martha Avenue Field in Bellport. The season isn’t over for Seaford (14-10), which has an at-large bid to the state playoffs and will play the Section IV champion June 2 at 4 p.m. in Binghamton.
“To see the smiles on all the girls’ faces and the pride in their parents’ faces is such an incredible feeling,” Moran said. “This was everything we’ve dreamed of. It was a flawless softball game.”
