Thursday, October 1, 2026
With more than two weeks between the end of the regular season and the Suffolk Class B baseball championship series, Babylon coach Mike Birnbaum booked scrimmages with some of the premier programs on Long Island, including county champions Garden City and Connetquot, as well as St. Anthony’s, to keep his team sharp.
All the extra work paid off big time for the Panthers, who swept Pierson for the county title and then defeated Carle Place, 6-1, Saturday afternoon for the L.I. Class B crown at Farmingdale State College.
“I set up those scrimmages to keep the batters swinging more than anything else,” Birnbaum said. “Baseball is a game of rhythm and momentum. To go 17 days before the Suffolk championship and not face live pitching, we’d go flat.”
The arms haven’t been too shabby, either. Babylon blanked Pierson is both Suffolk finals games, 6-0 behind Gavin McDonnell in the opener and 4-0 behind Jake Ostertag in the clincher.
McDonnell, who tossed a one-hitter against Pierson May 26, got the nod in the LIC and had a three-run cushion before throwing a pitch as the Panthers saw Aidan Kistner and Joe Cavallo drive in runs in the top of the first inning and Gio Rodriguez hustle to score on a head-first slide following an error.
“It’s always easier pitching with a lead,” McDonnell said. “The way these guys play defense behind me, I knew we were in good shape today. It’s all about hard work. We’ve put the reps in every day and this feels amazing.”
McDonnell, who scattered five hits and struck out four, cruised through the first three innings but was in huge trouble in the bottom of the fourth, still leading 3-0, as the Frogs loaded the bases with none out on three straight singles.
Third baseman Brett Coffey made a nifty play to get the first out on a force at home. McDonnell got the second out on a soft pop to John Harkins at shortstop, and Tobin Gold gathered a slinky grounder to first for the final out.
“That was a big inning for us,” said Harkins, who scored a pair of runs and had seven putouts. “Winning Long Island was one of our goals and now we’re looking to win states for the first time since 2007.”
The Panthers (20-3) padded their lead in the fifth on RBIs from Kistner (3-for-4, three runs, two RBIs) and Ostertag.
Kinster and James Rugolo were both lost from the pitching staff after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, but others have picked up the slack.
“It’s a next-man up mentality,” said Birnbaum, who's assisted by Rick Punzone and Matt Lederer. “Those are two key guys we had out of the rotation. To come this far is a testament to the boys and how they’ve grinded all year.”
Carle Place scored its lone run in the sixth on a Colin Driscoll grounder. Babylon got the run back in the top of the seventh on an RBI scoring single by Cavallo, who homered in the second game of the Suffolk finals.
The Panthers, who head to Binghamton next weekend for the state Final Four, had been waiting months to dump some water on their coach and did so during the postgame celebration.
“Earlier in the year the kids wanted me to do the Ice Bucket Challenge,” Birnbaum said. “I told them ‘let’s wait until June.’”
