Thursday, October 1, 2026
Massapequa and defending Nassau Class AAA softball champion Oceanside split a pair of regular-season meetings and won one-run thrillers in the third and deciding games of their semifinal series against Farmingdale and Syosset, respectively.
So it was no surprise there was no shortage of drama in the best-of-three county championship series.
Massapequa completed a difficult sweep Friday night at Farmingdale State College to dethrone the Sailors, who fought tooth-and-nail down to the last strike in both games. But the Cardiac Chiefs prevailed in Game 2, 9-5, thanks to a five-run rally in the top of the seventh inning after Oceanside scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to tie it.
“My heart is still pounding a thousand miles a minute,” Massapequa coach Christina Castellani said. “The entire playoffs have been just like tonight. No lead is safe and the girls were super resilient. It’s a special group.”
Sam Portz had the key hit, a go-ahead two-run single to make it 6-4. Catcher Sienna Perino padded the lead with an RBI single and two more runs scored on an error. Pitcher Shea Santiago, who earned the win in Game 1, 6-2, worked the last two innings in relief of Axela O’Mallon, who allowed only two hits entering the sixth.
‘This is just amazing,” Portz said. “It’s what we’ve been working toward since last season didn’t end the way we wanted.”
It’s the fourth county title in the last five seasons for Massapequa (20-5), which will face either Riverhead or Sachem North on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Farmingdale State.
“We’re such a tight-knit team and we wanted this more than anything,” said Madison Tucholski, who scored three runs in the clincher.
The third-seeded Sailors, who got a pair of RBIs from Maya Levy and one from Riley Moylan, finished 16-8.
“I’m really proud of this team,” Oceanside coach Carlo Quagliata said. “Yes we’re disappointed but we had a great season after losing so much off of last year’s roster. We’re going to miss these seniors, but we’ll be back.”
Oceanside punched its ticket back to the finals May 23 with a 4-3 win at second-seeded Syosset. Christina Vlahakis drove in Karley Handleman with the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. Handleman went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Vlahakis tied the game at three with a home run in the fourth. Kate Hyland pitched a complete game for the win.
The Sailors had dropped the semifinal series opener 8-7 on the road May 19 but stayed alive the next day with a 3-2 victory at home. Caroline Ferchland broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single in the bottom of the third inning and Kate Hyland pitched a complete game tossing a six-hitter.
Oceanside eliminated No. 6 Hicksville in the first round, 9-1, May 17 as Levy went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Handleman, Alexa Conte and Riley Brasch added two hits apiece.
Massapequa was down to its final turn at bat May 23 and rallied in dramatic fashion to top No. 4 Farmingdale, 5-4. Anney Kohn drove in Samantha Dolan with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh after Dolan tripled in Portz with the tying run. The Chiefs led 3-0 after six innings but Farmingdale scored four times in the seventh with Riley Casey hitting a bases-loaded double to tie it and then scored the go-ahead run on Ava Fierst’s single. The Chiefs took the semifinal series opener, 4-1, as Sienna Perino drove in three runs and Santiago pitched a complete game with five strikeouts.
