Simply the best Rams celebrate first state championship

      "They're coming! They're coming," shouted one teenage onlooker in anticipation of the team's passing, prompting some of the those that gathered along the avenue to ready their cameras.
      Escorted by the East Meadow Fire Department and local police, the eight open convertibles and one jeep that carried the triumphant players and coaches brought traffic to a standstill. As they made their way south on Carman to the Salisbury Baseball Fields, where elected officials and representatives of the Central Nassau Little League waited to honor them, the team held up a sign touting them as champs and proudly raised their index fingers in the air.
      The fields seemed an appropriate spot for the community to honor Clarke High School's first-ever baseball state championship, since the majority of the players had gotten their start years ago on those very same diamonds.
      "Today we welcome them back to their little league homes to celebrate the first state championship in school history," said Ron Landini, co-president of the little league and one of the organizers of the ceremony.
      Entering from rightfield to the strains of "Eye of the Tiger," the team received warm applause from the dozens in attendance.
      "In the four years that I've been here this is by far the hardest working team and a great group of guys," said Rams skipper Tom Abruscato. "They never stopped working."
      This season -- which saw the Rams capture their second county crown in team history along with their first Long Island and state championships -- was by far the school's best ever.
      "It's all about the kids," Abruscato said. "This is what happens when you bust your butt."
      Seven hundred sixty-two high school teams in New York started this season with the distant hope that they might be crowned state champions. Yet, when the dust finally settled, only W.T. Clarke was left standing.
      They sent everyone packing on Long Island, knocking off perennial Nassau County powers Island Trees, Wantagh and MacArthur before beating Suffolk County's Shoreham-Wading River for the championship.
      Led by ace hurlers Mike Bradham and Matt Baumann, the Rams took care of defending champs Massena in the state semi-finals and made short work of Oneonta in the finals.
       While the team had a firm grasp on the local media's attention for most of the season, they have now stepped into the national spotlight. USA Today profiled the Rams in a Tuesday, June 26 sports feature that hit newsstands across the country.
      "When someone said 'Do you want to come by,' I jumped at the chance because it's not often you get to honor someone that's won the state championship," said Sen. Kemp Hannon, who was joined by Assemblywoman Donna Ferrara, herself a Salisbury resident.
      Ferrara announced the Assembly and Senate were going to pass a joint resolution honoring the team.
      Players and coaches also received citations from Nassau County Legis. Dennis Dunne and Town of Hempstead Councilman Gary Hudes, who was influential in having a sign made up for the state champions that will be mounted at the high school.
      "We'll also be making some additional signs we'll be putting out in the community," Hudes said.