Lightning Players are all smiles at Ripken Stadium Playing in their second Patriot’s Day Tournament at Ripken and making their third journey overall to this Maryland mecca of little league baseball, the Long Island Lightning, comprised of a dozen players from Garden City and East Williston, raised some eyebrows and made a statement during four games on September 12 and 13.

Despite losing two solid players to pre-season injuries and playing through intermittent showers during one game on the tournament’s first day, the Long Island Lightning ended the day with a 9 - 1 win against the Madison Park Predators from New Jersey and one 8 - 1 loss, albeit a bitter one, to Dynamite Baseball, for with the exception of one poor inning, the Lightning played almost flawless baseball in both games. Lightning pitchers kept the ball in the strike zone and prevented walks, the fielders made some difficult catches and strong accurate throws to keep runners from advancing and, in some cases, scoring. And, what has become commonplace to those who have followed this talented team during league play in the spring and fall, Lightning batters consistently challenged opposing pitchers, sprayed hits all over the field, ran aggressively on the base paths, and took advantage of mental lapses.

Lightning Players enjoy some down time between games Seeded fifth out of eleven teams for a quarter-final game on Sunday, the Lightning defeated a fourth-seeded Cadets Baseball Team from Staten Island with a convincing 9-4 late-morning victory. With three games under their belts in this hotly contested U12 tournament, the Lightning faced the Delaware Vipers, seeded number one in this semi-final round. Truly a nail biter of a game, the Vipers held on by a run and won 4-3. The Vipers, eventual tournament champions, who crushed their next opponent with an 11 - 2 knockout, faced their toughest adversary in the Lightning. Despite the loss, the Lightning showed marked improvement in virtually every aspect of their game, which is the primary objective of their coaches. To improve and play better baseball with each game as they make their way to an August 2010 week-long tournament in Cooperstown is the prize at the end of a three-year journey of commitment, sacrifice, practice, and teamwork.

The Long Island Lightning are Brett Alvarez, Josh Bergsohn, Nick D’ Angelo, Jared D’sa, Owen Fisher, Joey Guglielmo, John Malandro, Evan Nagel, Jared Rothstein, Sam Robinson, Ryan Smith, and Matt Vani. This talented team is coached by Rob Rothstein, Joe Vani, and Jim Fisher.

Once again, the Long Island Lightning is playing fall baseball in the competitive U11 division of the Nassau County Youth Athletic Association Baseball League (NCYAA). If you are interested in watching good fundamental baseball performed at the little league level, the Lightning fall schedule can be found on the NCYAA Web site at www.ncyaa.org.