North Shore All-Stars majors became the third team to represent the little league and Suffolk county in the state baseball tournament this past week.
The Majors All-Stars advanced to the sectional finals on the back of a tremendous pitching effort and some timely hitting. Their journey began in the District 36 Championship game against East Hampton. In that game you could see the toughness of the team shine through. They trailed 5-4 heading into the last inning only to have a massive comeback win to advance and claim the title.
The North Shore All-Stars then beat Huntington Tri-Village 7-0, then took on Sayville and won a nail-biter 6-5. They moved on to a double result back-to-back game set with Bethpage winning the first game 2-0 and then the title game 5-1.
Pitching was the name of the game this season for North Shore as they were able to stifle a good Bethpage offense to claim the crown and advance to the next round in the process becoming the Section 4 champions.
At the state title game, the All-Stars lost their first two contests to Massapequa and South Shore but fought in one of the most exciting games of the year. They dropped an 11 inning thriller 6-5 to East Greenbush Castleton.
Coach Gus Mejia stressed to the team all season how to be mentally tough. It was the constant theme of the season and the coach went as far to show the kids an inspirational video by Ray Lewis to motivate them and keep them focused. Coach called this their "lion mentality" and mentioned how the work put in would be a "grind," but the results paid off. Coach Mejia made sure to thank his coaches Justin and Jason as well as his special assistant Gus Jr. for helping keep that mindset up all season.
In a letter to his team, he told them that it has been 42 years since North Shore Little League Majors 12U has reached the state championships, that 42-year stretch ended with this group of young men. Liam McGrath, Ben McNally, Logan McCarron, Aiden White, William Weingartner, Dylan Waltz, Jonah Rannazzisi, Huston Leighley, Nick O'Donovan, Harrison Miller, Jude Ryan, Dylan Zarella, and Rener Mejia ended a 42-year drought with a lion mentality and a lion heart followed.