Nobody knows how to win championships better than Wantagh.
On Sunday, the Wantagh Warriors defeated the Rocky Point Eagles by a score of 4-2 to capture their third consecutive Class A Long Island Championship.
The highly anticipated pitching matchup between Joe Grillo and Anthony Fontana was everything that was expected, as both starters produced for their team. However, Fontana got the best of the Rocky Point lineup. He went the distance, allowing no earned runs on four hits.
“This is incredible, three years in a row I could cry right now this is one of the greatest moments of my life, we work so hard for these moments and I’m really excited to go upstate,” said Fontana. “We’re going to work hard in practice this week, we have to sit through school this week which will be tough but it’s going to be a fun ride and we expect to win,” he added.
Although both pitchers brought their dominant stuff to the mound, both struggled early on. In the top of the 1st, Wantagh scored first thanks to a Pat Willix RBI. Willix finished the game with two RBI and scored the go ahead run.
“We were locked in the whole game ready to go, we wanted this more than them, we were way more prepared we worked hard all year and when I was at the plate I was just locked in,” said Willix.
After the Willix RBI in the first inning, Rocky Point answered back in the 2nd on an E1 from a pickoff attempt, scoring the runner from first.
As they’ve been doing all year, Wantagh’s big hitters continued to come through when needed the most. Pat Willix drove in Anthony D’Onofrio to regain the lead in the 3rd. However, Rocky Point answered again in the 4th, due to another Wantagh error.
From this point on, the three-time champions knew what they needed to do.
The score remained tied heading into the 6th, but that didn’t last long. RBI’s from Ethan Rockitter and Ryan Murphy made this a 4-2 ballgame, hindering any chance Rocky Point had of pulling off the upset.
With emotions high strung, Fontana shined under pressure and delivered. When it was all said and done, Wantagh was crowned Long Island Champions once again, and Anthony Fontana improved his career varsity record to 24-1.
By no surprise, the dynasty reigns on as Wantagh will now have the privilege of playing for a state championship next weekend in Binghamton. They’ll seek to win their second Class A State Championship in three years.
