Road to Little League World Series: Commack South, North Bellmore-North Merrick move on

The stage is now set for Saturday’s sectional finals after six of Long Island’s District 6 championship teams battled it out Thursday night in hopes of continuing on the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Capping off a week of tournament games for the 12-year-old age group, Commack South and North Bellmore-North Merrick earned their spots Thursday to play in the sectional finals scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Lions Field in Port Washington.

The game was originally scheduled for 6 tonight, but rain forced officials to postpone the game.

The winner of sectional finals will then continue on to the state tournament set for next week at the North Shore Little League complex in Rocky Point. Then one team from New York will earn its spot in Bristol, Conn. for a chance to represent the Mid-Atlantic region. The Little League World Series begins in Williamsport on Aug. 16.

North Bellmore-North Merrick and Commack South have both dominated play over the past week, each winning four of their five games. Commack South won three of their games by 10 runs or more, while North Bellmore-North Merrick’s pitchers recorded three shutouts.

Commack South won a hard-fought game Thursday night at Otsego Park in Dix Hills with a 4-2 win over North Bellmore-North Merrick, clinching 1st place in the tournament.

Powered by two-run homers off the bats of Johnny Pohlman and Trevor Rosenlicht, Commack South established the lead early. Commack South pitcher Jason Salerno struck out 10 in a complete game, holding North Bellmore-North Merrick to only two hits through six innings.

The other four teams in the Section 6 playoff tournament ended their journeys Thursday to the 66th annual Little League World Series.

With Sayville defeating Port Washington 7-5 in six innings at Lions Field in Port Washington, Sayville finishes their tournament play 3-2; Port Washington finishes 0-5.

Plainview beat Southampton 13-3 in five innings at Central Nassau Field in Westbury. Plainview also finishes their tournament 3-2; Southampton finishes 1-4.

One other Little League team from Long Island also played Thursday night. Lynbrook, which competes in Section 5 with teams from New York City, was knocked out of the tournament with their loss to Ozone Howard. The score of the game is unavailable.