Taylor Nitsch leads Plainedge baseball to first county title since 2012, Red Devils improve to 26-0
Plainedge celebrates its victory over Wantagh in the Nassau Class A baseball final on Friday, May 29, 2026, in Farmingdale. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Taylor Nitsch lifted his leg one more time and fired his 118th pitch of the day. Second baseman AJ Calapai fielded the groundball, turned and threw to Bobby Wescott at first.
And the drought was over.
Nitsch struck out six and allowed five hits and three runs in a complete game to lead top-seeded Plainedge to a 6-3 win over No. 2 Wantagh in Game 2 of the Nassau Class A baseball championship series Friday at Farmingdale State.
The Red Devils claimed their first county title since 2012.
“We’ve had some really good teams the last few years that have been really close,” coach Colin Fratrik said. “This is a very senior-heavy team that learned from the successes and failures of last year and really grew into a much more mature team.”
Plainedge kept its perfect season alive, improving to 26-0.
“Last year, we had a great regular season and got upset in the semifinals,” Nitsch said. “We brought that energy here and I think it showed.”
Nitsch will have plenty of time to rest his arm. Plainedge faces the winner of Kings Park/Sayville in the Long Island Class A championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at Farmingdale State.
Brady Henderson hit a two-run triple in the top of the first to give the Red Devils an early lead. Jaxson Torres added an RBI triple in the third. With two outs in the fourth, Mike Calapai and Wescott hit back-to-back ground-rule doubles to take a 4-1 lead.
Wantagh (19-8-1) cut the deficit to 4-3 on Matt Rackley’s two-run triple in the fourth, but Nitsch helped his own cause with a leadoff triple in the sixth. Wescott brought Nitsch home on his own triple and scored on Torres’ single up the middle.
“In high school baseball, this lineup is rare,” Wescott said. “[Thursday] night, I didn’t have a great day. I struck out twice, but we scored 13 runs. It shows that even if the top of the lineup doesn’t do to much, the whole team’s got your back.”
Nitsch appreciated the extra breathing room as he worked to finish what he started on the mound.
“He’s been an absolute bulldog all year long,” Fratrik said. “He gave up five runs in the first game of the season and he went 48 consecutive innings without giving up a run until today. You feel so confident with a guy like him on the mound.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
