Port Washington 12U Little League baseball team wins opener of Metro Region tournament
Port Washington's Jack Gomez reacts after driving in two runs against Lincoln (R.I.) in the Metro Region tournament on Saturday in Bristol, Connecticut. Credit: Jessica Hill
BRISTOL, Conn. — The Port Washington 12U Little League baseball team’s dream is one game closer to reality.
Port Washington beat Rhode Island’s Lincoln, 10-3, on Saturday in the opener of the Metro Region tournament at the Little League East Region headquarters.
Bayonne (New Jersey) beat Darien (Connecticut), 8-2, on Saturday night. Port Washington will face Bayonne at 1 p.m. Monday. Lincoln will face Darien at 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Metro Region winner will advance to the Little League World Series beginning Aug. 19 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Drew Theoharis, Carlo Cafferata and Jackson Gorynski held Lincoln to three hits.
Port Washington shortstop Brandon Kien had a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning to help break the game open.
“Coach said to us, ‘Insurance runs are key,’ ” Kien said. “That’s what good teams do, and we’re a good team, so that’s what we did.”
Port Washington scored twice in the top of the first, and with the bases loaded in the third, Jack Gomez ripped a two-run single to the centerfield fence. Walt Cassens followed with an RBI single and Michael Gabriel walked with the bases loaded to cap a four-run inning that made it 6-0.
Lincoln’s Tucker Choiniere doubled to leftfield to drive in a run and scored on a groundout in the bottom of the third, but
Mikey Catuongo scored on Gorynski’s double to give Port Washington a 7-2 lead in the fourth.
Port Washington manager Dave Gabriel said that even with a big lead, every run matters.
“I think we did a good job making plays,” he said. “Jackson Gorynski had a phenomenal at-bat. It seemed like double-digit pitches that he faced to get that hit. To get an RBI on that particular play, every run helps.”
A 75-minute weather delay ensued with one out in the bottom of the fifth, two runners on base and Cafferata on the mound. After the resumption of play, Danny Laneres’ infield single drove in Adrien Duffney to make it 7-3.
“During the break, we were bummed out because we were playing very well at that time,” catcher Michael Gabriel said. “We stayed locked in, talked about the game, the umpire zone, what to swing at and the field.”
Kien doubled home two runs and scored on an error in the sixth to make it 10-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kien made an athletic play on a ground ball for the second out of the inning. Luca Theoharis caught an infield fly to end it.
“On that play, the ball had a hop I was not ready for, but my body just adjusted and reacted,” Kien said. “I got a good throw, and Max [Dempsey] caught it and got that out, and the next one ended it.”
Despite the impressive first outing, Michael Gabriel said there is always room for improvement.
“I think even though we did pretty good at hitting, we just keep getting the reps in and continue to get better,” he said. “I think we need to improve by limiting the walks, but we typically feel pretty good defensively.”
Said Dave Gabriel: “We want to continue to do what we’ve been doing. We’ve had a lot of success throughout this whole process while keeping them locked in. We’ll keep tomorrow a light day, let them enjoy themselves and watch some of the other teams play. I keep preaching to just do what we’re doing: Bring good effort, good energy, good attitude. We’re not looking to change anything.”
Tess Ferguson is a reporter on Newsday's high school sports staff. She joined the team after graduating with a journalism degree from Ithaca College in 2025.
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