Port Washington Little League baseball eliminated in Metro Region tournament

BRISTOL, Conn. — The Port Washington 12U Little League baseball team’s memorable run came to an end Wednesday night.

The team fell, 8-4, to Connecticut’s Darien in an elimination game of the Metro Region tournament at the Little League East Region headquarters. Darien will advance to face Bayonne (New Jersey) in the championship at 7 p.m. Friday.

Though the ending wasn’t the team’s desired outcome, manager Dave Gabriel said the summer has exceeded his expectations.

“If you would have told me at the beginning of districts that we would win a state championship, make it to this tournament and play three games on ESPN, everybody would have said, ‘Sign me up,’” Gabriel said. “I’m so proud of these boys and the way they battled all year.”

Darien wasted no time to make some noise. Second in the lineup, Hugh Butler’s home run over the left centerfield fence put Darien on the board first, but Carlo Cafferata pitched two strikeouts to end the first inning.

After a scoreless second inning, Port Washington was able to respond in the third. Cafferata's RBI single drove in Luca Theoharis to tie the score at one. Jackson Gorynski singled and Drew Theoharis walked to load the bases, but the team couldn’t capitalize before all three were stranded on a flyout.

Port Washington’s defense then began to stumble. Wells Johnson and Luca Hidaka each singled to drive in two, then Butler and Chase Sutter each doubled to drive in three more, putting Darien in the lead, 6-1. Drew Theoharis struck out two to end the third inning and prevent any further damage.

Gabriel said the shift in momentum was difficult to undo.

“[Darien] got their one big inning,” Gabriel said. “We got our guys on base, but we couldn’t get that one big inning. We got some good hits here and there, but we couldn’t break away like we have been able to in other games.”

Sutter tossed three strikeouts in the top of the fourth inning to keep Port Washington from chipping away, but Drew Theoharis responded with a 1-2-3 inning of his own.

Theoharis then hit an RBI single to bring Gorynski home and cut the lead to four runs in the top of the fifth inning but, when Butler got to the plate, he broke the game open. The catcher sent his second homer of the day over the left field fence, putting up two more runs to make the score 8-2.

With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning, Luca Theoharis hit a two-run single that cut the lead in half and brought home Max Dempsey and Michael Gabriel before Darien shut the door with a double play.

“Our team has a lot of grit,” Gabriel said. “Connecticut played awesome today. They were the better team and we wished them the best of luck against New Jersey, but our boys have a lot to be proud of. We never gave up, even in that final inning.”

Darien manager Joe Paccione said he knew Port Washington would be a challenge to get through, and credited the late game rally to the team’s impressive hitting.

“[Port Washington is] a great team and they can hit from top to bottom,” Paccione said. “Batters 1-11, that team can hit. We knew they weren’t going to go down quietly in that sixth inning. We always tell our boys that the hardest outs to get are the last three, and Port proved that today.”

Darien fell to Bayonne, 8-2, in their first matchup on Saturday. The winner of the tournament will advance to the Little League World Series beginning Aug. 19 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Port Washington finished 1-2 in the tournament and 15-3 overall.

Ultimately, Gabriel said what made the experience special is the stories he, his family and his athletes will tell for the rest of their lives. Gabriel’s son, Michael, singled twice and stole two bases in Wednesday’s game.

“When you get to be an old man, these kids can look back at what they were able to do with their dads, with their teammates,” Gabriel said. “It’s about lifelong memories. I’m a coach, but I’m a dad too and to have this experience with my son is priceless. … That’s my little guy. I’ll remember this for the rest of my life.”

By Tess Ferguson

tess.ferguson@newsday.comtessferg

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.