Port Washington Little League beaten by Bayonne for first loss in Metro Region
8/10/2026 - Port Washington #15 Walt Cassens can't beat the throw to first during Port Washingto's loss to Bayonne Central 12-2 at the Metro Region Final of the 2026 Little League Baseball Tournament in Bristol, CT. Photo by Stan Godlewski Credit: Stan Godlewski
BRISTOL, Conn. — The Port Washington 12U Little League baseball team is still human.
The squad suffered its first loss of the Metro Region tournament, falling to New Jersey’s Bayonne, 12-2, on Monday afternoon at the Little League East Region headquarters.
Following the loss, Port Washington manager Dave Gabriel said, “That’s baseball.”
“Today wasn’t our day,” Gabriel said. “They were the better team and we didn’t play our brand of baseball. We just have to get back to doing what we’ve been doing. Kudos to [Bayonne], they put the ball in play and they put pressure on us, but we made mistakes today that we haven’t made this whole summer and we can play better in the field.”
Despite the loss, Port Washington’s Williamsport hopes are still alive. The team will next face Connecticut’s Darien in an elimination game at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The winner of Wednesday’s game will take on Bayonne in the championship at 7 p.m. Friday.
Gabriel said his team’s focused on bouncing back.
“We’ll do something as a team, bond and get away from baseball for today,” Gabriel said. “We’ll come back tomorrow, get a good practice in during the day and then we’ll be back on Wednesday ready to play.”
Port Washington fell behind early, allowing four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Bayonne’s Mason Rincon uncorked a two-run homer over the centerfield fence and AJ Tapia hit a two-run double before first baseman Max Dempsey closed the inning with a putout.
Michael Gabriel scored on a wild pitch for Port Washington's first run and Brandon Kien singled to drive in Ethan Spitalnik and cut the deficit to 4-2 in the second.
Bayonne scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-2, but Port Washington ended the second inning with an impressive 9-2-6 double play. Carlo Cafferata fielded a single in rightfield on a hop, fired it to Drew Theoharis, who tagged a runner out at home before throwing it to Kien, who tagged a runner out at second base to end the inning.
Bayonne added five runs in the third inning. Chase Klimkowski had a two-run double, Joey Dwyer added a two-run single and Brayden Gaitan's RBI single extended Bayonne's lead to 10-2.
Pitching for the first time since advancing off Long Island, Walt Cassens got on the mound for the final 1 ⅔ innings, striking out one. Gabriel said his composure under pressure is a testament to Port Washington’s depth.
“Walt has been playing great centerfield for us, and he looked good on the mound,” Gabriel said. “We took him in from the field, he warmed up and he pitched well under not great circumstances.”
Cassens said team, state and community pride will get the team ready for Wednesday.
“Even though we’re representing the whole state, we’re still Port Washington and we’re still representing our town, which is kind of crazy,” Cassens said. “I’m looking forward to playing good baseball with my teammates.”
Jett Bridges had a two-run double in the fourth to give Bayonne a 12-2 lead, activating the 10-run rule to end the game.
Port Washington’s Williamsport dream is on the line, but Gabriel is just focused on Wednesday.
“I tell the boys, ‘One pitch at a time, one game at a time,’” he said. “I’m not worried about Friday. Right now, it’s all eyes on Wednesday.”
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.
