Apparently revenge is best practiced in the rain.
After losing to Morristown, New Jersey, on Monday, Staten Island South Shore won the second leg of the Metro Regional final 5-0 on Friday to advance to the Little League World Series.
“I told them it’s a different game today. Our backs are against the wall. One game, give it our all – and we’ll get it done,” Bob Laterza told the Post about his return and winning the regional title.
“We were here to win, not just to win one or two games.”
Peter Giaccio proved to be a hero for Staten Island, scoring the game’s first run with a double steal before hitting a two-run triple to the opposite field in the sixth inning.
Starting pitcher Stephen Grippo was outstanding, collecting seven strikeouts in five scoreless innings with two hits.
The left-hander, who was battling a throwing hand injury, fought tooth and nail to stay in the game before leaving runners at the corners in the fifth inning, keeping Morristown from scoring.
Laterza said he wanted to take Grippo out, but the conversation about a slight finger injury and possible exhaustion was brief.
“He said, ‘I’m not coming out’ – there was no conversation,” Laterza said. “(With) him, I’m a little more lenient, especially because he got us through all those innings.”
Perseverance proved to be Grippo’s motto, as he remained on the hill despite an initial rain delay of nearly 90 minutes.
The game at the Giamatti Little League Center in Bristol, Connecticut, was repeatedly postponed, starting 80 minutes late and having a second stoppage of nearly an hour.
In total, the Metro Regional title game lasted nearly four hours, but Staten Island was undeterred by the longer time span.
Left-hander Jake Romero – a relative of MLB brothers Richie and Joshua Palacios – got the final three outs for Staten Island, which becomes the first team from the borough to reach Williamsport, Pennsylvania, since Mid-Island in 2018.
“I can’t say enough about Jake Romero, the 11-year-old kid came up to that spot and threw the last inning for me,” the manager said.
The Staten Island team represents both New York and the metropolitan area and will begin its hunt for a Little League World Series title on August 14.
