HRs by Dan Wolf, Johnny Castagnozzi spark Massapequa to third Nassau Class AA title in a row

The winning never gets old. It just gets better in Massapequa.

The Chiefs won their third consecutive Nassau Class AA baseball championship Saturday with a 9-6 win over Port Washington at SUNY Old Westbury. The win gave Massapequa a two-game sweep in the best-of-three finals.

The defending state Class AA champions scored three times in each of the second and third innings to build a 6-0 lead. And the Chiefs added two more runs in the fourth when senior Dan Wolf blasted his fourth home run of the season for an 8-1 lead.

“I knew it was gone as soon as it left my bat,” said Wolf, who added an RBI single in the sixth. “We all hit well but it was definitely my biggest game of the season.”

Massapequa (21-4), the two-time Long Island champion, will meet the winner of the Ward Melville-Connetquot series for the Long Island Class AA championship Saturday at noon at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue. No team has ever won three straight Long Island titles in Class AA.

“This is a team that can really hit all the way through the lineup,” Massapequa coach Tom Sheedy said. “And Danny [Wolf] has been on fire for three weeks.”

Port Washington (20-6) threatened to open the scoring in the first inning. The Vikings put the first two runners on base when Jackson Sattinger walked, and Alex Chang singled. After a flyout, Aaron Klug singled but Sattinger was held at third base and Derek Haag retired the next two hitters.

“I feel that getting the early lead is so important,” Sheedy said.

Massapequa put together an impressive two-out, three-run rally in the second inning. Chris DeSousa doubled down the leftfield line and scored on a Dan Sohn single. Tyler Sohn followed with a single before the No. 9 hitter Alex Wende lined a two-run triple into the right-centerfield gap for a 3-0 lead.

“We put it on them right there,” said DeSousa, who missed last year with an arm injury. “And it felt great to get the rally started. I really missed it last year. And it’s great to be back.”

The Chiefs extended the lead in the third. Nick Schwartz singled and Wolf walked. With one out, junior Johnny Castagnozzi launched a three-run home run to leftfield for a 6-0 lead.

Haag improved to 6-0 as he cruised through the first four innings, allowing one walk and three hits. He held it together as the defense came unglued in a five-run Vikings fifth that cut the lead to 8-6.

“Derek is a quiet guy that can handle the big moment,” Sheedy said. “We had a seven-run cushion and made a few defensive mistakes and he stayed within himself and finished the inning.”

And Massapequa moves on to another Long Island title game.

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.