FINAL
Babylon-4
Pierson-0Babylon wins their third straight Class B championship, and will take on Carle Place in the Long Island Championship.
Jake Ostertag had a complete game shutout with 7ks for Babylon. pic.twitter.com/190A8wyLvj
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2025
by Trevor Diamond
The one constant over the last three seasons in Suffolk County Class B has been Babylon.
The Panthers have been a dominant force over since 2023 when they made a legitimate run at a perfect season. They wound up defeating Seaford in a classic Long Island Championship that season. They followed that up in 2024 when they were able to repeat at Class B Champs, defeating Port Jefferson before losing to Wheatley in a hard-fought battle at Farmingdale State College.
They’ll return to Farmingdale State College next weekend, looking to avenge last season’s loss. They were able to sweep the Suffolk Class B Finals, shutting out Pierson in both games at Middle Country Athletic Complex.
Ostertag gets out of a jam for Babylon as Pierson threatened in the bottom of the 6th. There was two runners on, and with a ground ball he got out of the inning.
After 6
Babylon- 3
Pierson- 0 pic.twitter.com/0725qHWBY8— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 28, 2025
Weather conditions did not make this game any easier for both sides as it was a chilly rainy night throughout the entirety of the game in Selden.
It was a pitcher’s duel for the most part of the game as Braeden Mott started for Pierson, and Jake Ostertag started for Babylon.
The scoring of the game started early in the top of the first, when Johnny Harkins (Queens-commit) led the game off with a single, and with a stolen base, and a ground ball that advanced him to third, set a spot up for Jake Ostertag at the plate. Ostertag would help himself, hitting a fly ball that was good enough to score Harkins for a sacrifice fly to give Babylon an early 1-0 lead.
Up until the top of the third was quiet, but Joe Cavallo had a runner on base when he crushed a two-run homerun to extend the Babylon lead to 3-0.
After this, both pitchers settled into a groove for most of the rest of the game. The last scoring came in the top of the seventh when Mott was removed from the game for Paul Roesel (Sage-commit). Roesel came in with two of Mott’s runners onboard, and two outs. Brett Coffey would hit an infield single to score one more run, which was responsible to Mott’s name to make the Babylon lead 4-0. Pierson’s starting pitcher Braeden Mott would hit the pitch limit of 125 at 6 and ⅔ innings with five strikeouts, giving up four runs.
Ostertag would have a masterful night with a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts, and with his sacrifice fly, this led him to be our Game Changer player of the game. In the end, Babylon would secure the 4-0 win. This win led them to their third straight Class B Championship victory.
“Pretty much just to throw strikes and pound the zone,” said Ostertag following the game. “That’s all you need to do,” he added.
Babylon competed in a competitive League 7 along with Bayport-Blue Point, Center Moriches and Pierson. Both BBP and Center Moriches are Class A schools so they were in a different playoff bracket. Having played them during the regular season, though, allowed Babylon to compete with two perennial championship contenders – which Ostertag noted helped them prepare for the playoffs.
“100 percent it did,” said Ostertag. “Playing teams like Bayport and Center Moriches really got us ready for this.”
Babylon will now take on Carle Place in the Class B Long Island Championship this weekend.
