by Jacob Infald
The Sharks made it close again at the end of the, but Aiden Reilly shuts the door and LI Elite wins the Hot Stove 13U Western Division Championship.
Elite Prospects 13U 10- South Shore Sharks 6. pic.twitter.com/l8fy1a2axE— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 9, 2026
It was a special experience on Sunday for the Long Island Elite 13U Prospects as they captured the LI Hot Stove 13U Western Summer League Championship in a 10-6 victory over the South Shore Sharks. In a season where they ran the table from start to finish with a 13-3 regular season record, they wrapped up the summer with a decisive win at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, home of the Long Island Ducks, with a plethora of 2026 graduates of Long Island Elite baseball in the dugout cheering them on.
While Long Island Elite would eventually score nine unanswered runs over the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, there were moments early on where the game hung in the balance. The Sharks were led by AJ Schnabel in the early innings. He allowed just one run on the mound through the first three innings, and his one out RBI double to deep center field in the top of the first gave the Sharks the first lead of the game.
Heading into the top of the fourth, with the score tied at one run apiece, it was the Sharks who would again pull back in front. With the bases loaded and one out, Joseph McRae turned a ball on the inner half, roping it to left center for a long single that would score two runs, giving the Sharks the lead and momentum.
The bottom of the fourth was when the tide began to turn in favor of Long Island Elite. Even after what seemed to be a rally stopper in a 6-3-5 double play to clear up the base paths for the first two outs of the inning, Long Island Elite did not go away. After the following batter, Keegan Duffy was hit by a pitch and stole second base, Derek Schroeder demonstrated an excellent two-out approach, taking an offspeed pitch on the outer half of the plate to right field for a base hit. Duffy scored their second run of the inning, and the game was once again tied, now being 3-3.
After Ryan Verderosa shut the Sharks down in the top of the fifth and sixth inning, Long Island Elite were finally ready to impose themselves and take control of the game.
Player of the game was Ryan Luna who had two huge RBI hits for LI Elite including a go-ahead double in the fifth. He spoke to Axcess Baseball after the game. pic.twitter.com/Z8uBcqAaNa
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 9, 2026
Long Island Elite demonstrated excellent intention on the base paths, stealing six bases over the next two innings, ensuring that there were always runners in scoring position. This started with a steal from Zack Prezzano after he led the fifth off with a single up the middle. The following batter, Ryan Luna, delivered, crushing a ball to the left center gap. Prezzano scored easily from second base, and Luna had his second hit and second RBI of the game after driving in Long Island Elite’s first run of the game back in second.
“It was really more like put the ball in play,” Luna told Axcess Baseball when asked about his approach at the plate with runners in scoring position. “Get the runners in, and win the game.”
With the score now 6-3 in favor of Long Island Elite heading into the sixth, they continued to use intentional approaches at the plate, combined with strong base running to pour on some eventually much needed insurance. After Angelo Messina led the inning off with a walk and stolen base, Nicholas Vecchiano did an excellent job going with a pitch on the outer half, hitting a hard grounder past an outstretched Schnabel who was now playing first to drive in Messina and give himself a double.
Three batters later, with one out and runners on second and third after another stolen base, Long Island Elite executed a professionally done suicide squeeze. Aiden Reilly laid down the bunt just off to the right side in front of the mound. Not only did he beat the throw to first, but Schroeder hustled to score from second on a ball that was not even hit past the pitcher’s mound to give Long Island Elite a 9-3 lead.
Long Island Elite took a 10-3 lead into the final inning, and they needed nearly all of those insurance runs. Highlighted by an RBI triple to deep center field from Schnabel, and base hits by Sean Livingston and McRae, the Sharks were able to plate three runs in the seventh.
With the bases loaded and one out, Reilly was able to shut the door out of the bullpen, forcing a strikeout and a ground out from the final two batters to end the game with the tying run at the plate.
Long Island Elite players past and current stormed the field to celebrate the win, as the 13U squad got to celebrate their championship, while the 2026 players got to help the next generation of Long Island Elite players while getting to say goodbye to their coaches who helped them through their travel ball careers.