This year, the boys varsity baseball team exceeded expectations with a trip to the Nassau County AAA Finals.  The Vikings also had a final record of 15-10-2.  The 2024 season was filled with memorable moments and great games, with many talented players leading the team on and off the field.

Although this season can be marked down as a success for the Vikings, the team did not get off to as hot a start as anticipated.  After losing their first game to Syosset, Port stole a victory against Freeport by a final score of 6-4 after senior center fielder Anthony Iourio hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning.

  Following this win, the team hit a bit of a rough patch.  They only managed three wins in their next ten games, with losses to Farmingdale, Massapequa, and Oceanside.  A close 3-5 loss to East Meadow made an unfortunate start even tougher, and the season looked bleak.  At this point, the team could have very easily written off the season because of their poor start, but they remained valiant in their effort to regain control of their campaign.

“At that point in the season, we really just wanted to win.  We had lost a lot of close games, so it gave us extra motivation to turn the tide,” said sophomore catcher Mark Itzikowitz. 

After their loss to East Meadow, the Vikings bounced back in a big way, sweeping Valley Stream Central and beating Manhasset to gain some much-needed momentum before a pivotal series against the Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK Hawks.  At this point, the Hawks were sitting near the top of the standings with a 10-2 record, so they would be no easy opponent for Port Washington.

In their first game of the series, senior Hunter Trenaman, who would later be named an All-County pitcher, pitched seven scoreless innings and drove in the Vikings’ only run to grab the win.  Port also nabbed the second game in a nail-biting 3-2 victory, with stellar pitching again, this time from a combined effort of senior Jeff Radinsky and junior Jake Scharlat.

Although they dropped the last game, these two wins vaulted them up to fourth place in the standings, where they were set to face Syosset in the quarterfinals.  More importantly, however, it gave the team a much needed spark that would propel them through the playoffs. 

“We were all super confident heading into the playoffs after beating Plainview.  Since we beat them, we felt we could beat anybody we would come across,” said sophomore middle-infielder Leo Schindler.

The Vikings playoffs kicked off in the quarter finals at Syosset, where they would drop the first game in a pitching duel.  But, once they returned home, the Vikings would pick up steam as they were determined to not get sent home in the first round.  Game 2 ended in a Port win after another combined effort from Radinsky and Scharlat to hold Syosset to three runs so the Vikings could win 4-3.

Two days later, the Vikings were in another win or go home situation.  However, the bats of Radinsky and junior Max Spiryda helped send the team to the semifinals, where they would face first seeded juggernaut Massapequa.  

This would be a tall task for the Vikings, but they were extremely determined by this point in the postseason.  In the first game, the Vikings’ offense couldn’t get going, but they remained in the game with phenomenal pitching from sophomore Koki Maezawa.  In extra innings, however, Massapequa managed a run off Scharlat, ending the game for the Chiefs 1-0.

Although they had faced a tough defeat, Port remained optimistic heading into Game 2 at home, where they would win 4-1 on the arm of Trenaman, who managed seven innings of one run and included eight strikeouts.  This outstanding performance forced a massive Game 3 to determine who would move on to the County Championship.

In Game 3, the Vikings’ pitching was dominant once again, this time courtesy of senior Jackson Garcia, who earned the win with a lockdown four inning performance.  Radinsky relieved him, and he managed to strike out seven of the eleven batters he faced to send the Vikings to the County Championship.

In the championship, the Vikings were pitted against another strong opponent in Farmingdale.  The bats of the Dalers were too much for Port in Game 1, as they mounted an impressive six runs off of Port to grab the win.  Unfortunately, Game 2 was much of the same for the Vikings, where they lost in a similar 3-7 fashion as they just couldn’t get the bats going, ending a magical season on a sour note.

However, the season as a whole was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a successful season for the Vikings, and the team will be looking to continue their success with even more strong talent on the rise.

“Beating ‘Pequa was such a great feeling since they’ve shut us down the last couple of years,” said freshman catcher Jake Wilber, “we’ll be back next year.”