Joe Natalie described his players as a "dysfunctional family," and the coach's words were illustrated in a instant. Ryan Dinizio was encircled by a group of teammates and jeered, the sophomore chided loudly for a mistake he made.
As the team gathered its belongings, preparing to exit the field at Purchase College, a few of them noticed that Dinizio had his shirt on backwards, and the jokes began to fly.
That moment of laughter was among several on the evening, because it was a Section 1 championship T-shirt that was in discussion. One hastily pulled on over his jersey as the team celebrated a historic accomplishment on May 31.
Dom Benedetto pitched a shortened no-hitter and Nick Mazzola ensured only five innings were necessary, lining a two-run double that induced the mercy rule in Putnam Valley's win over Hastings in the Class B section final. With that, the Tigers captured their first championship.
"There's no better feeling than this," said Mazzola, who went 2 for 4 with two run...
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