Plainedge remains undefeated behind arms of Taylor Nitsch, Jaxson Torres in LI Class A baseball final
Plainedge poses after winning the Long Island Class A baseball final at Farmingdale State College on Saturday, June 6, 2026. Credit: David Meisenholder
Dylan Loccisano, secret weapon.
Loccisano had the key hit as Plainedge kept its undefeated season alive with a 2-0 win over Kings Park in the Long Island Class A baseball championship game at Farmingdale State College on Saturday night.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Loccisano lined a two-run single to rightfield to drive in AJ Calapai and Dom Santivasci .
It was a huge moment for the junior catcher, who is the backup to the currently injured Jayden Gaghan and batted ninth.
“The other team knows nothing about me; they just think I’m a backup,” Loccisano said. “Our guys know what I have and what I’m capable of. I just love to be a part of them. It’s a great team — something very special.”
Plainedge (27-0) will face Section IX champion Marlboro Central in the state Class A semifinals on Friday at Binghamton University.
Kings Park finished 20-3.
The game was a pitchers’ duel through 3 1⁄2 innings, with Plainedge righthander Taylor Nitsch and Kings Park righthander Everett Zarzicki trading zeros before Loccisano delivered.
Plainedge, which won its first Long Island title since 2012 and fourth in program history, carried that 2-0 lead into the top of the fifth with Nitsch on the mound, a runner on second and one out. Then a lightning flash at 8:19 p.m. sent the game into an hour-long delay.
The entire stadium vacated during that time, with both teams returning to their buses to wait out the worst of the storm. The stoppage came just before a 1-and-2 pitch to Kings Park’s Joe Rossi.
It abruptly ended a strong performance by Nitsch, who allowed four hits and no walks with four strikeouts in 4 2⁄3 innings. Once the game resumed, righthander Jaxson Torres finished off the at-bat and inning for Nitsch.
“Whether it was me or Jaxson going back out there, I knew we were getting out of that inning,” Nitsch said. “That’s just the confidence we have as a team and as two individuals on the mound. We have all the confidence in the world in each other, and on any given day, we’re going to take the ball and win the game.”
Torres weathered the storm through the steady rain, striking out three to lock down the seven-out save.
“My fastball was there, and with those guys behind me, I just felt really confident,” he said. “This is so awesome. We’ve been playing together for so long, and just to take this step together is great.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
