Massapequa International softball wins state title, has chance to go to Little League World Series
The Massapequa International Little League softball team poses after winning the state championship on Saturday. Credit: Massapequa International Little League
The Massapequa International 12U softball team is atop New York once again.
Massapequa defeated Stony Point, 5-1, in the state final on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in St. James to advance to the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament.
Massapequa will face the Pennsylvania representative in its opening game at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut. The winner of the six-team, double-elimination tournament will advance to the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, North Carolina, in August.
“This is something I’ve been manifesting since Rich Eaton first took his team to Bristol in 2022,” Massapequa manager Joe Sollitto said. “I knew it was possible, especially with this group of girls, that we could do it. We’re very happy to get to Bristol, that was always the goal. And now, as in life, one goal is achieved and we set new goals.”
A four-run, two-out rally in the top of the first inning ignited Massapequa’s state final win. Kate Pignetti hit a two-run single and scored on a double steal, and Gabby Meyer added an RBI single. Giuliana Cretty tacked on an RBI single in the second to take a 5-0 lead. Sollitto’s daughter, Milla, struck out two and allowed one run and six hits in a complete game to earn the win.
“It feels amazing,” Milla Sollitto said. “It’s my second time winning because we won the state title in 10U. Losing in 11U really gave us the momentum to want to come back and win it this year.”
Massapequa lost to Stony Point, 10-0, in the winner’s bracket final, putting the team in a situation where it needed to win three straight games to claim the title.
“I think that was a benefit to us. It humbled us a little bit,” Joe Sollitto said. “It was a blessing because in this tournament, you’ve got to know how to play from behind.”
In Massapequa’s 6-5 win over Saugerties in the elimination bracket final, Pignetti drove in Ashley Larmann for the tying run in the fourth. Sophia Nislow scored the go-ahead run from second base on an infield single by Sollitto with two outs in the fifth inning.
“We have a special play with Sophia where she knows to take two bases, especially with two outs,” Joe Sollitto said. “She puts her head down and she knows she’s scoring no matter what.”
“With two outs, I was just trying to make contact and with Sophia’s wheels, I knew she was going to get there as long as I was safe at first base,” Milla Sollitto said.
Cretty went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in Massapequa’s 6-1 win over Stony Point on Friday to force Saturday’s winner-take-all final.
Massapequa International became the first New York team to win the Little League Softball World Series in 2023 and made it back to the Mid-Atlantic Region final in 2024.
Before this new group of girls will look to add to their little league’s rich history, they will be celebrated with a send-off party at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Berner Middle School.
“I’m super excited because not that many teams get this opportunity,” Milla Sollitto said. “I really hope that we make the most of it and go as far as we can and represent New York well.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
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