Huntington Players Help Tri-Village Win Baseball Crown
With a roster dominated by current and former Huntington High School students, a senior level team from the Huntington Tri-Village Baseball League captured the District 34 championship this summer, besting a field of 14 squads from the Western Suffolk/Eastern Nassau region.
The Huntington connection included current students Sam Blakely, Steven Inman, Anthony Napolitano, Keith Smith, Justin Siegelman and John Toner, along with recent graduates James Beck, Brian Smith, Mike Taylor and Danny Teplin.
The District 34 title by the HTV Reds is believed to be the first in at least two decades for a Tri-Village team in the 18-and-under bracket. The local league is comprised of players from the Huntington, Northport and Harborfields school districts.
Napolitano, a Huntington senior, led the pitching staff with one victory and a pair of saves in the tournament. Blue Devil alum James Beck, who is now playing baseball at Iona College, picked up the win in the championship game when he relieved Napolitano and hurled three scoreless frames in extra innings.
Tri-Village batters banged out 55 hits and pushed 43 runs across the plate en route to five play-off victories. The Smith brothers were nearly unstoppable, with Brian leading the team in hits and Keith, a current senior, connecting for the tournament winning homerun.
Taylor and Teplin also played key roles in the championship run. Taylor, who is attending Mount Saint Mary’s, led the squad in runs and stolen bases and Teplin, a student at SUNY Binghamton was tops on the team in runs batted in and swatted a walk-off grand slam. Beck also belted a home run.
The championship squad was coached by Mike Teplin, Brian Smith, Sr., Tom Napolitano, Sr. and Bob Rindos, who are all Huntington residents.
The HTV Reds plan on reuniting to defend their championship next year and will be looking to fill out their roster with several new faces.
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