Bayonne rolls past Port Washington, nears Williamsport

Bayonne Central’s Little League World Series run took another big step Monday in Bristol, Conn., as the New Jersey team beat Port Washington, N.Y., 12-2 and moved within one victory of Williamsport, Pa. The win came in a winner’s bracket game in the Metro regional round, putting Bayonne on the verge of a spot in the championship game.

The game turned quickly in Bayonne’s favor. Assistant coach Jaime Rivera, speaking to the team while mic’d up during the ESPN broadcast, urged the players to keep living by the idea of shocking the world. On the field, Bayonne backed that confidence with a strong effort from Mason Rincon, who is the coach’s son and helped lead the way at the plate and on the mound. Rincon drove in two runs and later worked two no-hit innings with a strikeout after taking over pitching duties in the third.

Port Washington had an early chance to strike first. Outfielder Carlo Cafferata opened the game with a hard double that put runners on second and third, but starter Gabe Garcia kept the Long Islanders off the board. Bayonne then answered with a burst of offense in the bottom of the inning, starting with Rincon’s two-run home run off Jackson Gorynski. The ball cleared into the trees beyond Leon J. Breen Field and gave Bayonne an immediate edge. Third baseman AJ Tapia added two more RBIs on a single to make it 4-0.

Port Washington tried to claw back in the second. The bases were loaded, and second baseman Michael Gabriel scored on a wild pitch before shortstop Brandon Kien added an RBI single to trim the margin to 4-2. But Bayonne kept pressure on. Mikey Catuogno came on to pitch for Port in the bottom of the second and gave up a run on a sacrifice fly by left fielder Dex Zimmerman, stretching Bayonne’s lead to 5-2. That was enough to keep the New Jersey club in control as the innings moved on.