A season of ups and downs finally came to an end for Port baseball on Thursday afternoon. A 5-1 loss to Herricks ended not only the regular season for the Vikings but also ended any hopes for a post season, as well. Playing against a tough division, the team struggled mightily to piece together a winning streak. With many seniors leaving for college at the end of the year, new names will be filled out on the score card next year.

The finale of the season, as a deciding game, was not finest for Port baseball. With one game left, Port needed to win and hope for Massapequa to lose in order to force a one game playoff for the final spot in the playoff picture. With Kenny Seligson, the team's number one starter pitching a great game the day before, the team looked to Rob Tartaro to put them in a position to win. The game, however, didn't start off well. With some leadoff hits and a misjudged ball in shallow right field, Port found itself trailing 4-0 going into the bottom of the first inning. Port missed some early opportunities to score, and was stalled by some great pitching from Herricks. Rob Tartaro settled down after his rough first inning and fired six innings of one run ball. However, Port could not recover from its early deficit, missing many chances when they were there for the taking. Matt Levering drove in the lone run scored by Port in the fifth inning, when Port had its best opportunity to come back. The overall series between Herricks and Port was won by the Vikings 2-1. Port ended the season with a 8-13 overall record and a 6-11 division record. With tough competition in their division, Port exceeded their expectations from the beginning of the season. "We played hard every game, that's all you can ask for." These words are from second baseman Adam Carron. By missing the playoffs by only one game, Port added some excitement to a season that was said to be "one to forget." Battling injuries to key players such as R.J. Voelker, and adjusting to a new coach in Rich Greeney, the team never gave up. Many seniors are graduating this year such as Kenny Goodwin, Daniel Pak and Rob Tartaro. Their leadership and skill will be sorely missed, but there are many new faces waiting to emerge next spring from the junior varsity level.

A season looked upon as just any other, became something more. It gave a first year coach in this district a chance to take a look at what the Port Washington Baseball program is all about. It also was a season of breakout performances. Chris Pieper and Kenny Seligson earned themselves All-Conference awards. With juniors making their way up to the senior level, many more kids will be joining the team as of next season. Hopefully, Port will take it to the next level and make it to some exciting playoff play.