Those who knew Mike Leiderman best know that he was competitive, passionate, and played to his best. There is no doubt that he would have loved to witness what the Long Island team did in the seventh inning in a game in his honor.

Long Island used a four-run rally in the seventh inning to defeat New York City 7-4 in the fourth annual Mike Leiderman Cup at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale on Friday night. The baseball game showcases the best rising seniors from both areas in honor of Leiderman, who died in 2018 from complications of ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Long Island trailed 3-2 in the seventh inning before Kyle Scheurer (Oceanside) hit a ground ball to shortstop to start the comeback. After Connor Meehan (Chaminade) worked a walk, a double steal tied the game and gave them the lead. Scheurer scored on a ground out before Meehan scored on a wild pitch.

“It’s an honor and I’m just really happy to be here with this great group of guys,” Scheurer said.

Michael Oliveto (Hauppauge) and Joe Cavallaro (Jericho) scored additional RBI singles in the four-run rally, giving Long Island a 6-3 lead.

Leiderman founded the LI Storm and the Storm Baseball Academy, a well-known youth baseball program on Long Island. He also managed amateur teams.

“I think everyone meets a person in their life that there aren’t enough adjectives to describe them. For me, that was Mike,” said Shaun Manning, the game’s founder and organizer and a coach at Long Island Lutheran. “He was truly one of a kind.”

“It’s a great opportunity,” said Mount Sinai’s Bennie Franquiz, who hit 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk.

Long Island has won two of the four Mike Leiderman Cups.

Long Island used 11 pitchers in the nine-inning game, and perhaps no pitcher was more important than Valley Stream North’s Nick Lang. He entered the game in a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fifth inning and managed an infield pop out and a ground ball to keep the score at 2-2.

“It’s a big challenge,” said Lang. “A lot of stress, a lot of adrenaline rushing through my body.”

Clarke coach Tom Abruscato, who coached the Long Island team, said (the game) “is for a good cause. When you look at the resumes of both teams, you can see that these guys can all play.”