Staten Island staves off New Jersey to reach Little League World Series

Starting pitcher Stephen Grippo was stellar, racking up seven strikeouts across five shutout, two-hit innings.

The southpaw, who battled what appeared to be an injury to his throwing hand, pleaded his way to stay in the game before stranding runners on the corners in the fifth inning to keep Morristown off the board.

Tenacity proved to be the theme for Grippo, who remained on the hill despite an initial rain delay of nearly 90 minutes.

Action from the Giamatti Little League Center in Bristol, Conn. was postponed repeatedly, with the game starting 80 minutes late and featuring a second pause of nearly an hour.

Altogether, the Metro Region title game took nearly four hours to complete, but the longer timeframe didn’t faze Staten Island.

Lefty Jake Romero — the cousin of MLB brothers Richie and Joshua Palacios — notched the final three outs for Staten Island, which is the first team from the borough to reach Williamsport, Pa. for the first time since Mid-Island did in 2018.

Representing both New York and the Metro region, the Staten Island squad will kick off action on Aug. 14 in pursuit of a Little League World Series title.