RECREATION MacArthur Senior Finishes Amazing Softball Season

Pitcher reflects on her almost undefeated year

Levittown. “This was my first [counties] win. Playing on the varsity team since eighth grade, there were years that we thought we were going to go all the way… This was something that was five years in the making; the fact that we achieved it, and I got to go out on that note was like a fairytale ending.”

Brunn found her way to softball at age eight, when a friend joined the local team. From then on, Brunn was in love with the game. She’s played different positions throughout her career, including third-baseman / left-fielder, but has been a pitcher since age 12. According to Brunn, it took some serious training. “I always wanted to pitch, but when I was younger, I wasn’t good at it. But I found a pitching coach that seriously helped me… It just took my game from zero to a hundred,” she says.

This season was the culmination of her hard work, as the team won game after game. “We don’t set out to go undefeated. We just set out to win the one game we’re playing that day,” says Coach Bob Fehrenbach. “When they want to be there, that adds to the magic.”

Fehrenbach was also thrilled to win Counties. “It’s a good feeling, it’s pretty much what [teams] set out to do at the beginning of the year, and then try to take the next step after that. [Counties] are always the goal. Sometimes you achieve it and sometimes you don’t. I think that was the highlight of my career.” The last time the team won Counties was in 2017.

The team was eventually defeated; a heartbreaker loss during extra innings in the Long Island Championship. Taylor finished the season with a 24-2 record as she pitched 180 innings. She allowed only 25 earned runs and had a .97 ERA while striking out 278 batters. Brunn plans to attend Ithaca College upstate in the Fall, and will be continuing her softball career as well. “I’m very excited to contribute to the program.” jcorr@antonmediagroup.com

Orlin & Cohen is proud to support our community’s best high school athletes, just as we support all athletes’ orthopedic needs.

Long Island’s premier orthopedic group, we provide sideline team physician coverage and athletic training services to more than 20 high school sports programs – and offer Walk-in Sunday Sports Medicine and Recovery Clinics for young athletes.

“The Long Island Retro Gaming Expo is where gamers, new and old, can experience the joy and history of videogames in an environment that encapsulates the golden eras of gaming but re-imagined for today’s player,” Long Island Retro Gaming’s website explained. “Held annually every August at our home venue The Cradle of Aviation, LI Retro houses over three levels of arcades, hundreds of console and PC gaming events, exclusive exhibits, engaging panels, curated vendors, live performances and more.”

If you’ve been to the Cradle of Aviation’s events, including Cradle Con or the Long Island Table Top Gaming Expo, you probably walked through an arcade of retro games and saw a passionate group of gamers called LI Retro.

But the expo, which started in 2015, is certainly their flagship event. The idea behind the expo, according to the website, is to create an event that volunteers of LI Retro would want to go to themselves.

“Right now that is most of what we do,” Joel Albino, the operations coordinator at LI Retro, said. “We are always on the lookout for rare or interesting pieces of video game history, many of which often need repair. I guess you can say we spend the year searching and preparing for the yearly convention where we can share it all with the

At The Cradle

Long Island Retro Gaming Expo begins Aug. 11

New York’s premier video game convention will be soaring to new heights from Aug. 11-13 at the Cradle of Aviation in Uniondale.

public.”

And it’s not easy to gather and repair these vintage games, which can range in age from 10 to almost 50 years old.

“In addition, some systems were made with cheaper components (like capacitors) which need changing to continue to operate and be future-proof,” Albino said. “Arcade machines are an entire separate subject as well, as they weren’t really made to last forever. Our Chief Preservationist George Portugal leads our repair and restoration efforts.

Seamus Keane from the Cradle of Aviation also runs the museum’s Arcade Age Exhibit and he has been instrumental in helping to keep these old arcades running.”

It’s important to preserve these games, because simply put, they aren’t being made anymore. Because any gaming from the past is no longer mainstream, LI Retro aims to provide an experience of history to current and future generations through gaming. Albino called it, “fun history.”

According to Albino, LI Retro originally started as an idea for a community meetup.

“There was a Facebook group with a lot of members and activity and we started with the idea of a swap meet or something similar at a bar,” Albino said. “That idea turned into the first Expo in 2015 which was held at the then-UpSky hotel in Hauppauge. We originally started it as a meetup but it has since become so much more.”

Over the years, a core group of almost 20 people has formed, They are extremely passionate about the hobby and sharing it with others.

“I know it may sound cliché but we really are a family now. Heck, I talk to these people more than I talk to my own family,” Albino said. “I believe our culture is also top notch, as we have a very caring one. Everyone is there for one another and if someone needs help or is stuck with something they are working on, there is no shortage of people willing to jump in and help.”

When asked if LI Retro Expo attendees could expect anything different this year, Albino said that a small “History of Tetris” exhibit is in the works, as well as the ever expanding Retro Gaming Museum.

“You will also have all of the rest of the parts of the show that everyone knows and loves – the arcade machines, High Score Challenge, Indie Game area, vendor marketplace, freeplay console and PC gaming, tournaments and more,” Albino said.

To purchase tickets and learn more about the event, visit liretro.com.