Masons Little League Team's Big Win

By Jennifer Ersalesi

Photo credits: Mark Goldsack and Vicky Fajardo

After a full season of Little League games, two Rutherford teams played in the Town Championships: Alumni Chiropractic and Masons. This is Rutherford interviewed Masons Team Manager, Mark Goldsack, to learn more about the team and their Championship win.

TIR: Who were the coaches and assistant coaches for Rutherford Little League’s Masons team?

Mark Goldsack: Manager - Mark Goldsack and Assistant Coaches - Mike Gerbasio, Kelly Barone, Dave Cuce, Ken Methe

TIR: Masons won a Three-Peat last week.  Tell us more about what that means.

MG: A three-peat refers to winning three Town Championships in a row.  Rutherford Little League has eight teams.  Every year, each team plays 14 games, and then all teams advance to the playoffs with the hope of making it to the Town Championship Series.  The Town Championship Series is a best-of-three series, and the team that wins is the Town Champion.  Masons has won the Town Championship in 2023, 2024, and 2025. 

TIR: What does winning this mean to your team and the coaches?

MG: Winning the Town Championship series for a third time in a row is a tremendous accomplishment for these young men.  The season is a grind; we begin practice in March and practice 5-6 days a week. Then, we add two games a week to that schedule, and it can take a toll both mentally and physically.  The team had to learn how to battle adversity, and had to learn how to fight back when they were down. 

Baseball can be an unforgiving sport; when you fail, you cannot hide.  When you make an error or strike out, everyone sees it.  These boys had to battle the ups and downs of a long season, and that is not easy to do. Going into the season, we knew as two-time defending champions that no one was rooting for us.  We accepted that and moved forward as a team, as a family.  Going into the Town Championship series, we were considered the underdog against the number one team in the league, Alumni Chiropractic, managed by Sean Farrell. 

Alumni has a great coaching staff and really great players, and we knew it would be a challenge after having lost to them twice in the regular season.  After losing the first game of the series, we were down, but definitely not out.  The team fought back and won two games in a row, ending the series on a play at home in a nine-inning thriller.  The team told me that no one at school thought they had a chance to win, and they took great pride in proving everyone wrong.  That series was the ultimate test in battling adversity, and we, as coaches, could not be prouder of how the team responded.

TIR: To what do you attribute your team’s success?

MG: Our team was very lucky to have five great 12-year-old players (Mark Goldsack, Luigi Gallo, Anthony Vidal, Kosta Makridakis, and Hudson Fajardo).  As the oldest, they all stepped up and led the team throughout the season.  But it wasn't just them, our entire team, even our two newest players, contributed to the team's success along the way. 

Everyone stepped up in their own way in big moments.  This year's success was truly a team effort.  As a coaching staff, we made it a point to emphasize more than just baseball skills, we wanted to build a team that was mentally tough and able to keep fighting in the face of adversity.  Baseball is a game of mental discipline.  It can get boring standing out in the field when nothing is being hit to you, but as the baseball gods always have it, the ball is always hit to the guy not paying attention.  We continued to preach mental toughness and strength in the face of adversity.  The team bought in, and although we faced challenges, they continued to push forward.  It was an important lesson for not only baseball but for life, and it was important to us, as coaches, to teach not only baseball skills, but life skills too.

TIR: Tell us the names of the players and their positions.

MG: Mark Goldsack (1B/P)

Anthony Vidal (SS/P)

Luigi Gallo (CF/P)

Kosta Makridakis (LF/SS)

Hudson Fajardo (1B/2B/C)

Kevin Calabrese (C)

Michael Gerbasio (3B/P)

Liam Barone (2B/LF)

Jayson Cuce (2B/LF)

Arty Byrne (RF/1B)

Finn Methe (RF/LF)

Thomas Hudda-Mulvany (RF/LF) 

TIR: What would you like to share about Rutherford Little League?

MG: Little League baseball in Rutherford is serious business.  The entire board, all the coaches, and all the volunteers put in countless hours to make our league one of the best in this area, arguably in the entire state.  And it's so much more than the baseball skills the boys learn year after year; it's about the experience of Rutherford Little League.  It's about going down to the field day after day because the kids just want to be with their friends.  It's about stands full of people, a parking lot full of people, rain or shine, there to watch our boys play the game.  It's everything you would want your community to be, all in one place. This was mine and my son's last year in Little League.  I just want to take a moment to thank the Board, the parents, and all the volunteers for making it such an incredible experience.  I want to say a special thank you to Masons players and all of their families.  It's been the honor of a lifetime coaching this team, but I could not have done it without the support of my incredible wife, Kerry, my daughter Abigail, and all of my amazing assistant coaches and team parents.  Thank you for your support and commitment. It was an incredible run.  Go Masons!!