Beach Channel H.S. head baseball coach John Mangieri hugs his players after the Dolphins won the PSAL Class ‘B’ City Championship, Thursday, June 12 at Yankee Stadium.

The Rockaway school and surrounding community had been hit hard by Hurricane Sandy during the 2012-2013 school year, but the team’s real-life grit and resilience helped prepare them for their improbable run through the playoffs and the city championship.

Mangieri won a city championship in 1994 playing for Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, and now returned as a coach 20 years later to help Beach Channel earn their first-ever title.