By The TimesLedger
Major Division
Lloyd’s Funeral Home’s Sun Ho Kim homered his way into the Bayside Little League record books by hitting three home runs in a doubleheader played Friday, June 22 against Bayside Plumbing. That performance led his team to a first place showdown on Saturday with the always contending C.J. Wolfhounds.
Kim’s home run total stands now at 16, three more than the previous record, held by Nick Theorharis, with one game remaining.
The achievement is made that much more impressive when considering that Kim was not getting a lot of good pitches late in the year, with most of the opposition trying to pitch around him. As all good hitters do, Kim adjusted his stance and went after those non-strikes, as well as taking advantage of mistakes made by an opposing pitcher.
Whether it was catching behind the plate, playing shortstop or pitching, Kim plays with a visible love and enjoyment of the game.
Bayside Plumbing 12, Applebee's of Bayside 5. David Pereira led the Plumbers with a six-RBI 3-for-5 batting barrage that included a two-run home run. Teammate Vinny Virgintino went 3-for-5 with two singles and a double. For Applebee's, Mike Karcinski and Brian Capozzi both went 2-for-3.
Murphy’s Florist 11, Biordi Construction 1. Murphy’s brother combination of Marc and Steven Buccellato both blasted two-run home runs and, not to be out done by the siblings, Joey Bruno also hit a two-run homer to help power the Murphy’s attack. Julius Wells closed the game for the Florists on the mound. For Biordi, Minor League substitutes Kevin Smith and Matt Valle played excellent games at bat and in the field. George Rowen had a put-out and an assist as he once again found himself called to assume the catching duties.
Texas Division
Biordi Construction 9, Clearview Paint 8. Lightning struck, literally, twice for Biordi Construction in their come-from-behind 9-8 win over a game Clearview Paint team after lightning halted play after four complete innings. Led by the hitting and pitching of Nicky Burns (3-for-4, two runs, four RBIs and five strikeouts on the mound), Biordi Construction bounced back from an 8-4 deficit to win. Other standouts for Biordi were Thomas Karcinski (3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs), Nicky Maccia (2-for-3, one run), Sam Rowen (game-winning RBI) and Anthony Scianna (1-for-3, four strikeouts in relief). Danny Costa and Kyra Aloizos led Clearview Paint’s offensive attack to bust out for a seven-run inning in the second in the loss.
Biordi Construction 10, Underweiser Law 3. Biordi Construction broke open a close game with a five-run fifth inning to beat Underweiser Law 10-3. Great pitching performances were registered by Frankie Biordi, coming back from a painful toe injury to pitch three flawless innings, and Sam Gussak, who closed the door to earn the win with three shutout innings to lead Biordi. Hitting stars for Biordi included Leo Gussak (2-for-3, two runs and two RBIs), Ben Gould (1-for-3), Matt Goldfine (2-for-3, four RBIs) and Thomas Karcinski, who had a triple and two RBIs. Gould and Goldfine were awarded game balls for their efforts. Underweiser Law was led by Zachary Haskowitz (1-for-3, home run) and David Underweiser (1-for-3, double and two RBIs). The Underweiser team also received good pitching from Dean Papakovstonitis in a losing effort.
Bayside Milk Farm 2, Clearview Paint 1. The Cowboys of Bayside Milk Farm pulled out a 2-1 win in their last at-bat in a thrilling win over Clearview Paint. Down 1-0 with a runner on first and two outs, Justin Bosco drove in the tying run then scored on a nifty base-running effort to win the game. Nicholas DelGaudio pitched well for two innings and got the win. William Dobie was the hitting star and received the game ball for his efforts. Clearview Paint was led by Danny Costa, who pitched three perfect innings while striking out nine batters.
Hatton Funeral Home 7, Padolsky & Chase 6. Hatton Funeral Home hung on to defeat Padolsky & Chase 7-6 last week in Bayside. Robert Goger’s explosive hitting and John Sudolsky’s excellent pitching led the way for Hatton. John Frees also pitched in with a timely hit to keep a rally alive for Hatton. Padolsky and Chase were led by Carlos Perez’s two RBIs and Matthew and Thomas Petersen, who had big hits in the defeat.
Headlines 7, Hatton Funeral Home 2. Headlines completed a fine season (12-3) with an impressive 7-2 win over Hatton Funeral Home. Chris Lundgren pitched three perfect innings and Joe Jensen made a great catch at shortstop to stop a rally by the ever dangerous Headlines offensive attack.
Kelly’s Car Service 8, Clearview Paint 1. Alex Robinson pitched two strong innings striking out six to close out the game and Kevin Will had three strikeouts and monster home run to lead Kelly’s Car Service to an 8-1 win over Clearview Paint. Nick Rodriguez also added a home run in the win.
Texas Farm Division
Applebee’s excelled in all areas of a well played and hard fought game. Michael Guadalupe had three hits and two runs batted in. Andrew Vitti was solid at the plate with a 3-for-3 game, adding three RBIs and two runs scored. Nicholas LaForgia also added two hits and two RBIs. The big hit came off the bat of Alessandro Pacheco with a bases clearing triple. Ryan Pellegrino contributed a key hit in the fourth inning, igniting an Applebee’s rally. Applebee’s fielding continued to impress, with Nicholas Ziangas’ solid play at third base and Nicholas LaForgia’s fine catch of a hard hit ball in left field.
The Applebee’s team demonstrated excellent hitting, combined with timely fielding plays in a well-played game. Andrew Vitti led the hitting attack with four hits, including a home run, two triples, a double and two RBIs. Vasili Pantazis provided two key hits, including a solid double with two RBIs. Brandon Putre and Thomas Dougherty both had three hits apiece, with Dougherty also driving in three runs. Gregory Stathopoulos added a bases-clearing home run with three RBIs. The infield play was solid throughout the game, with a number of outstanding plays by the Applebee’s players.
