By The TimesLedger
The Preferred Mirror and Glass Dodgers played Mineola 1 on Friday, May 10, on Long Island and came away with 14-0 win. Defense and pitching was crucial in the victory, as Jackie Marinoff turned a key double play and the combined pitching of Toniann Groth and Kerry Bunyan kept Mineola off the scoreboard. Nicole Ficarrotta also made several great plays at first base for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers started the game with a single by Karin Lalla, which was just the beginning of the offensive fireworks for the team. Alexis Drennan, Nicolette Pullo, Maria Augustine and Brittany Frary also had hits and Nicole Guzman, Rosalind Salcedo and Jesenia Dupuy all had stolen bases in the win, the second shutout in a row for the Dodgers.
Hunan Cafe Astros rally late to beat Modell’s Lions
An exciting game took place Monday, May 6, at the Glen Oaks Oval, as the Hunan Cafe Astros defeated Modell’s Lions, 7-5.
The Lions took the early lead behind Joey Caraballo’s pitching, good defense and timely hitting. In the first, Caraballo walked, stole second and scored on Kevin Cheddie’s triple to left. Jonathan Hyatt got out of the inning striking out Michael Levy.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the second, Christian Venturella hit his first home run of the season to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. The Astros made things even in the third on an RBI single from Figueroa.
In the bottom half of the inning the Lions went to work and scored three runs to take the lead, including Joey Caraballo’s fourth home run of the season. Walks to Kevin Cheddie and Michael. Levy put two Lions on first and second, bringing Will Opatowto the plate. Opatowto responded with a hard single to center to score Cheddie and gave the Lions a 4-2 advantage. Venturella followed with a double to right scoring Levy and giving the Lions a 5-2 lead.
The Lions’ manager, Hector Caraballo, called Cheddie to take the mound and that seemed to get the Astros motivated, as they scored one in the fourth after three walks and a wild pitch. In the fifth they scored two more runs, as Figueroa hit a one-out single, stole second and third and came home on Rosenhouse’s singled. Cheddie then hit Roy Herbert with a pitch to put runners on first and second, Rosenhouse stole third and scored on a wild pitch.
That was all what the Astros needed, as the Lions were shut down the rest of the game.
Modell’s Lions win a thriller over Greg’s Tire Pirates
The Modell’s Lions defeated the Greg’s Tire Pirates, 11-9. The Lions had a early lead and were overmatching the Pirates in the first three innings. Good hitting by Shawn Abraham, Kevin Cheddie and Michael Levy gave the Lions reason to believe that this was going to be an easy win.
But the Lions starting pitcher, Cheddie, encountered some problems in the bottom part of the third when he put runners on bases on walks and a couple of singles and errors by the Lions defense. Alex Reinhartz relieved Cheddie and pitched two good innings before been relieved by Joey Caraballo with the score 11-5 in favor of the Lions. After striking out the first batter that he faced, Caraballo had problems finding the strike zone and found himself in a jam, as the Pirates had the bases loaded with two outs. Caraballo got M. Lecesse on a grounder to second to end the inning and save the victory for Modell’s.
For the Pirates, Shawn Pabon had three singles in three at bats and Carbury had double and a single in two at bats. For the Lions, Robert Li had two singles in two at bats, Kevin Cheddie was 4-for-4 with a home run and Michael Levy was 3-for-4 with a home run.
Queens Surface Rockies’ see-saw game ends in tie
In a see-saw game with the outcome uncertain until the final play of the game, the Queens Surface Rockies and New Hyde Park 1 played a seven-inning tie, 17-17, earlier this month at the Glen Oaks Oval. The back-and-forth contest involving one of two Glen Oaks entries in the Merillon Girls Softball senior (ages 12 to 15) division featured clutch hitting and some fine fielding. Queens Surface Rockies relievers suffering from wildness failed to hold an 8-3 lead after strong starting pitching by Lorey Giblin, who walked none in four innings. Fielding highlights included Jennifer Francis’ unassisted doubled play at first in the top of the third and Alexis Namit stabbing a liner off third and throwing to Cynthia Johnson at first base to complete the double play in the fourth.
Clean-up hitter Marisa Bearak led the Queens Surface Rockies with four RBIs and Nicole Epstein added three more, batting a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run and four stolen bases. Tara McCullagh and Alexis Namit also had three hits. Nicole and Alexis each scored four runs. The exciting game ended in the bottom of the seventh with the Rockies down three runs. Nicole belted her homer after Alexis’ one-out single. Tara followed with a single and scored for the tie on a throwing error on Marisa’s single. After Lorey and Lauren reached to load the bases, a fielder’s choice forced Marisa at home. With two outs and Theresa Pullo at bat, Lorey’s attempt to steal home on the first pitch ended the game as the umpire, who was right on the play, called her out in the closest of plays to end the closest of games played all year by the Queens Surface Rockies.
The Queens Surface Rockies next play Merillon 2 at Merillon Athletic Field 1 off Marcus Avenue in New Hyde Park Saturday at 5 p.m. They then play East Williston at home at the Glen Oaks Oval Field 2, Sunday at 4 p.m.
C-Town Braves fly over Orioles
The C-Town Braves split last week’s games, beating the Carvel Orioles and dropping the second game to the Century 21 Laffey Tigers.
Both games were exciting, especially game two, as the Braves mounted a sixth-inning rally to tie the game at 8-8 only to give up a run in the seventh and lose the game, 9-8.
In the Orioles match-up, both teams played great. The Orioles’ Kevin Cruz, Jeremy Clark and Spencer Schnieder showed excellent hustle in the field with Patrick Kelleher, Justin Lugo and Jon Louie all contributing with the bats. Jon Rubenau, the O’s shortstop, showed why he is one of the league’s best as he made one sensational play after another.
The Braves once again went with the long ball, as Sam Hoffman belted two home runs and Josh Weinstein’s long triple put the game out of reach for O’s.
Some new Braves pitchers took the hill and did a great job, as JP Peltzer, Joey Shafer and Vivn Mathew pitched into the fifth inning, giving up only three runs.
Richie Fabella and Adam Spitz had big hits in the sixth to give the Braves a little insurance. Nicholas Finochio and Shawn Wollman continued to show great hustle on and off the field.
Jon LI and Steven Wheller said after the game the O's have the best uniforms.
In Saturday’s match-up, the Century 21 Laffey Tigers defeated the C-Town Braves.
The Tigers were led by great hitting of John Antonucci, Kevin McCarthy and Brian Pabon. John Doran, Mike Labrada and Kevin Chrowske all played well in the field.
The Braves played sloppy defense and some poor base running sealed the Braves’ fate in the 9-8 loss.
Some Highlights for the Braves was another strong pitching performance by the starter Mike Mandrin.
Sam Hoffman and Matt Kruczowy continue to pound the ball for the Braves, along with Richie Fabella and Vivn Mathew. Steven Wheller did a great job behind home plate, as he caught the last two innings.
JP Peltzer and Adam Spitz said after the game the Tigers had the fastest runners they had ever seen.
Ralph’s Ices Mets defeat Waldbaum’s Cardinals, 10-5
Ralph's Ices Mets raised their Major Division record to 6-1 by defeating the Waldbaum’s Cardinals, 10-5 this past week. The Mets turned in a workman-like performance by using three different pitchers and having five players contribute offensively.
Brian Biscotti started for the Mets and pitched two innings of no-hit ball while striking out four. Ray Potestio followed him to the mound and gave up one run over two innings while striking out two batters. Kevin Salcedo closed out the game for the Mets.
Offensively, Kevin Salcedo had another big day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, Brian Biscotti was 3-for-3 with a double and four runs scored, Ray Potestio was 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, Ryan Paroulek was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jonathan Kruczowy went 2-for-4 with a run scored. The Cardinals were led by Jonathan Medina, who hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. Also contributing to the Cardinals’ attack was Pervez Khan, who doubled, and Anthony Langone, who went 1-for-3 with two runs scored.
Giants battle Royals in Farm Division action
In the Farm Division, the McDonald’s Giants played the North Shore Towers Royals Friday night. The Giants continued to display their defensive prowess by retiring the Royals in all five innings played. Nicholas Frangella led the defensive charge by catching a line drive and a pop-up, while Randolph Herbert made a nice scoop play at first base. Offensively, Blaise Christoforatas homered, had two doubles and a single. Sean Dolan also homered for the Giants. Other players contributing were Ryan Barrello and Steven Pelan, who each had four singles. Michael Kelly and Louis Salzberg each doubled, Kaitlyn Biscotti, Theresa Conway, Joey Costanzo and Danny Graham all had three singles and Billy Hannigan singled twice and scored two runs.
Harp and Eagle Padres top Bayside South
The 15- and 16-year-old Glen Oaks Harp and Eagle Padres kept their magic working as they defeated Bayside South, 9-8. The victory was the Padres’ fifth in a row, as the team had to battled back after being down 5-0 in the first inning.
David Chapman turned in an incredible pitching performance after he came in relief of teammate Todd Green in the first. He gave up only three hits while striking out nine and tripled and had two RBIs at the plate.
Other Padre notables in this victory were Jon Dilan, who also tripled and had two RBIs, Adam Potash, who walked twice and had a sacrifice fly, and Pablo Castano, who walked all three times he was up and also had an RBI. The Padres are now 5-2.
T-ball players take first pitches
On Friday, May 3. the HSBC Tball Bears played their rivals the Wildcats at the Glen Oaks t-ball field. This game was the first game where the players did not use the “T” to hit, as the coaches pitched to them instead. There was excitement from both teams and there was some great hitting by Marcus Choon, Johnny Martini, Daniel Florianm, Devin Gugliemetti, Michael Hovi, Thomas Fisher and Kevin McManus. Along with the great hitting came some great plays in the field by Johnny Gallagher, Michael Epstein, Ryan Schwickrath, Sean Carey and Eric Delgado. There was some exceptional base running by the Boehm twins, Jessie and Tristin. All in all, this young team of 5- and 6-year-olds are playing some fantastic baseball. After the game both teams lined up and congratulated each other on a great game.
