By The TimesLedger
In the opening round of the Major Division playoffs, the Modell’s Lions defeated the Greggs Tire and Auto Pirates by the score of 15-2 Saturday morning under cloudy skies at the Glen Oaks Oval. Kevin Cheddie started for the Lions and pitched a gem, allowing only four hits and dominating the Pirates’ offense all game long.
The Lions got on the board early, scoring three runs in the first. Shawn Abraham doubled, stole third and scored on a single to center by Kevin Cheddie. With Joey Caraballo at the plate, Cheddie stole second and third. Caraballo walked to put runners on the corners with two outs and Michael Levy at the plate. Caraballo then took off on a second base steal and gave Cheddie a chance to score on a throw to second, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead, Caraballo later scored when Levy smacked a single to left to give the Lions their third run of the inning.
The Pirates came strong in the top of the second when they scored two runs. Walks to the first two batters of the inning and a single from Joe Ryan gave the Pirates a chance to start something big when they found themselves with the bases loaded and one out. Cheddie lost control for a second and fired two wild pitches to give the Pirates their two runs of the inning, but finished strong by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.
The Lions ran away with the game in the third and the fourth when they scored six and five runs, respectively. Kevin Cheddie didn’t give the Pirates any more opportunities the rest of the game by dominating with a masterful performance, striking out 16 and allowing only four hits and walking two batters.
The Modell’s Lions were on their way to face The Ralph’s Ice Mets this past Monday where Joey Caraballo was schedule to start against Kevin Salcedo. The regular season champion Mets are a big hurdle for the Lions in their quest for the championship, but they have a lot of confidence in their starter Caraballo to take them to the final round.
For the Lions, Shawn Abraham had a single, double and home tun with two RBIs, Cheddie smacked three hits, Mike Levy added two singles and a triple and three RBIs, Alex Reinharzt poked a single and a double in three at bats and Caraballo walked three times and scored three runs.
Joe’s Pizza Cyclones dround Orioles, 8-5
Joe’s Pizza Cyclones continued their winning ways with an 8-5 win over the Orioles to clinch second place as the teams prepare for the Glen Oaks Little League playoffs. Tyler Brodney, Jeremy Goldberg and Blake Cholost shared the pitching duties for Joe’s Pizza. James Wolfin made the defensive gem of the game for the Cyclones when he snared a hard line drive to thwart an Orioles threat. Justin Namit, Louis Marino, Ben Klein, Joey Gillespie, Kevin Han, Scott Carey and Steven Vanipurakal each contributed to the winning team effort. The Cyclones finished the regular season one game out of first place with an 8-7 record after opening up the season with one win and five straight losses,. The Cyclones were the hottest team in the league down the stretch.
Ralph’s Ices finish with win over Andron Realty Yankees
The Ralph's Ices Mets capped off a very successful season by defeating the Andron Realty Yankees to improve their season record to 14-2 and clinch first place in the Major Division.
Brian Biscotti started and pitched all five innings for the Mets, as they played their third game in three days. Offensively, the Mets came into their last regular season game ready to hit. Jonathan Kruczowy tripled and drove in five runs, Brian Biscotti, Ray Potestio and Danny Quinlan all hit two-run homers, Kevin Salcedo tripled twice, Anthony Civitano had two singles and an RBI, Ryan Paroulek singled twice, scoring three times, and Arnab Mitra chipped in a run-scoring single. Joey Bobrow, Alex Rydzewski and Billy Gillespie hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning.
McDondlad’s Giasts cap season against Met Food Brewers
In the Farm Division, the McDonald's Giants capped off an exciting season when they faced off against the Met Food Brewers. As has been the case all year, the Giants hit and played outstanding defense. Once again, the Giants retired their opponents in all five innings played. Theresa Conway had two singles before having to leave the game due to being struck in the face with a line drive, but she proved her toghnessby refusing to leave the bench and cheered her teammates on for the rest of the game. Other offensive stars for the Giants included Sean Dolan, who homered and had three singles, Nick Grangella added four singles and a double to the attack, Danny Graham had four singles and a monster home run, Billy Hannigan doubled with three singles, Randolph Herbert had three singles, Michael Kelly added four singles to the cause, Steven Pelan tripled and had two singles, Louis Slazberg singled three times and added a double, Ryan Barrello singled four times and Kaitlyn Biscotti singled, tripled and hit her first home run of the season. The Giants will play one more game this season against perhaps their toughest opponent, their mothers.
Century 21 Laffey Tigers tame Braves
This past weekend the Century 21 Laffey Tigers defeated the C-Town Braves, 5-4, and clinched first place in the Glen Oaks Little League International Boys Hardball Division.This year’s International Division had teams so evenly matched that first place was not decided until the finale out of the sixth inning of the Tigers-Braves matchup.
Tigers’ manager Dave Pabon and coach Lou Laurino said this was a great game in which both teams could have walked away with firsst. place.
“This just happened to be our day,” said coach Laurino.
Manager Bob Kruczowy of the Braves said, “I’m most proud of this team and their abilty to be in every game this season.”
The Braves finished with a 7-8 record, but never allowed more than 10 runs in any game and never lost a game by more than three runs.
“Our pitching has kep tus in every ballgame,” said coach Phil Hoffman.
The Braves start their playoff round on Thursday night at the Oval and will be dedicating the playoff series to Jonathan Li’s dad and the Li family. Jonathon’s dad is undergoing cancer treatment and the Braves wish to let Jonathan know that their thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
Manager Bob Kruczowy would also like to thank all of the Braves parents for all of their dedication and generosity.
“Our parents came to every game and cheered for every player,” Kruczowy said. “This makes a team a team and I appreciate all of your enthusiasiam throughtout the saeson.”
A special thanks also to George Mandrin and Harry Shafer, who volunteered their time to come and help out at all the team’s practices.
