By The TimesLedger
The Midville Dodgers sent righty hurler James Lally to the mound Saturday. Lally proceeded to mow down the Brooklyn Bonnies’ batters, striking out 10 while giving up only three hits through six innings as the Dodgers coasted to a 7-1 victory.
Lally’s control was on target, throwing a total of 78 pitches, 46 of which for strikes. A starter for CHSAA city champion Archbishop Molloy team, Lally struck out the side twice.
With the game out of reach, Lally was relieved in the seventh by lefty Dave Basquez, who needed to get in some work. Basquez had control problems, but recovered and allowed only a run.
The usually potent Dodger offense didn’t get going until the fourth inning, when the Midville bats accounted for eight hits and four runs. Spark plug shortstop Vinny Johnson went 4-for-4 and second baseman Denson Ambrose was 3-for-4. Danny Pagan, Tommy Maser and Mike Maloney all went 2-for-3.
In the second half of the doubleheader, the Dodgers gave the ball to Frankie Russo. Dodger bats picked up right where they left off in the first game, banging out 11 runs on 12 hits. Russo helped himself by going 2-for-3 and scoring twice. Other Dodgers that contributed were Mark Burik and Chris Kaible, both going 2-for-4 and knocking in a couple of runs apiece
On the mound, Russo made some adjustments to his delivery and it worked. He went five innings, striking out 13, while allowing only two hits and one run, as the Dodgers cruised to an 11-1 win.
Dodgers earn split with Westchester Wolfpack/i>
In what looks like its going to be a race to the finish line in the Elite Eight League, the Dodgers and the Wolfpack went at it Sunday at Juniper Valley Park. In the first game, the usually reliable Dodger defense let hurler Mike Dietz down by committing four costly errors that led to six unearned runs in a 9-4 loss. The only highlights on the game for Midville came from Chris Kaible, who went 3-for-3, scoring once and knocking in a run.
In the nightcap, the Dodgers sent finesse pitcher Anthony Bruno to the mound. He scattered five runs over five innings, while striking out nine batters. Bruno knew how to get the outs when he really needed them and the Dodger bats went to work early with Andrew Pfeffer going 2-for-4 and knocking in two runs, Matt Rizzotti went 2-for-2 and Mike Manetta hit a two-run homer to cap off the Dodger win, 14 -7.
Midville freshman open NJBL with tough afternoon
After 10 days of rain outs and suspended games, the Midville Dodger Freshman team finally opened its National Junior Baseball League (NJBL) season in Smithtown for a Father’s Day doubleheader against St. James. The first game began with a strong pitching performance by John Anthony Salvagio and some timely hitting and heads-up base running by Matthew Schindler, Robert Keen, and Steven Heim.
Salvagio had eight strikeouts and only allowed two walks through six innings. While he did his job, the rest of the team performed flawlessly, holding onto a 3-1 lead for seven innings.
But things unraveled in the bottom of the seventh.
With two men on, the St. James batter hit a bouncer back to the box that Salvagio had trouble fielding, allowing a run to score. That left two men on and the St. James’ clean-up hitter crushed a ball into left-center for a double to score the tying and winning runs. St. James held on to win a 4-3 decision.
In the nightcap, the Dodgers’ tough luck followed them, dropping the second game, 11-7. Now that the season is underway, the team hopes to work out the kinks. Manager Bill Schindler promised that the young Dodgers will pick-up the pace in the coming weeks.
