By The TimesLedger
The Midville Dodgers, fresh off their successful United States Amateur Baseball Federation tournament in San Diego, Calif., came back to Queens last week and continued their winning ways by taking four straight games. Their reward was a Elite Eight League Championship and a Long Island Baseball Association crown. They will now move on to regional playoffs starting this week.
Dodgers breeze by Bonnies
Pitcher Anthony Bruno allowed only two runs on two hits and the Dodger hitters did the rest, pounding out 16 runs as Midville coasted, 16-3. Bruno helped himself by going 2-for-3 with a grand slam. Chris Kaible was 2-for-3, Andrew Pfeffer was 2-for-3 and Vinny Johnson was 2-for-4.
Game two saw Frankie Russo down the Bonnies, 22-4, striking out six batters in four innings of work, while reliever Tommy Maser shut the door. Denson Ambrose was 4-for-4 with a homer, Vinny Johnson 3-for-4, Chris Kaible 3-for-4 with a homer, Andrew Pfeffer added a homer, Dean Andriots was 3-for-4 with his first homer and Mike Arlotta was 2-for-3 with a walk.
Midville boys beat Bayside Yankees to clinch Long Island crown
The Dodgers clinched the Elite 8 crown before departing for California, but had some unfinished business to take care of when they returned home July 8 with a day to rest it was back to work for the Midville nine.
On July 10, they met the Bayside Yankee Nationals for the top spot in the Long Island Baseball Association. Dodger manager gave the ball again to Kevin Conlin, who proceeded to do what he does best, win baseball games. Conlin scattered five hits while striking out six and allowing only two runs, as the Dodgers managed to push across five runs of their own with Mark Burik going 3-for-3, Mike Maloney going 2-for-2 and Dean Andriotis going 2-for-2 in the 5-2 win.
MV Freshmen bats wake up
On July 10, the Dodgers piled on the runs against the Mastic Cubs. John Anthony Salvaggio finally got some much needed run support, but it was slow going until the fourth inning, when Matt Schindler led off with walk and Andrew Kapela tripled.
In the fifth and seventh, the floodgates opened. Cletus Schuyler led off with a single, followed by a hit by Jared Macchirole and a walk to Robert Keen. Cliff Rau promptly hit a grand slam and Nick Fesler also got a base hit and scored to cap off the inning.
In the seventh inning, Matt Schindler led off with another walk and the runs just kept coming. Joe Curcio cleared the bases with a double and Nick Fesler drove in another two runs with a single. Thanks to some good hitting and fielding, the Dodgers coasted to 19-8 victory.
Dodgers lost heartbreaker to Knights
The freshmen team was playing the first place L.I. Knights Friday and for five innings, Midville’s Steven Heim kept them in check with seven strikeouts and some fine defense behind him. as the Dodgers outscored and outplayed the Knights for five innings. Then in the bottom of the fifth, the Knights woke up and scored 10 runs on some poor play in the field and the Dodgers just couldn’t stop the bleeding, losing 12-8.
Young Dodgers split with the Hurricanes
In the first game, the freshmen played tight defense and backed it up with some timely hitting and sharp pitching from Andrew Kapela. In the first, Matt Schindler led off with a walk and Kapela drove him in with a long triple.
Justin Leisenheimer opened the second inning with a single and Jared Macchirole followed with another base hit. Robert Keen drove them both in with a triple to deep center field. The fifth was the big inning for the locals, as Andrew Kapela led off with a ground ball error and Cliff Rau and Joe Curcio walked to set the table for Michael Goldberg’s long two-RBI double, leading the team to a 10-5 win.
In the nightcap, pitcher Matt Schindler was on his game and the offense provided plenty of support, but it would not be enough.
It started early with a three-run blast from Michael Goldberg. The Dodgers added another two runs in the fourth inning and one more in the sixth, making the score 6-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh. But the Hurricanes staged a dramatic three-run rally with two outs to edge the Dodgers 7-6 and earn a split of the twin bill.
Coach Bill Schindler had high praise for his team.
“I believe this team will be in the hunt for a playoff berth despite this tough loss,” the coach said. “We are playing with heart and team effort. Look for us to be there when the season ends.”
