By The TimesLedger
The M & M Deli Angels, riding an end of the year hot streak, won the Queens Junior Baseball Alliance Intermediate Division championship by sweeping the best-of–three series from Queen of Peace. The Glen Oaks Little League boys (14-year-old division) played themselves into the championship round with a stunning 7-5 victory over previously undefeated Immaculate Conception Cubs.
In the first game of the best-of-three series, Joey Medina proved too much for the tough Queen of Peace team. Medina pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run, three hits and striking out 16.
The M & M Deli Angels needed everything Medina had, as Queen of Peace pitcher Andrew Lontos was just as good. Lontos shut out the Angels through the first four innings, but the Angels broke through in the fifth with three runs to take a 3-2 lead.
The Angels then broke the game open in the sixth, scoring three times to seal the 9-3 victory. Sean Wheeler continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-4, while Joey Hannigan, Joey Medina and Anthony Costanzo had three hits apiece. Josh Kozlovsky chipped in with two long doubles.
In game two of the series, the M & M Deli Angels started quickly. Frankie Sadicario open the game with a single over the third base bag. Hits by Hannigan, Medina and Conway, sandwiched between a couple of strikeouts, put the Angels up 2-0. Matt Murphy’s double over the centerfielder’s head scored two more and gave the Angles a 4-0 firs-inning lead.
Angles pitcher Sean Wheeler then went to work. Wheeler, despite the heat, pitched a super four innings, allowing only three hits and two runs. The Angles bat went to work again in the fourth inning. The Angels scored three times to increase the lead to 7-2.
However, the Queen of Peace team had no quit in them. Craig Lalla pitched the fifth inning, allowing one run which closed the gap to 7-3. In the sixth inning things got interesting. Some timely hitting and some shaky defense allowed Queen of Peace to close the gap to 7-6 with runners on first and third with no out. Relief pitcher
Joey Hannigan then entered the game and struck out the first batter. The next batter hit a fly ball to centerfielder Josh Kozlovsky, who threw a perfect one bounce strike to catcher Greg Conway to nail the runner tagging up from third base and save the 7-6 lead.
In the seventh and final inning, Queen of Peace’s first batter singled, but a line drive snagged by Hannigan turned into the third double play of the game turned in by the Angels’ stellar defense and sealed the 7-6 victory.
The Angels, after a slow start, really turned it on in the second half of the season. Key pitching from Medina, Wheeler, Lalla and Hannigan, timely hitting by Kozlovsky, Conway, Anthony Costanzo, Matt Murphy and Frankie Sadicario and great defense by Ross Kruczowy, Patrick Parrino, Brian Kelleher, Brian Li-A-Ping, Tom McCarthy and Chris Lotti made the M & M Deli Angels a championship team.
Managers Joe Conway and Ed Hannigan would like to thank all the parents for their wonderful support and a special thanks to sponsor M & M Deli.
The Angels now enter summer play in District 26 summer competition and look forward to trying to win another championship.
