The Modell’s Lions took first place in the Glen Oaks Majors division when they won back-to-back games this past weekend by defeating the Century 21 Laffey Pirates, 7-2, on Friday and the Kidz Inc. Astros, 10-2, on Saturday.
The Lions sent Steven Trummer to the mound Friday, and he responded with a complete-game performance, striking out five Pirates and giving the Lions their eighth victory of the season against three losses.
Michael Levy was the hitting star with two triples in three at bats, driving in two runs to lead the Lions’ attack. The Lions scored two runs in the second, thanks to a single by Stephen Lecesse, who had a very good season with the bat. After Randeep Singh struck out, Levy hit a triple to right center to give the Lions a 1-0 lead, and he later scored on a wild pitch by Chris Mignoly.
Mignoly came back strong, striking out the next two batters to end the inning. The Pirates scored one of their own in the second when Andrew Salome singled to center, stole second and third and scored on a groundout to bring the Pirates within one run.
The Lions opened the score in the fourth with three runs. Anthony Meo led off with a home run to center, giving the Lions their third run of the evening. With one out, Randeep tripled to right and scored on Levy’s second triple of the game. Levy later scored on an RBI single by Joseph Feisel, which gave the Lions a 5-1 lead.
It was an exciting game and the 7-2 final score don’t show how close this game was.
The win goes to Trummer, leaving his record at 1-1. The best for the Lions were Levy, with a very good day at the plate; Meo, with his homer; and Feisel, who went 2-for-1 and had an RBI. For the Pirates, Sean Pabon had a homer and a single in three at bats, and Salome had a single and two stolen bases.
The Lions’ win sets up a showdown against the Astros, with the winner taking first place in the division. What a finish!
After winning Friday evening, the Modell’s Lions were ready to take on the Kidz Inc. Astros in a battle for first place in the Majors division at the Glen Oaks Little League.
The Lions sent their ace, Joey Caraballo, to the mound against Astros pitcher and friend Joey Bobrow. It was a playoff atmosphere, and the fans were expecting to see a good baseball game.
In the first inning, Steven Trummer hit a homer to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. In the top of the inning the Astros loaded the bases but did not score. In the bottom half of the third the Lions came on strong and scored five times. A walk to Stephen Lecesse and a double from Anthony Meo gave the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Meo scored on Darryl Boston’s single, and Joey Caraballo and Michael Labrada walked to load the bases. This brought Randeep Singh to the plate, and he responded with a single to right, scoring three runs and giving the Lions a 6-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Caraballo was pitching a good game, holding the Astros offense in check and striking out six batters. In the top of the fourth the Astros scored their first run on walks to Danny Quinlan and Sam Hoffman. Quinlan scored when the ball got away from Lions third baseman Andrew Goltzman.
The Lions scored two more times in the fourth on a single by Joseph Feisel, a triple by Michael Levy (his third in two days) and a two-RBI single off the bat of Stephen Lecesse, who later was called out on an appeal on the bases. The Astros scored their last run in the fifth when Jonathan reached base on a single.
Caraballo struck out two batters in the inning but tired a little at this point and Justin Namit reached base on an error, scoring Jonathan. That was when Caraballo walked the next two batters and was relieved by Anthony Meo, who struck out Dan Quinlan to end the inning. The Lions scored two more times in the sixth for the final score of 10-3.
Caraballo got his fifth win of the season with one loss, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing two runs, two hits, walking five and striking out nine Astros. For the Astros, Joey Bobrow got a hit in two at bats, and Jonathan Loui got the other Astros hit.
The win give the Modell’s Lions the first place in the division, and there is a possibility that these two teams will face each other again in the finals. What a way to end the regular season.
Finally, the Kids Inc. Astros beat the Century 21 Laffey Pirates, 14-7, in a slugfest.
Sam Hoffman pitched a strong five innings for the Astros. The offense was triggered by two monster home runs by James Villeruel. Justin Namit also homered for three RBIs and was the closing pitcher. Alex Reinharz had two base hits and played a very tight shortstop.
Brandon Ramnarain proved that he is a premier catcher in the Majors with superb coverage at the plate. He had two base hits. The Astros bats came alive with hits by Hoffman, Ryan Persaud and Brian Louie. Danny Quinlan singled twice. Joey Gillespie hit the ball hard, but great fielding by Pirates Kevin McCarthy and Andrew Salomon kept him off base.
Pirates pitcher Jason Gonzalez challenged the Astros hitters and gave a good effort. The Pirates’ hits came from Mike Laurino, Gonzalez and Bobby McDowell, who hit a double. Kevin McCarthy had two hits, and there were singles by Joe Ryan and Devin Chowske.
Umpire Mike McGovern deserves to be complimented for taking the time to explain a call he made to the players, which helped teach them a fundamental rule of baseball.
The Astros are in first place with an impressive 9-3 record.
Graham’s home run powers Cyclones to 9-8 win
The Joe’s Pizza Cyclones came from behind on Danny Graham’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to defeat the Orioles, 9-8. The Orioles grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth inning and had their ace, Jeremy Clark, on the mound, looking to hand the Cyclones their first loss since the opening game of the season.
The Cyclones had a different idea as they stretched their win streak to 10 games. Trevor Stark got the rally started with a single with one out in the fifth. After Trevor stole second and third, Blake Cholost drove a single into right field to drive Stark home.
Danny Graham stepped to the plate and hit one of the longest Cyclone home runs of the season to deliver the winning runs. Trevor Stark relieved Joey Shafer in the fourth inning and, after walking the first batter he faced, proceeded to retire the final eight Oriole batters of the game to record the win.
Trevor also made an excellent defensive play to throw out a runner for the final out. Rohan Shah started and pitched into the third inning for the Cyclones, allowing only three runs. Joey Shafer was called in from the bullpen and pitched well but had to be removed after an Oriole line drive struck him in the ankle.
Steven Pelan, Michael Kelly, Matt Dykeman, Jazz Singh and Billy Hannigan contributed to the Joe’s Pizza offense. Rahul Kadakia added a defensive gem to the Cyclones’ team effort. Joe’s Pizza Cyclones’ manager, Mikey McGovern, was very happy with his team’s performance. The Cyclones head to the playoffs, finishing first in the International Division with a 10-1 record.
Burger King Phillies win, lose, tie
The Burger King Phillies went 1-1-1 for the week. The girls defeated NHP3, 10-8, tied Port Washington, 11-11, and lost to NHP1 in the bottom of the last inning, 7-6.
Against NHP3, Kaitlin Smolen and Theo split the game on the mound and both girls also had singles. Some other offensive highlights were provided by Jessica Olwell, Caliegh O’Rourke, Ashley Tolento and Sara Correa, who all had two hits apiece. Julian Hannigan, Courtney Gratzer, Cristina Fristachi and Colleen Harrison chipped in singles, with Nicole Gugliemetti walking three times.
While playing Port Washington, Glen Oaks’ pitching was either very good or struggled mightily. While only allowing one hit in the game, the girls walked 19 batters.
Kaitlin, Courtney, Sara and Cristina had two hits each, while Kaitlyn Biscotti, Theo, Rita Romeo and Angela George each singled in the 11-run attack.
In the loss to NHP1, the girls fought all game and finally took the lead in the top of the last inning, only to see NHP1 win it in the bottom of the inning. The defensive play of the game belonged to Kaitlyn Biscotti, who caught a low line drive right before it hit the ground, which stopped NHP1 from scoring in the fifth inning.
Kaitlyn also had a single, as did Ashley Tolento, Nicole, Colleen, Sara, Courtney and Jessie Olwell. Theo, Julia and Angela each had two hits in the game.
Hillside Paint Depot Angels shot down by College Point
The Hillside Paint Depot Angels faced off against first-place College Point and played an excellent game before losing, 8-5. The Angels’ record now stands at 5-6.
John Diniscia started the game for the Angels and pitched a strong game. John allowed three earned runs and struck out one batter. Daniel Gasperati and Christian Venturella continued their hot hitting, with each doubling. Ray Potestio had two singles, Praveen Nair singled and Brian Biscotti walked twice and scored both times.
