Midville was down to their last strike…
On July 8 the Midville Dodgers beat the Bayside All-Stars 8-6 in a nail-biter at Juniper Park. The Dodgers headed into the bottom of the seventh inning down 6-3, and with two outs managed to put two runners on base.
Midville was down to their last strike when Travis Swiatocha crushed a towering three-run home run over the leftfield fence that lifted the Dodgers’ spirits and sent the game into extra innings.
Midville ace Anthony Velasquez, pitched a perfect eighth inning and in the bottom of the inning, with a man on first, Ian Leisenheimer blasted a two-run walk-off homer to win the game in dramatic fashion. This was a great team win for the Dodgers who extended their record to 14-2.
On June 26, the Midville Dodgers rolled into Smithtown and swept a double header to take control of first place from the Cardinals North.
In the first game of the doubleheader, Midville gave the nod to southpaw Bobby Tesseyman. Tesseyman was outstanding, went the distance and picked up the victory in an 8-5 win.
Dodger bats started off hot, scoring all eight runs in the first two innings. Ian Leisenheimer and Joe Licul led the way, both going 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and a double.
Travis Swiatocha, Justin Leisenheimer and Ricky Torres contributed to the Dodgers offense as well.
The Dodgers gave the ball to their ace pitcher, Anthony Velasquez in the nightcap to secure a position atop the (Federation of Amateur Baseball League (FABL).
Velasquez was on top of his game, striking out 12 Cardinals, as he led the Dodgers to an 11-3 victory. Jason Malafakis and Miles Sherman led the offense with two RBIs each, but every hitter in the lineup contributed as Midville scored 11 runs on 13 hits.
On Saturday, the Midville Dodgers Senior club split a doubleheader with the Bronx Highlanders at Juniper Park.
In the first game Frank Russo took the loss, allowing four runs in the first inning in a 4-3 defeat. Russo settled down to pitch six scoreless innings, striking out six. Leftfielder Michael Manetta had the Dodgers only hit, a solo home run in the sixth inning.
In the second game Midville earned a 7-3 victory. Starter Richard Ardezzone moved to 3-1 on the season working five innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits. The Dodgers offense was led first baseman Ryan Roberts, who scored three runs on three walks and Matt Rizzotti was 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs.
On Friday the Dodgers dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the Team New York Cardinals 3-2 at Juniper Park. Rizzotti went six innings, allowing three hits while striking out five. Rizzotti has tallied an impressive 45 strikeouts in 32 innings this season for the Dodgers.
Third baseman Brian Mason had all three hits for the Cardinals including 2 RBIs. First baseman Kevin Conlin was 2-for-3 with a stolen base while Roberts, shortstop Vinny Johnson and Rizzotti each added a hit.
The young Midville Dodgers Sophomore team had a perfect 6-0 week to move their league leading record to an amazing 20-2 and have earned a regional playoff bid. The Long Island playoffs start later this week with the winner traveling to the World Series in Oklahoma.
