Week 11:
As predicted, in the ‘A’ Finals, Kampersal smothered Dalton Rd., 9-2 to make it FOUR STRAIGHT TITLES. P George Kampersal (7IP, 8H, 2R & 2-3, R) gave up 2 in the first then silenced Dalton for the next 6 innings. 1B Alex Kampersal (3-3. HR, 2B, 3RBI) righted the ship quickly in their half of the first with a 3-run laser beam that never got hire than 10 ft off the ground that pelted the fire exit doors of Ms. Parkers kindergarten room at Placentino to ignite a 5-run 1st. 3B Garrett Quinn (3-3, 2 2B, 5RBI) extended the lead to 5 with his 2-run double in 2nd and then again to 7 with his second 2-out double of the night in the 6th. As usual, their defense sets them apart, and Sunday night was no different. SS Tim ‘Ozzie’ Swift (3-3, 2B, 2R) made a 2 nice plays up the middle to turn singles into outs while OF Bill Sticka (2-3, R, RBI) and OF Brad Rowe (1-3, R) tracked down everything in a 100 yd radius. Down 6 in the 5th with a chance to get back in this one, Dalton had the bases loaded with stud SS Brendan Hines (2-3, 2B) up and he drove one deep down the line in right that Sticka ran a long way for and caught in foul territory up against the fence. Not many teams make that play, and giving a hitter like Hines another chance, he’d likely deliver and change the complexion of the game. Defense wins championships…
Tom Kampersal showing of the hardware of 4-straight HSS championships.
George Kampersal, Jr sipping from the Shanny Cup as he celebrates his team’s 4th consecutive HSS title.
Anthony’s East knocked around Braggville, 15-3 ….
Nothing from the winning team after reaching out twice.
Kingz beat Brentwood 15-7 as player/manager 1B Sean Foley (4-4, 3B, 2RBI) and P Patrice Snow (4-5, 2B, 3R, 3RBI) paced the offense. Foley’s biggest play was moving SS Dan MacDonald (4-5, 3R) into the leadoff spot in week 8 as they close the season winning 3 of 4 with Danny Mac providing a spark at the top of the line-up. Up just 3 in the 6th, Kingz plated 5 (all with 2-out) started by to a Snow double and put the game out of reach.
Kingz Sean Foley wearing the offensive ‘chain’ for his performance Sunday as Jasper’s Jeremy Cordon looks on in disbelief.
Mudville smacked DYR, 21-3 despite the worst round of BP these eyes have ever seen, 3B Eric Kuharich (5-5, 3 2B, 3R, 3 RBI) paced the victors in this one. His pregame BP session was 2 foul balls to 1B and 4 grounders to 2B, yet the mercurial 3B turned it on when the game began delivering key hits at the top of the Mudville line-up.
Mudville’s Kuharich during pregame BP Sunday night.
SS Ken McFadden (5-5, 2 2B, 5RBI) also led the offensive charge with 2 big 2-out doubles in consecutive innings as Mudville took advantage in the ‘thin’ outfield as DYR had only 9. P Eric Higgins (7IP, 9H, 2ER) was in control throughout and quielty landed among the Top 3 ERA leaders for ’25. Your humble correspondent ran roughly 11 miles in this game in LF and had 14 putouts but the lack of offense (AGAIN) for DYR was the issue in this one.
DYR OF Ken Sawyers in the 10-run 3rd inning Mudville had Sunday night.
Johnson North clipped South, 14-10 thanks to an 8-run 6th that erased a 2-run deficit. 1B Shawn Whitehead (3-4, 2B, 2R, 3RBI) ignited the inning with a 2-run double and OF Derek Darling (2-4, 2RBI) would follow with a 2-run single of his own to put Johnson ahead. LF Jared Jordan (3-3, 2B. 2R, 2RBI) continued his 2nd half hot streak and was a menace at the plate and on the bases in this one. So much so, that South P Bryan Sweeney (1-3, RBI) elected to walk Jordan with 2 on and 2 out and 2B Tom McMahon (1-3, 2RBI) promptly laced a 2-run single to extend their lead to 4.
South P Bryan Sweeney imploring his teammates to stay calm w their 2-run lead heading into the bottom of the 6th.
Jasper Rock pounded Lions, 24-9 thanks to the fastest accountant on earth, OF Jeremy Cordon, (5-5, 2B, 5R, 3RBI) and his brother P Derek Cordon (4-6, 2B, 3R, 6 RBI) teaming up at the top of the line up to get the offense going. 3B Doug Herman (5-6, 2 2B, 2R. 5RBI) showed no lingering effects from last week’s groundball to the head as he drove in 5 and played stellar 3B..
The Hood nipped Downtown, 10-9 to avenge a week 2 loss as RF Ryan Fernandez (2-3, 3B,2R) showed off his bat and arm in this one. Up 2 and looking to add more in the 3rd, Downtown OF Scott Burke (3-4, 2R) attempted to go first to third on a single to right off the bat of OF Tim McCarron (3-4, 2B. 3RBI) but Fernandez gunned him down with a perfect strike to his 3B. The Hood clawed back in the 4th with 4 thanks to a SS Greg Andreola (3-4, 2R, 2RBI) 2-run single and OF Colin Fields (2-4, 2B, 2RBI) 2-out double that drove in 2 more. 2B Alan Plante (2-3,2R, RBI) kicked off the scoring in the 5th with an RBI single and 3B Tony Porciello (3-4, 2B, R, 2RBI) drove in the final 2 Hood runs with a double to the gap in left center. P Alan Keller (7IP, 9H, 5ER) was solid throughout and, after some poor defense by his infield in the 7th, bailed his mates out as he snared a line-drive off the bat of SS John Drohan (2-3, R) that ended the game with the tying run on 2B.
Hood P Alan Keller robs Downtown’s John Drohan of a game-tying hit in Sunday night’s ‘B’ Championship game.
COMMUNITY NOTES:
- Great year for this league with parity forming atop ‘A’ division as the perennial contenders have some new threats to deal with. Kampersal has set the standard and teams need to adjust or fall further behind.
- Thanks to Derek Cordon and his executive team of Steve Cotto and Dave Franco for their efforts in keeping this league together and allowing us to scratch the competitive athlete ‘itch’ in us all.
- A huge thank you to Mike and his crew at Anthony’s for their support all year long. Great pizza, cold beer, and great service. We all look forward to next season!
GAME OF THE WEEK SEASON RECORD
(My Record: 9-1)
