Another great game for the Lazio Pizza Bears. The Bears held on for their second win of the season, despite a late inning charge from a tough Cellini Lodge team. The Bears were led offensively by Paul Conte, Ed Daly, Eric Knudsen, Brendon Loizzo and James Clark. The Lazio Pizza Bears were also up to the task defensively with key plays late in the game by Neil Biacielio, Michael Santalesa, Anthony Zammit, Paul Cunningham and Michael Pucci. Keep up the good work Bears! All Systems Mets played another great game but this time they came out ahead 10 to 9, in a game that neither team was ahead by two runs an inning. There was some clutch hitting by Curt Ryersen, Sammy Wilbur and Matt Deluca to pull this one out in their final at bat. There was also some great defensive plays made by Brandon Lowey, Billy Campbell and Casey O'Neil to keep it close so the game could be won. Again, there was a good performance by Matt and Corey Williams and Anthony Fiorenti. Great game guys. Great win for the Devil Rays with the score 4 to 2 in their favor. Excellent all around team play with outstanding pitching by Mark Rossi and Ryan Schoendorf. Great hitting by Mark Rossi, Chris Fiorenti, John Carydes and Ryan Schoendorf. Great job behind the plate by Greg Tloczkowski. Wonderful defensive play by the whole team made for a super win. Hillside Beverage beat Dr. Barbaro by the score of 6-4. Great game played by both teams. The Hillside Beverage fielding stars were Caitlin Petruccio and Jacqueline O'Connell. Caitlin grabbed a bullet down the third baseline and fired a strike to first. Jackie made a great play at second and saved a run by grabbing a ball up the middle and racing to second. The hitting stars were Nicole Daly (3 for 4), Maria Mardarawich (4 for 5), Christina Lieber (3 for 4) and Victoria Pisciotta (4 for 4). Way to go! Keep it up. The Dynamites lost a tough game. A last inning rally fell just short of putting them over the top. Meghan Morrissey led the squad with two hits and pitched three strong innings. Tracy Rostholder made her first appearance on the mound and pitched two strong innings shutting the door on the opponents. Kim Vrabel and Kristina Argenzia shared the catching duties and Elyse Petruccio made some nifty plays at first. Maryanne Karahalis and Kristi Gottlieb had some timely hits in the game. Great effort!! The girls of the New Hyde Park Funeral Home started the season with an exciting win over New Hyde Park. Kaitlyn Miller led off the game with a hard hit and walked in her next at bat. Chrissy Colon walked and scored. Corinne Tisei hit a double, walked twice and scored three runs. Jessica Schacor had two singles, walked and also scored three runs. Karen Ernst singled, walked and robbed of an extra base hit by the left fielder. Stephanie Weitzel had three hard singles in three at bats. Kaitlyn Kerrane had two singles. Meghan Pate hit the ball hard, but was robbed by the shortstop. Maria Concilio played great and added a hard single. Christine Deluca had a single and hit the ball hard in her other two at bats. Kathryn Leotta had a single, walk, and was robbed of a great hit by the rightfielder. Cassandra Malizia had a hard single and just missed beating out infield hits. Meaghan Dunn played a great game getting a single and a walk. Christina Lipinski hit two great line drive singles into the outfield and was robbed of a third hit by the centerfielder. The pitching stars were Stefanie Weitzel, Kathryn Leotta and Jessica Schacor. The catchers were Karen Ernst, Christine Deluca and Cassandra Malizia. The girls from New Hyde Park Funeral Home played a great game. Losing 5-3, they staged a comeback and scored four runs in the top of the fifth to take a 7-5 lead. The Port Washington girls came back and scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to win a very exciting game. Our catchers did a great job. They were Meaghan Dunn, Maria Concilio and Stephanie Ligouri. Meaghan and Maria caught high flies from behind the plate for important outs. The pitching stars were Karen Ernst, Stefanie Weitzel and Jessica Schacor. All three girls fielded their position perfectly, with great throws to first and second. The hitting stars were Stephanie Ligouri (single, walk), Meaghan Dunn (two single, walk) and very exciting base running, Karen Ernst (single), Stefanie Weitzel (two singles), Jessica Schacor (double and two singles), Kaitlyn Miller (two walks), Kaitlyn Kerrane (two singles), Christina Lipinski (two singles, walk) and Maria Concilio (single). A tough loss for the Orange Crush girls. Great pitching by Megan, Julianne and Jennifer. The hitting stars were Danielle, Monica, Suzie and Kerri Lynne. The Orange Crush defense was led by the fine fielding of Kimberly, Brittany, Melissa, Alicia, Jessica, Diana and Alyse. Great job girls. Keep up the fine playing. This was a closer game than the score indicates. The Orange Crush girls never quit in this one. This was a game of pitching by committee. Danielle, Diana, Alicia, Suzie and Jessica all pitched great. We are developing a great staff for the long haul. Melissa, Kerri, Jennifer and Megan did a great job catching while Julianne, Kimberly, Brittany, Diana and Alyse led the hitting attack. The NHP/GCP Teacher's Association "Orange Crush" won their home opener against Mineola 14 to 12 in a well played game by both teams. Mineola took an early 4-0 lead but the Orange Crush hitters bounced back with six runs led by hitting stars Jennifer Fabian, Jessica Ressnick, Alicia Demarco and Suzie Jozkowski who hit a long triple with the bases loaded. Diana Amoroso pitched two strong innings along with fireballer Megan Thewes who threw one shutout inning. Melissa Flaherty pitched a great last inning to close the door on the strong Mineola hitters. Julianne and Kerri Schaefer, Monica Soluri and Diana Echevarria played heads up infield defense throwing out two runners at home plate. Thanks to all the parents and friends in cheering on the NHP/GCP Teacher's Association to their first victory. With an explosive hitting attack led by Amanda Heinrich four hits (HR, triple, and two singles, four RBIs, and four runs scored), Sally Palmer three hits (HR, double, and a single and three runs scored, Christina O'Sullivan two hits, and a bases loaded double to drive in three runs, and Jean Marie Zarzycki with three hits and three RBIs to help Southside Carting defeat Pace Pharmacy. There was great defensive play by Diana Ryan at first base and steady infield play by Jennifer Liguori, Christina O'Sullivan, Cathy Ranieri, Danielle Vitabile and Stephanie Vitabile. Also great outfield play by Sally Palmer who also threw out a runner at second base when catching. Cathy Ranieri made a great throw to home plate to almost throw out a runner. There was great pitching by Jean Marie Zarzycki, Amanda Heinrich and Jennifer Liguori. The girls from Pace were never really in this game, although a late rally helped close the gap. A three run home run by Michelle Nowakowski led the comeback. Theresa Hargrove had four hits, while outstanding defense by Krystal Cavaseno and Jillian Barrios helped get us out of some jams. Claire Casaccio did a great job behind the plate. Despite this game being declared a forfeit for lack of players, the girls played a truly inspired game. Michelle Nowakowski had four hits, while Jillian Berrios launched a mammoth two run home run and also had three hits. Amy Dell had three hits and pitched effectively, while Krystal Cavaseno had three hits and also stole three bases including home. Kierstin Budjinski played an outstanding outfield, covering a lot of ground and also drawing four bases on balls. Claire Casaccio had two hits and three walks and Theresa Hargrove pitched great and also caught the last two innings. Great game girls!!! A solid performance gave Meldon Silverman the victory. Strong pitching from Matthew Loosen and Sal Heinrich. Robert Pergament, Mark Ackert and Andrew Richardson all had hits. Kristian Tamara and Cody Lange led a solid defensive performance in the field. Merillon Little League baseball fans were treated to a thrilling Boys Minors game with CFS Bank playing Meldon Silverman. CFS Bank, Inc. took an early 6-0 lead, but lost a heartbreaker to Meldon Silverman 7-6. Marty Kurasz was the hitting star for CFS Bank, going 3 for 3 in his first game of the season. Rob Piccola chipped in with two singles. Stephen Kostel played strong defensively to help keep the game close for CFS Bank. Great effort for first time pitcher Timmy Hanna. The CFS Bank boys battled to the end, only to have their last inning rally stopped by a couple of great defensive plays from Meldon Silverman.

In a seesaw game that saw the Mountain Star Raiders take an early 6-1 lead by great pitching by Matt Morrisey and Brian Ernst and great hitting by Steve Bartoloni (two walks, two runs scored, two stolen bases), Jamie Liebowitz (walk, home run, three RBIs and HBP), Brian Ernst (walk, HBP, double and one RBI), Matt Morrisey (single, double, walk and two RBIs) and John Amico (walk, single, two stolen bases). Both Jamie Liebowitz and John Amico played unbelievable at the catcher's position making perfect throws, almost catching runners stealing. John Riccardi made the play of the game, catching a high fly in left field with runners on first and third and one out. John Karahalis and Joey Venezia both played a great game with good at bats and hustle in the field. John Amico came in as pitcher in the fifth inning to stop a rally. The Raiders were down 9-6 and came up in the bottom of the sixth. Jamie Liebowitz led off with a single, stole two bases and scored on a long triple by Matt Morrisey. Brian Ernst hit a huge triple scoring Matt. John Ligouri then hit a clutch double knocking in Brian for the tying run. Frank D'Introno then came up and hit a super fly in the gap in right center. It looked like a sure double, but a great running catch by Robbie Piccolo ended the game at a 9-9 tie. Both teams went home happy, showing hustle and great determination.

The CFS Bank Blue Bombers and Mountain Star played to an exciting 9-9 tie on Saturday, May 2. In a game that saw the lead go back and forth, Mountain Star scored twice three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Rob Piccola made a sparkling, running catch in right-centerfield to keep the winning run from scoring and saved the game for CFS Bank. That play, plus a couple of solid plate appearances, earned Rob the game ball! After trailing 6-1, CFS Bank rallied to take a 9-6 lead into the last inning. The comeback was sparked by a three run homer from D.J. Gerowski, who always played a great game at first base. Mike Lieber went 2 for 3 with two runs scored, and Stephen Kostel went 3 for 3. Chris DiCerbo, Marty Kurasz and Anthony Regalbuto all pitched in with some timely hitting. Steve Cialone celebrated his birthday and First Holy communion with two hits, two walks, two runs scored and two solid innings pitched.

This game ended in the third inning due to darkness and will be continued at a later date. Mike Schacor was our lead off hitter and was robbed of a hit and had a hard single. Mike Graham was hit by a pitch and walked. Jamie Liebowitz hit a great double. Brian Ernst followed with a long two run homer and walked. Matt Santelesa had a walk and a very hard hit double. John Morana walked and stole a base. John Amico walked and stole two bases. John Ligouri walked two times and stole two bases. John Riccardi and Steve Bartoloni both had walks. The pitching stars were Jamie Liebowitz and Matt Morrisey. John Amico and Brian Ernst were the catchers. Frank D'Introno and John Karahalis played great defense and hustled the entire game.

Solid pitching from Sal Heinrich. Thomas Ferraro had a triple and both Michael Rafferty and Matt Loosen had singles. Fine infield play by Frankie Tlowskowski, Kristian Tamara and Allen Williams.

Little Shop of Flowers had another great game against a very tough Mountain Star team. Robby Kassoff hit a grand slam in the first getting the team off to a great start. Nicholas Obidienzo also hit a monster home run in the sixth inning. Chris Lodise, Chris Ganz and Michael McHale pitched great allowing only two runs. Chris Kassoff and Frankie Miranda each made great defensive plays. With Sean McGonigle and Dennis O'Connell heads up running the Little Shop of Flowers picked up their second win.

Little Shop of Flowers rebounded from a five run deficit to beat a very tough Dr. Virgilio squad. Chris Kassoff, one of the team's many spark plugs, did a great job starting us off with a lead off double in the bottom of the first. Robby Kassoff picked up a bunch of RBI's hitting a single, triple and a home run. Nick Zacarese was perfect at the plate going two for two. Andrew Arenth put the game out of reach crushing a double in the third. Chris Ganz and Frankie Miranda were great defensively. Chris Ganz also pitched two excellent innings shutting down a great offensive opponent.

The CFS Bank Blue Bombers fell to the Little Shop of Flowers, 11-6. The Blue Bombers jumped out to a 5-0 first inning lead, but had their bats shut down in the late innings by some solid pitching from Little Shop of Flowers. The hitting attack was led by Stephen Kostel with two hits and two runs scored, and Tommy Brennan who was awarded the game ball for a clutch hit and three excellent at-bats. Tommy also made the play of the day, grabbing a high fly ball in left field to squash a Little Shop of Flowers rally.

For the second time in a row, K of C's Golden Knights were matched against the East Williston (N4) team, this time East Williston having the home advantage. It looked like that would matter as East Williston quickly scored four runs to start off the first inning. Not to be deterred, the Golden Knights got their bats going, scoring three runs in the third inning with strong singles by Kelly Geus, Marlene Junker, Andrea Resnick and Julia Schuble. Then, entering the fourth inning down by only one run, the Knights shut down the East Williston team by retiring the side quickly so that they could get back up to bat and do what they do best!

Caitlin Clark, the lead-off batter in the bottom of the fourth then singled, followed by singles in the inning by Melissa DeMarco, Vivian Quan, Nicole Palmer and Marlene Junker, driving in four more runs to make the score 7-4. This was another terrific come-from-behind game for the Golden Knights. With playing like this, no wonder why the fans are "Redi to Whip" out to the ball field to celebrate this team's tenacity!

Merillon's Golden Knights, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, defeated East Williston (N4) by a score of 14-4 on Monday night, April 20, at Hillside Grade. To get the game off to a good start, the first six girls up to bat came home in the first inning. Caitlin Clark, Kelly Geus, Tara Marsigliano, Marlene Junker, Erin Shea and Emily McGillicuddy scored runs for the team. Terrific at bats by Marlene who was 3 for 3 at the plate in tonight's game including a double; Nicole Palmer, who was 2 for 2; and Londyn McCormick, who reached base safely in her three at bats with two walks and a single.

The pitching for the Golden Knights was tremendous with the combined pitching staff of Caitlin, Tara and Jessica Connaughton striking out 11 girls in the five innings played. Great defensive play by the girls in the field helped to win tonight's game. Good fielding at first base by Erin Shea. Stupendous catch at third base by Caitlin Clark to end the fifth earned her the right to keep the game ball. Congratulations to all the team on a game well played.

Hillside Beverage suffered its first loss to East Williston by the score of 11-6. It was a very well played game with superb fielding by Danielle Fazio, Amelia DiCicco and Lauren Ernst. Our bats "woke up" in the sixth inning, scoring five runs, and were led by Michelle Calderon, Lauren Ernst and Colleen Sanders. The play of the game had Danielle Fazio knocking down a bullet down the third base line and Amelia DiCicco, playing left field, covering third base for the force.