Tournaments (District LL Tournament play) in brief
West Side 11s Repeat as District 23 Champs!
West Side 11s reprised their earlier win over Inwood Sunday to take the District 23 Tournament Championship. The team took their first game in Sectional play, and ended their season in the second-round Sectional game, in Elmsford, NY. Well done, well done!!!!
West Side 9/10s were edged by North Riverdale, 4-3, in the deciding District 23 Tournament Championship game Tuesday, ending an impressive run that began with tryouts and practices in mid June. The League applauds the team's -- players and coaches -- efforts and their display of true sportsmanship. Well done.
West Side 11/12s eliminated in the third round of the District 23 Tournament, enjoyed an excellent run in the Monroe Township Summer Invitational tourney in New Jersey, finishing in second place to Monroe Purple. WS suffered their only defeats of the tourney against the Purple, the heavy favorite in the tournament, holding their opponents to 3 runs in the Tournament Championship the final weekend in July. Kudos to the entire team and the coaches for a strong tournament season!!
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Other Tournaments and Series played
Monroe Township (NJ) Tournament
West Side 11/12s qualified for the playoff round in second place to Monroe Purple in the Monroe Township (NJ) Baseball Association's Mid-Summer Invitational Tournament [10 teams are played in the tourney; the top 4 teams reaching the playoffs]. West Side posted back-to-back wins on Saturday, July 16 (edging Hamilton Twp, 7-5), and Sunday, July 17 (mercy-ruling Franklin Twp, 11-0), and blanked So. Wall Twp, 4-0, on Wednesday, July 20. In a face-off against Monroe Purple (!) on Saturday (July 23), WS suffered its first loss. They rebounded last night in their first playoff game and are 4-1, heading into the final tournament game this weekend. They will face-off against Monroe Purple for the Tournament Championship.
Staten Island series
Prior to the start of the District tournaments, in a bragging rights tune-up series scheduled annually against Staten Island's East Shore LL, West Side's three all-star squads took two of three against their counterparts from East Shore. WS 11/12s and 9/10s teams both won; East Shore 11s edged WS in the final game of the series. Final scores: Saturday, June 18 (11/12s) West Side 9, East Shore 7. Tuesday, June 22 (9/10s) West Side 11, East Shore 4.
RYO [4th of July weekend] Tournament
West Side's 11s team reported a strong showing in their warm-up invitational (RYO) tournament held out on Long Island (Ronkonkoma) over the July 4th weekend. Facing stiff competition from throughout the tri-state area under heavily modified playing rules (on 75-foot basepaths), WS rebounded from an opening loss to sweep their next three games, just barely missing the cut for the tourney's playoff rounds.
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All Tournament game results, team-by-team:
11/12s (Majors): (1-2 District) (3-1 Monroe Twp tournament)
District - first round [L1]
WS suffered a deflating loss in its tournament opener on Saturday, June 25, to a solid Kingsbridge team -- in a game that should have been closer, but ended after five by mercy rule.
District - second round: West Side 10, Stuyvesant 2
The squad regrouped for the follow-on game Wednesday (July 6), bringing the big bats and coming t-h-i-s close to handing Peter Stuyvesant a mercy rule loss under threatening skies. Starter Josh Jacobvitz registered three and a third solid innings on the mound, striking out 7 and yielding but two runs, followed by scoreless no-baserunner relief pitching from Doug Gleicher (2/3 inning), Mario Louis Merlino-Pagan (1 inning) and Bryan Camacho (1 inning). West Side's strong pitching combined with raw offensive power - featuring a solo home run to center by Doug Gleicher to lead off the 2nd inning, a two-out solo homer to center by Marley Randazzo in the 3rd, and a three-run homer - again to center -by Josh Jacobvitz to cap an 8-run, 12-batter fourth inning (in the fourth, Clay Gibson and Marley Randazzo each contributed 2 run doubles and Kyle Yee, pinch hitting, added an rbi single to deep left) - and that just about closed the book on this contest.
District - third round [L2]
WS suffered its second loss in the double-elimination tournament against North Riverdale LL, Saturday, July 9, at Harlem's field at 121st Street and 5th Avenue.
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Monroe Twp tournament
Game one recap: West Side 7, Hamilton Township 5
WS scores 1 run in the first (on a single by Isaac and an rbi triple by Marley Randazzo), 3 in the second (lead-off double by Mario Louis Merlino-Pagan, single by Bryan Camacho, Mario scores on a wild pitch, Tyler McDonald draws a walk and Isaac Forman (4-4 on the day) drives in a run with a double, Marley drives in the third run with a single). Hamilton responds with 3 runs in the top of the third as Doug Gleicher, who had kept them off the bases the first 2 innings, (4 Ks) seems to tire a bit in the extreme heat and humidity. WS gets one run back in the bottom of the third when Tyler, just missing a home run to left, doubles off the fence to drive in Caleb Madison, who had reached on a fielders choice. WS gets one more in the 4th (Doug singles in Isaac who had also singled), and one more in the 5th when Clay Gibson singles, driving home Evan Lubin from third (Evan had walked, then stolen 2nd and 3rd). Isaac also tires in the 6th - after allowing only one base runner (5 Ks) in the previous 2 innings, he allows 2 runs in the top of the sixth and leaves the mound with 2 outs and 2 on and the score 7-5. Closer Josh Jacobvitz comes on to get the final out on a pop fly to Caleb in right.
Game two recap: West Side 11, Franklin Township 0
WS explodes with 4 runs in the first, sending all 9 players to bat, a 3-run homer to center by clean-up hitter Josh Jacobvitz (4-4 & 4 rbi on the day) and an rbi single by Mario after Doug doubled. Doug pitches 3 innings, allowing only one base runner (on a walk) while striking out 3 and making three put-outs on ground balls to the mound, throwing runners out at first. WS gets 4 more runs in the 4th (a double by Tyler, single by Clay and Marley's rbi single gets one in; a Josh J infield single loads 'em up, Doug takes a walk to drive in the 2nd run, and Caleb gets a pinch-hit double to drive in 2 more). WS puts 3 more on the scoreboard in the top of the 5th (on two walks, an rbi double by Marley, an rbi single by Josh and an rbi double by Doug), which caps the scoring under tourney rules and has Franklin under the gun to score 2 runs or have the game end by mercy rule. Josh J is on the mound after coming in to relieve Doug to start the 4th (in the 4th, Marley gloves all 3 consecutive outs in center field on nice catches of fly balls hit in his vicinity). The first out of the fifth is again a fly ball gloved by Marley in center, and is followed by a 6-3 ground-out and a strike out to end the game after 5 innings (mercy rule).
Game three recap: West Side 4, South Wall Township 0
WS gets one in the 2nd on a fielders choice ground ball hit to short by Clay and 3 in the third on an rbi single by Tyler McDonald (2-2, 1 BB, 1 rbi) and a 2-run single by Josh Jacobvitz (2-3, 1 BB, 2 rbi). Isaac (3-3) and Caleb (2-3) both reached base 3 times on good at-bats. But pitching was the key element in this game under the lights as Doug Gleicher allowed only 2 baserunners in his 3 innings (3 Ks), Isaac Forman goes 2 innings, allowing one hit and striking out 3, and Josh J comes on to close out the game in the bottom of the 6th facing the top of South Wall's order, inducing the first batter to fly out to Leo in deep center near the fence (registering the first out in what seems to be Josh's hallmark of late), and then striking out the 2nd and 3rd batters in WS's 2nd consecutive shut-out victory.
Game four recap: Monroe Purple over West Side (mercy rule)
Monroe's powerhouse squad simply took over after being held scoreless over two innings to hand West Side its first loss of the tourney on Saturday. West Side plays Monday, July 25, with the winner playing Saturday for the Tournament Championship. For details and directions to the games, contact Dave Gibson.
Playoff round recap: West Side 8, Hamilton Twp 4
A first inning solo blast to center field high into the trees by Josh Jacobvitz gives West Side a quick 1-0 lead. In the 2nd inning West Side increases the margin to 5-0 on Josh Bass's 2-run double in his first starting assignment, and then Clay Gibson follows shortly thereafter with his own 2-run double. 4 innings of masterful pitching by Isaac Forman backed by some nifty fielding, including a swift 6-4-3 double play (Clay [at shortstop] to Tyler [McDonald] to Josh) and nice outfield work by Josh Bass, keeps Hamilton Township off the scoreboard through 4. After Hamilton tags reliever Josh Jacobvitz for 2 runs in the 5th (mirroring a pattern Hamilton has made its trademark in this tourney, winning their last 2 games coming from behind in the final 2 innings), West Side retaliates in the bottom of the inning with a 3-run homer off the foul pole in left field by Doug Gleicher. With the score now 8-2 in the 6th, West Side pitchers Josh J and Doug G combine to hold off the onrushing Hamiltonians -- who score 2 more runs and put 2 runners on base with 2 outs (one more base runner would bring up their cleanup hitter with a chance to tie the game) -- Doug striking out the final batter to seal the victory and sending West Side to the Championship game.
In other game notes, Mario Merlino-Pagan just missed out on 2 chances for home runs as the Hamilton Township center fielder first caught a towering fly ball with his back to the wall in the 3rd and then, in the 5th -- in what may have been the most heads-up play ever witnessed by this reporter* -- that same center fielder reached out over the fence and gloved the ball after it had bounced off the top of the wall and left the playing surface and brought it back into play, holding Mario to a double...
With their playoff win, West Side earned the right to play Monroe Purple for the Championship. And although the Purple took the hard-fought win, 3-0, WS gave them a respectable run. For further information, contact Dave Gibson.
*W Jacobvitz
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9/10s: (3-2 District)
District - first round: West Side 4, Stuyvesant 3
WS defeated a tough Stuyvesant team Sunday (June 26) in their opening round. After surrendering three runs in the top of the first, West Side's pitching - starter Charlie Thau, reliever Noah Mathews (12 pitch 5th) and closer Thomas Luke Guest (10 pitch 6th) - and a strong defensive effort in the field shut down Stuyvesant over the final five frames. Meanwhile, West Side battled back from an initial 3-0 deficit over the course of a long and hot afternoon, getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first on an inside-the-park home run, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth, and scoring the winning run in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the sixth on a clutch single to right with runners standing on second and third (after a double steal).
District - second round: West Side 8, Downtown 4
WS outplayed Downtown LL on Thursday, July 7th at 5:30 pm at Kingsbridge's field in the Bronx in a game that was never really close. West Side opened with a furious running game to take an early 3-0 lead while Noah Mathews pitched a perfect game over the first 3 innings. West side continued to flex it's offense in the third on Jens Olavson's monster 2 RBI double deep to left field, stretching the lead to 5-0. Not to be held down for long, the Downtown offense exploded for three runs on 3 tremendous blasts deep to the center field fence. Two huge defensive plays by the West Side outfield lead by Sam Winton curtailed any further threat from the Downtown hitters. West Side answered the top of the fifth by taking back all 3 runs before a single out could be recorded. Left hand reliever Max Kassan worked the fifth giving up only one run and Thomas Luke Guest slammed the door again, shutting out Downtown on 10 pitches in the 6th.
District - third round: West Side 5, North Riverdale 2
West Side faced North Riverdale on Tuesday, July 12th, in a game featuring the remaining 2 undefeated teams in the tournament at North Riverdale's home field in the Bronx. North Riverdale had cruised through the first two rounds of the tournament, beating its opponents by an average margin of 10 runs -- leading to the high-stakes semi-final match-up.
The game opened with superb pitching by North Riverdale, stifling West Side's offense early. Great hitting and a bad hop in the 1st scored 2 with one out to bring the vocal home crowd to its feet. But a screaming line drive was stabbed by West Side's Thomas Luke Guest to start a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play with North Riverdale up 2-0. Left hand starter Charlie Thau, backed by a stifling defense, and spectacular plays by second baseman Peter Goldsmith, shut out the North Riverdale offense over the next 4 innings. West Side came charging back to tie the game on TL Guest's 2-run triple, setting up a pitchers' duel that took the game into extra innings. Left hand reliever Max Kassan worked two scoreless innings of relief in the 6th and 7th, while West Side's hitters, working deep into the count all day long, finally broke through to take a 4-2 lead at the end of 7. Sam Winton's huge blast to center knocked in a streaking Jens Olavson to add an insurance run in the 8th and reliever Thomas Luke Guest, playing a phenomenal game with a broken toe, came in to pitch the bottom of the inning. A shot back to the mound on 1 pitch, and a great catch in center field by Sam Winton set up a final confrontation with runners in scoring position, 2 outs and the tying run coming to the plate. TL slammed the door inducing a grounder to second to end the game.
District Championship: No Riverdale over West Side (two games)
Still stinging from their loss to West Side in the previous round, with a convincing display of power and with a couple breaks going their way, North Riverdale handed West Side 9/10s their first loss of the tourney on Sunday, forcing the rubber game last evening (Tuesday) to decide the District Championship. In that match-up, West Side broke to an early 2-0 lead and led 3-2 before yielding two runs in the top of the sixth inning, to fall to North Riverdale 4-3.
West Side can rightly be proud of the determined effort, solid play, spirited teamwork and sportsmanship displayed by this squad throughout their run. Congratulations on a great tournament, 9/10s players and coaches!
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11s: (2-0 District - District Champions)
West Side's 11s go 3-1 in RYO (Ronkonkoma, LI) Tournament
July 6, 2005 Lake Ronkonoma, NY- The West Side 11s started District 23 tournament preparation in earnest by entering the RYO 4th of July Tournament, a proving ground for top youth baseball teams from NY, NJ and CT. The team was prepared for the jump to the larger 75/51 diamond and major league rules but it was still a strange sight to see the opposition role up in team trucks and offload matching monogrammed equipment bags. We knew it was really serious baseball country when the custom tents went up over the dugout!
The weekend started out rough on Saturday as nerves and a tough Half Hollow Hills team kept the Westies on their heels for most of the first game in an 8-0 loss. Showing their character, the Westies came right back in game two to defeat the SYAG Braves 9-2. The team was lead by an intimidating pitching erformance by Kai Glick who went 4 innings, striking out 5, and closer Erik Deleon who retired the Braves in order in the 5th and 6th. Multiple RBIs came from Shane Richards, Alec Schaw, Mathew Nunez, and Chris Golston.
Sunday was another perfect baseball day with Westside gaining more confidence from the split on Saturday. In game one, starter Alec Schaw turned in a classic complete game performance against the Sayville Cardinals, scattering 4 hits and allowing only 2 unearned runs in a 5-2 victory. Jarobi Moorhead, David Kagan and Deleon led the offense in a 5th and 6th inning comeback.
The Westies faced The Middle Country Mustangs in the final game. David Kagan led the team to their third straight victory by scattering 3 hits over 5 innings and holding the Mustangs to two runs. Mikael-Ali Mogues came in to close the game and shut the door on the Mustangs with a hitless 6th. With the game at 3-2 in the 5th Glick threw out a potential tieing run trying to steal second on a pitch out and Kagan picked off another runner at first. Schaw made a great catch in right and threw home to keep a runner from scoring from third.
The 3-1 record tied the West Side 11s with 3 other teams for second best record. The NJ Bandits ended regular play with a 4-0 record.
WS 11s roll toward District tourney with 11-4 win over GVLL 12s
July 7, 2005 New York, NY- The Westside 11šs took on The Greenwich Village 12-year-old All Stars at Pier 40 and came away with a big win in their final tuneup before the start of District 23 tourney play. The return to the smaller diamond showcased Westsides defense and heads-up base running and, what has become the signature of this year's team, another come-from-behind win. Despite 2 mammoth homeruns hit by GVLL early in the game, West Side kept their composure and chipped away at the GVLL lead with a delayed steal of second by Schaw and home by Richards, who also threw out 2 base runners trying to steal. GVLL became rattled and timely hitting by Deleon, Glick and Nunez led to an offensive explosion from which GVLL could not recover. Schaw, Glick and Kagan combined on the pitching allowing 2 earned runs over 6 innings.
With this game, the Westies had posted a winning streak of 4 of their last 5 against stiff competition.
West Side 11s blast Inwood 9-1 in District 23 semi-final
July 19, 2005 Harlem NY- Traveling 225 feet in the air (yes, we actually measured it) into the humid evening air and clearing the 25-foot-high fence in center field, Mathew Nunez's 3-run shot left no doubt about the outcome of this game. A strong Inwood team was shocked by a 12-hit barrage and shackled by a complete game 6 hitter. Jarobi Moorhead tripled, singled and drove in 3 runs, Alec Schaw doubled and Shane Richards had a multi-hit game as the Westies' bats came alive. David Kagan pitched a complete game allowing only 1 run. The West Side defense was nearly flawless, making 16 of the 18 outs with only one error. West Side threw out 2 runners at the plate with Kai Glick holding the ball in dramatic fashion while being bowled over. This was a close fought, tight game at 3-1 through the 3rd inning with West Side finally getting some breathing room in the 4th, 6-1 before putting the game out of reach in the 5th. Final: West Side 9, Inwood 1.
West Side 11s Repeat as District 23 Champs!
West Side, in a reprise win over Inwood, 9-3, took home the 11s District Championship Sunday
July 24, 2005 Inwood, NY- The Westside 11šs completed their defense of their
2004 title and repeated as District 23 champions by defeating a tough
Inwood team 9-3 in a seesaw battle. Despite hitting the ball hard Westside
was held scoreless through the first 3 innings as Inwood jumped out to an
early 2-0 lead. Starter Alec Schaw (5.1 IP, 3R, 3ER, 6K) kept the game
within reach with a gutsy pitching performance. With two out in the bottom
of the fourth and Westside running out of at bats, the bottom of the order
came through. Alex Antiuk singled, Harrison Gross walked and then both
executed a double steal. With the tying runs in scoring position, Mathew
Nunez came to the plate and hit a clutch two out double off the fence in
left bringing them home. In the fifth, Golston singled and Mikael-Ali Mogues
drove him home with the go ahead run on a double smashed to the gap. Inwood
came right back in the bottom half of the frame scoring one to tie it and
putting runners on second and third with 1 out. Mogues (1.2 IP, 0R,0ER, 2K)
came in to relieve Schaw and struck out the first batter for out 2. The
infield dropped back to normal depth and Mogues went after the Inwood #4
hitter, Fernandez. Fernandez grounded a hot shot straight back up the middle
that looked certain to drive in at least one but the ball ricocheted off of
Mogues and right to third baseman, David Kagan who caught the ball and threw
Fernandes out 1-5-3 for the third out. With the game tied 3-3 the Westies
blew it open. Gross singled to get the rally going and was driven home with
what turned out to be the winning run on an RBI double by Schaw. Kai Glick
connected on a 2 strike 2 out pitch for a crushing double that drove in 2
and Kagan drove in an additional 2 to put the game out of reach as Westside
scored 6 runs in the 6th. Mogues mowed down Inwood to preserve the victory
and complete another come from behind victory.
Congratulations to the WS 11s players and coaches!!
In the Sectional round, WS was eliminated in two games.
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Full schedules, including scheduled pre- and post- tournament scrimmages, can be obtained by contacting the tournament coaches, email Tom Olavson (9/10s) at Olavson@aol.com; Tag Gross (11s) at Tag@eliasarts.com; Greg McDonald (11-12s), at gmcdonald1@mac.com or Dave Gibson (11-12s), at dg.gibson@verizon.net.
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REGISTRATION FOR FALL BALL
Currently registered (eligible) players age 8-15 can receive registration forms for our Fall season by e-mailing a request through this website (info@westsidebaseball.org)
The Fall season generally runs about eight weeks, starting in early September, and includes three baseball divisions -- for ages 8 through 15-- and Softball. Registration is by mail only.
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20TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
WSLL celebrated our 20th Anniversary on Friday, June 10. Many of our founding members returned to join current families in honoring Past Presidents Michael Orbison and Tatiana Hoover, Seniors Umpire John Williams, Girls' Softball founder Jean Schmidt, and Challenger League founder Barbara Jordan, for their invaluable contributions to the success of the League. Also recognized: Brett Kalikow, a senior at Riverdale, former WSLL player and founder of Homerun Hopefuls, for outstanding community service and sportsmanship; and the late Steve Fiore, founder of West Side Movers, a perenial sponsor of the League, whose support has meant so much to the League.
Thanks to Andrea Kretchmer, Eileen Kleiman, Carolyn DuHoffman, who labored tirelessly to organize the party.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information on our League, including our SUMMER TOURNAMENT and FALL BALL seasons, plans for SPRING 2006, coaching and umpiring opportunities, other volunteer opportunities and similar matters, please e-mail us: info@westsidebaseball.org.