Falls Church Kiwanis Little League Report
In spite of some cool weather that forced the postponement of opening day ceremonies until April 21, the more than 400 members of the Falls Church Kiwanis Little League started their season and completed all of the scheduled games last Saturday.
Majors
Orioles v. Cubs
The weather may not have been ideal, but the spring season for the Majors level of the Falls Church Kiwanis Little League opened with a perfect day on Saturday. Mitch MacKeith, the 12-year-old starter for the Orioles opened the season by pitching a perfect game against the Cubs to lead the Orioles to the 11-0 victory.
MacKeith recorded 17 strikeouts while facing the minimum 18 batters in the six-inning Little League clash. Only one member of the Cubs put the ball in play. Danny Leonard sent a shot down the first base line that was handled by first baseman Alex Handley for the unassisted put out.
Cubs starter Alex Kryvoruka held the Orioles scoreless through the first two innings before surrendering a two-run home run to MacKeith in the third inning to open the scoring for the Orioles. MacKeith added an RBI double in the fourth inning and four other Orioles added hits, including singles by Tyler Waters, Vijay Menon, Michael Barnes and two hits by Marcus Bunaugh.
Red Sox v. Nationals
Backed by the solid hitting of Lucas Cherry and Richard Marsh, 12-year-old Frankie Hall pitched a complete game shutout, leading the Red Sox to a 14-0 win over the Nationals in their season opener. In securing the win, Hall struck out 14, while blasting three hits of his own. The Nationals had hits by Joey Gorman and Devon Johnson.
For the Sox, Cherry went 4 for 5, with 7 RBI, while Marsh drove in 3 runs with his 3 hits. Brian Chegini and Sam Selby each adding two hits for the winners against a spirited Nationals outfit. Sox right fielder Jarrett Marsh made a heads-up play to throw out a Nationals runner at second base.
AAA
Rangers v. Cardinals
The Rangers edged the visiting Cardinals 11-10 in a contest that ended in dramatic fashion, as Rangers hurler Paul Abbracciamento tagged out a speeding Cardinal runner in a very close play at home plate.
Barrett Nixon led the Rangers with 2 1/3 innings of solid work on the mound, while contributing a double that keyed a four-run third inning. Abbracciamento closed out the Cards with two strong innings of relief. Defensively, Tim Donis and Stevie Lethbridge of the Rangers each made a shoestring grab of a line drive. For the Cardinals, Marsden Davis smashed an inside-the-park home run to the centerfield fence. Daniel Donovan struck out four and shut down the Rangers in two strong innings of relief.
