Selected game summaries from the Falls Church Kiwanis Little League for May 9 – 21:
MAJORS
Red Sox 4 – Orioles 5 – Monday, May 9
The Red Sox started strong with three first inning runs, but the Orioles struck back in the 4th to tie the game. Sox pitcher, Mournir Laassili, struck out nine Orioles. The Sox’s Brett Kelley hit two singles, and Thomas Dean had an RBI. Orioles catcher, Robert Guenther, slammed his 7th home run in 8 games, while Tyler Campbell doubled in the 4th to tie the game, and stole home in the 6th for the winning score.
Athletics 3 – Orioles 7 – Saturday, May 14
Ben Sharrer, the Athletics left fielder, hit a solid line drive to center in the 3rd. A’s pitcher, Elliot Roberts, showed good stuff today. Orioles pitcher Jake Abruzzi had a consistent outing in five innings, yielding only three runs, while the Orioles’ Jack Goggin’s double in the 4th drove in two runs.
DOUBLE A
Scrapper 5 – Sand Gnats 3 – Saturday, May 21
The AA Scrappers hosted the Sand Gnats last Saturday on a perfect morning for baseball. The game started with a helicopter hovering close by for the entire first inning (true story); completely unofficial reports identified it as ESPN Sportscenter. The scrappers retired the first three Sand Gnat batters behind strong pitching by Evan Jones. At the plate, the Scrapper’s Prescott Starke started the inning and eventually stole home as did Owen Ossman. The Scrappers added two more runs in the second after a double by Jack Coburn and an RBI and stolen bases by Prescott Starke and Evan Jones. The Sand Gnats Mark Comstock showed fantastic form in tagging out the base runner trying to steal home to end the inning. After an inning of good pitching by Sand Gnats Charlie Tucker and Scrappers Jimmy Alverson, the Scrappers Hunter Pena hit a single, stole a base and eventually stole home to add a run. The Sand Gnats got the bats going with impressive hitting by Ryan Dietrick, Peter Villa, Marty Casserly and Gaarison Holran to put three runs on the board. The Scrappers Nick Sharrer provided steady pitching and after a difficult catch to end the game by Sand Gnats Devin Rickels, the Scrappers ended up with the win.
SLUGGERS
Tigers – Lions – Saturday, May 21
The Tigers hosted the Lions Saturday afternoon at Idylwood 3. The Tigers’ offense has exploded as each player put the ball in play, often forcing the coach-pitcher to jump aside to avoid injury. Daniel Martinez and Drew Miller had solid hits in each inning while Jack Biggs and Alexandra Schwartz each hit long fly balls in the third inning. The Tigers were also strong defensively. Three Tigers donned catcher’s gear and vigorously defended home plate: Jack Biggs, Daniel Fried and Matthew Bruno.
The Lions showed continued improvement on the field. Josh Wattles had three good stops at first base and a good performance at second. In the second inning, Theo Wilton faced a big hit, but made the stop and threw quickly to first. In the third inning, Chandler Petty made a great catch at shortstop. At bat, all players were on top of their game. Nathan Madden hit a home run in the second inning, and Jake Rodriguez followed suit in the third inning. Ben Kenner was determined – even sliding into home on his last at bat, despite never having practiced that with his coaches.
League Standings as of May 23, 2011
MAJORS
1st 2nd HALF
Orioles 7-0 4-0
Yankees 5-2 2-2
Red Sox 3-4 3-1
Nationals 4-3 1-3
Cubs 2-5 0-3
Athletics 0-7 1-2
AAA
1st 2nd HALF
Cardinals 5-2 3-1-1
Pirates 4-3 4-1
Mets 5-2 2-2
Dodgers 4-3 2-3
Phillies 2-5 2-2-1
Rangers 1-6 0-4
AA
1st 2nd HALF
Scrappers 4-0 2-1
Lugnuts 3-1-1 2-1
Sand Gnats 3-1-1 0-3
Rockhounds 2-2 1-1
Storm 1-4 2-1
Blue Claws 0-5 2-1
