By Erika Toman

Falls Church Kiwanis Little League All-Stars capped off a successful weekend of play with three victories. The 8-9-10 year-old “Red team” had a mighty 12-2 win over neighboring McLean National, as well as an 8-4 victory over Arlington American, and the 9-10-11 year-old “Blue team” won in walk-off fashion against Arlington National.  

The Red team saw Mikey Baltrym start on Saturday against Arlington American. The ace delivered three and one-third innings of one-run ball while only walking one batter.  Aidan Izawa dominated at the plate with three doubles on the day, while Finn Thompson and Max Caddy were also hot at the plate with two hits each.  Defensively, Stanley Lu made two amazing catches in the outfield and Paul Thiede, who caught six strong innings, threw out two runners. On Sunday, the Red team starter Franco Perez dealt a 0-0 tie through three innings. Falls Church broke the game open with excellent hitting and baserunning in the last three frames. Will Schiffer and Aidan Izawa had multiple hits. Max Caddy, Adam Dunbar, and Emmet Grenfell kept the line moving with multiple walks each. Will Schiffer shut the door with two closing innings on the mound.  

On Saturday, the Blue team had a come-from-behind win in the bottom of the sixth inning, winning 7-6. The sixth inning saw Falls Church down 5-3, when Luca Pipia doubled to lead off the inning. James Owen then doubled, scoring Pipia. Evan Toman singled, scoring Owen. Anthony Verdi kept the rally alive with a single to third base, scoring Toman. Calvin McEwen had a key lineout, advancing Verdi. Simon Coho then hit a hard hit ball to first base, allowing the final run to score. The team had 10 hits, and only struck out three times against a formidable Arlington team. Pipia, Verdi, Coho, and Toman all spent time on the mound contributing to the win.

The Majors (12-year-olds) “White Team” starts play in July against Reston-Herdon American at Westgate Park at 1 p.m.