By Erika Toman
It’s been an exciting June for baseball players in Falls Church! The Red (age 8-10) and Blue (age 9-11) teams have wrapped their pool play campaigns, with the Majors White team (age 11-12) starting their campaign in July.
The Red team qualified for the elusive Virginia District 4 crossover game. District 4 is traditionally among the strongest, if not the strongest Little League districts in the state, making this quite a feat. In their qualifying game against McLean American, Aiden Izawa and Mikey Baltrym combined for the win, issuing seven combined strikeouts in the 3-2 final. Izawa contributed two hits, with Baltrym, Max Caddy, Will Schiffer, Adam Dunbar, and Paul Thiede also contributing a hit.
In the crossover game against Reston Herndon National, Baltrym, Izawa, Dunbar, Thiede, Emmett Grenfell, and Will at Albert contributed hits. Franco Perez took the loss on the mound, with Max Caddy and Will Schiffer appearing in relief.
The team finished their season with a 4-2 record, showing tremendous promise for Falls Church in years to come.
The Blue team finished their season in decisive fashion, honing their mental play to win their final two games, ending with a 2-3 record. With a packed house at Westgate Field they beat rival Vienna American 8-5. Evan Toman pitched a gem appearing over five innings with Luca Pipia closing out the game in the sixth inning. The bats were hot with Toman, Tig Fatzinger, Will Wood, Calvin McEwen, Hayes Vaughan, Simon Coho, Bobby Lynch and Caleb Edel all contributing hits. The key moment occurred when Caleb Edel doubled, scoring three runs to pull ahead of Vienna.
The White team handily won in their tournament opener against Reston Herndon America, 13-5. Right hander Jack Mullin earned the win, going two-and-two-thirds innings in relief, issuing five strikeouts and only three hits. Nate Landers, Teddy Greiner and Liam Horgan also appeared on the mound contributing to the win, helping hold the competition to only five total hits. Ten team members registered hits, with Mullin leading the way with two hits, and Greiner, Harrison Carmody, and Landon Tucker contributing two RBIs each.
The White team is back in action Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. in Alexandria; go to FCKLL.org for location details.
