Mount Kisco Little League
Welcome back Mt Kisco baseball fans…with a short holiday week cut even shorter due to…of course…rain…we have still had a very eventful week. Over in MKLL all teams had their eye on the upcoming playoffs as #2 seed, and first round bye, was still up for grabs. Discussions centered around the different scenarios and tie-breakers to determine the positions. It was so close league executives had to create new levels of tie-breakers. The usual head-to-head, run differential rules were already in place but, if needed, the next tie-breakers included a hot dog eating contest, egg toss and dodgeball. Thankfully it did not come to that.
Cassidy Flynn ends their season in 1st place with an 11-3 record. This well-rounded team features depth across the board as they seek their first championship under Coach Barone’s leadership. The team is also a very close group…almost like brothers. Actually most of them are brothers with the Guyders, Tavolaccis and Double-Duarte. Add in Will “Red Baron” Barone, Achylles “Grand Slam” Pons-Beltsyk and strong contributions from role players like Max “I also play in the band” Rand and you have a team ready for a long playoff run. We’ll see in the coming weeks if the regular season success carries over to the pressure-packed playoffs (say that tongue twister 10x).
Our Game of the Week…actually Game of the Season…correction Game of a Lifetime…is courtesy of M&R vs Robison. After all of the competitiveness, playoff positioning and yearning to win, the bottom line is creating memories for families and the kids having fun. Well…do we have a lifetime memory for you…both teams came into the contest with an eye on capturing the #2 seed in the playoffs. So even before a pitch was thrown the pressure and hype was buzzing arriving Leonard Park. As the action got underway each team was feeling out the other with strong pitching dominating the early innings. Lev Simkhai & Mack Seidman for M&R and Nick Cacovic & Jack Cicchelli for Robison controlled the game. M&R was the first to punch through as Mack “Attack” Seidman doubled for a 2-0 lead. That score held until the 5th when Chris Bueti’s single (two RBIs) and subsequent steal of home put Robison on top 3-2 entering the 6th. In the top of the 6th, with the game slipping away from M&R, it was the rookie Joey “Volcano” Volvano coming through with his own steal of home to knot the game at 3-3. So we head to the bottom of the 6th with the game hanging in the balance. Stepping into the batter’s box is the kid with the never give up attitude, Hunter Mezzatesta. In his rookie season Hunter has been biding his time and waiting for his big moment…studying scouting reports, analyzing swing mechanics and reviewing defensive shifts in an effort to put his first ball into play. Well all of that time and effort finally paid off on one swing as Hunter launched the game ending, walk off bomb heard all around Mt Kisco into the mezz-anine section of the stands for a 4-3 win. It was a mezz-merizing moment as Coach Mezz could be seen leaping into the air in celebration. Hunter rounded the bases with the thrill and excitement that every kid should feel in little league as he was cheered by his teammates touching home plate. Truly a moment that summarizes Mt Kisco baseball!!
Due to the continuing inclement weather, Exit 4 Food Hall and SW&G played just one game this past week. For Exit 4 the game represented one of their four potential games on the schedule as they entered the week with a focus on securing the #2 seed and a bye in the upcoming playoffs. Coach Byrns was especially nervous as Robison and M&R set their sights on surpassing his squad in the standings. In the other dugout the SW&G big green machine continued to push forward as Coach Reder’s battle-tested team followed their mantra…”trust the process.” Andrew “Southpaw” Reder took the mound for SW&G and was his usual crafty self working the corners and relying on his off-speed repertoire. The game remained scoreless through the third inning before Exit 4 broke through in their half of the fourth inning scoring four runs then tacking on an additional run in each of the last two innings. Pitching was the key as Josh “Give ’em Fits” Taplitz and Jeff “Babe Ruth” Tripodi held the SW&G squad to two runs over 5 innings and closer Will Oliverio secured the 6-2 victory in the final frame.
Elks ended their regular season with a hard fought effort vs 1st place Cassidy Flynn. The team was shorthanded but everyone in the lineup played hard and contributed in an effort to stay in the game. The Elks lineup of Danny Spolansky, Paul Wichmann, Jack Mannion, Dominick Larizza, Lance Kleinknecht, Saer Sicignano, Anthony Luppino and Xavier Santos hung tight early for a close 4-run game before a big CF inning opened up the game. Strong pitching by Larriza and Kleinknecht as they hung tough and battled. Elks enters the playoffs as the #6 seed looking to shock the world with an upset over Robison.
Over in the minors AAA division…
Examiner brought out the lumber for their regular season finale against McCarthy winning 14-0 at Fox Field. The usual suspects continued their hot hitting led by Sammy “da Bull” DeMarco going 2 for 2 with three RBIs. Going round n’ round on the bases carousel were Calum Anderson, Marco Grafuli and Sam Weiner. Defensive play of the game was Alex Montano-Miller throwing a runner out at home to Liam Provost. However, the story of the night were new heroes. Katie Berisha got her first hit and 2 RBIs and Bianca Weiss followed with her first hit and RBI. The lovely ladies of Examiner each earned a game ball for their efforts.
The Varamo and Shell teams were excited to get after it again this past week but Mother Nature felt otherwise. Coach’s Sal-Horn-Son could be seen at Fox Field doing the rain dance backwards in an attempt to stop the oncoming downpour. Coach Bagley of Shell stopped by as well but watched the action from the dryness of his car. In particular, Coach Hirschhorn was adamant he could make this work as he continued the dance-a-thon all through the night. Unfortunately it did not work but the effort was appreciated. The VC Ballers and Shell were disappointed to miss the game but enjoyed a leisurely week leading into the official start of summer, Memorial Day weekend.
In the Seniors division…
The U15 Mount Kisco Chiefs upped their record to 5-2 with an 8-2 win at Bedford Pound Ridge Red on Friday night. The Chiefs’ offense was paced by AJ Townsend and PJ Boles with 2 RBIs each; Townsend with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, and Boles with a 2-run double. Luca Chousa and Ben Belfiglio scored 2 runs apiece while Harrison Konopka, Mitch Antin and David Boucher limited BPR to two runs on six hits.
Well that’s all folks for TWIB Mt Kisco Baseball Edition. Come check out the MKLL playoffs this week and the rest of the action at Leonard Park. See y’all next week.
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