In-Nate Behavior!
Mahopac Slugger Mascoll Leads 12U Indians to 15-5
Win over Byram Hills; 10U Yorktown, PV Miners do Battle
By Ray Gallagher
Examiner Sports Editor@Directrays
Indians’ 15-5 Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League win over visiting Byram Hills last Thursday at Crane Field.
There’s a mutual respect brewing between the 10U Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League A-Division rivals Putnam Valley Miners and the Yorktown Spartans. It’s evident in the way the players talk each other up. It’s obvious in the way the coaches rave about one another between innings and after their hard-nosed scrappy contests, the latest a 7-3 Putnam Valley win last Friday at Granite Knolls Park in Yorktown.
“We couldn’t beat them the first two or three times we played them,” Miners Coach Mike Quinn said of the Spartans, “but gradually we’ve improved and we’re both on that A-Division level and we expect to have some great game with Yorktown as we lead these kids to their high school careers. We want the people in Putnam Valley to be able to talk about our kids for the next 20, 40 years. They are a great group of committed kids. We’ve been able to take three of the last four against the guys and every game is a battle.”
After taking a 2-1 decision from the Spartans (4-3) the last time the two battled, Putnam Valley broke open Friday’s game with three runs in the first. IF/P Logan Moriarty had three RBI and two more from IF/P Matt Quinn, who closed out the win for starter Nick Martinelli. Jack Marinelli added two hits and an RBI while Evan Peterson scored twice for the Miners.
However, the Miners were dealt a huge blow over the weekend when Quinn, who also plays up for the 11U PV Pride Blue, suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left hand, so the depth of this squad was surely to be tested.
The Spartans recovered in Sunday’s twin bill, taking game one by an 8-6 count and the nightcap, 2-0. PV committed five errors and walked a bunch of Spartans, who blew the game open with a seven-run fifth. Frank Ofrias knocked in two runs for the winners while pitcher Christian Maratos whiffed seven Miners (7-3).
Yorktown picked up where it left off in game two, getting a pair of RBI from C.J. Velardo and a solid starting pitcher effort from Niko Masillo, who worked into the fifth inning with seven K’s. Moriarty had eight whiffs for PV but ran into some trouble during a two-run fourth that sealed the deal for the Spartans, who were credited with great pitching by Christian Maratos, Nico Masillo, Jake Sgobbo and Ryan Stevenson.
The New Castle Mustangs (7-1) are right there with the Miners and the Spartans, certainly contenders.
The 16U Yorktown Rebels (8-0) remained undefeated in the A-Division of the GHVBL after taking a pair from the Valley Dutchmen last Saturday at Granite Knolls, 11-9 and 3-2. SS Nick Jacoby had three hits to pace the Rebel attack in the 11-9 win while Frankie Kowal knocked in three runs. Pitchers Brendan Kenneally (8 K’s) and Patrick Ryan (4 K’s) were the victims of four Rebel errors but pitched out of major damage by whiffing 12.
In the nightcap, Yorktown pitchers Matt Alduino (5 K’s) and Vincent Fusco (3 K’s) combined to fan eight Dutchmen and scatter six hitters without much wiggle room. The Rebels mustered just three hits in all but got timely RBI from Ryan, Jacoby and Ryan Campobasso.
The 8U Yorktown Huskers (4-2) and Somers Red Storm (4-1) are having solid seasons in their respective A-Division while the Mahopac Wolves are 2-1 in the B. The Yorktown Heat (4-4) are seriously contending the 9U A-Division while the Cortlandt Nationals (5-1), Shrub Oak Storm (4-2), Mahopac Blue (3-2) and Putnam Valley Miners (4-2) are sitting pretty in the B-Division.
The Brewster Crush (4-1) 11U team and White Plains Hit-n-Run (4-3) is tearing up the A-Division while the Somers Red Storm (6-4) and Mahopac Wolves (6-2) are chasing the Putnam Valley Pride Blue (6-0) atop the standings. The Shrub Oak Storm (3-0) have only played three games but won them all.
In 12U action, Mahopac (7-2) handled Armonk (4-8), 15-5, blowing the doors open in an 11-run second behind three RBI from Ryan Sacco and two more from Jack G, Matt Bentivenga, Lou Girau. Mahopac failed to sustain its momentum in a 3-0 loss to Cortlandt United, who made the most of their two hits against Indian hurler Nate Mascoll, who sent eight batters down K-way. The Briarcliff Bears (9-1) are crushing it in the A-Division with the East Coast Mavs (8-1) on their tails.
The Patterson Pirates (6-0) are undefeated in 13U B-Division action with the Putnam Valley Wild (4-1) giving chase.
GHVBL coaches are encouraged to send weekly recaps and photos to raygallaghersports@gmail.com for inclusion in our weekly rundown.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
