for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com april 18, 2013 • buzz • The Queens Courier 53 Play Ball! Bayside League celebrating 60 years BY ANTHONY O’REILLY It’s an annual tradition that has been carried on for generations. The Bayside Little League celebrated the opening of its 60th season on April 13, marching up Bell Boulevard to the Crocheron Park ball fields. Bob Reid, commissioner of the Bayside Little League, said he was pleased with the turnout for the parade. “We have one of the largest registrations,” he said. “We’ve been a strong organization for many years.” Reid credits the strength of the program not just to the coaches and parents, but to the support of the local community as well. “I was thrilled,” he said about the parade. “Seeing the smiles on the faces of all the little kids.” With numerous elected officials gracing the mound, Reid said the League’s 60th anniversary will be just as special as every other year. “We’re going to do what we do every year and have a great season,” he said. FOR MORE PIX, GO TO WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM College Point Little League SEASON DEDICATED TO PLAYER KILLED IN CRASH BY ANTHONY O’REILLY The upcoming season of the College Point Little League will be dedicated to Christian Malave. The 11-year old pitcher and first baseman died in a car crash on March 30 as he was returning from vacation with his family in Florida. A banner commemorating Christian was carried by his teammates during the league’s opening day parade on Sunday, April 14, and all players will wear a commemorative patch on their sleeves for the duration of the season. Lou Sucre, who coached Christian, said the absence of the player has left a void on the team that will be hard to fill. “It was difficult to make the lineup without him,” Sucre said. “He was just that good of a player.” As the Destroyers, the team Sucre coaches, took the field on Sunday, he said many of the kids felt that something was missing during their performance. “The kids definitely felt his absence,” he said. Despite the hardship of continuing without one of their star players, Sucre said he and his team are focused on winning as many games as possible. “Last year we made it to the final four, this year we’re going to make it to the final two and win it,” he said. “That’s our goal every year.” Joe Murphy, an alumnus of the College Point little league system and first-year coach, said he sees the College Point little league as unique, in that it is more family oriented than others around the borough. “In the little league world, that’s unique,” he said. “I’ve played in other little leagues and there was never that feeling of belonging to anything.” As a first-time coach, Murphy will be working with 13-15 year olds. He hopes to be able to mold them into successful ball players, in order that they might have future success when playing elsewhere. “I’ve been training them, not just for this season,” Murphy said, “But so that if they want to take on high school baseball they’ll have some practice.” FOR MORE PIX, GO TO WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM
QC04182013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above