78 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 4, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sports MILITARY SLUGGERS GIVE COLLEGE CROWD RUN FOR THEIR MONEY ALL STARS BATTLE IT OUT BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] Competitive sports are often described as war. The Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) All-Stars played the USA Military All- Stars in a fun, meaningful game at Jack Kaiser Stadium at St. John’s University on June 29. It was a tense match-up between teams with solid offensive fi repower that culminated in a narrow 5-4 victory by the ACBL. “To us, what can be more meaningful than to say thank you to all the guys that are helping us to be free Americans?” said former St. John’s Athletic Director Jack Kaiser. “And at the same time, our league is a college league where the players are interested in improving and being seen by the scouts for a possible professional career.” The military players presented Old Glory before the game and there was a moment of silence for Americans who have died in war. But the peaceful diamond turned into a battlefi eld following the ceremony. The contest reached a climax in the top of the eighth inning, when the Military All-Stars were trailing 5-3. With two out, the soldiers started a rally. ACBL Pitcher Ryan Casey walked Dalton Martinez. The next batter, Eddie Waters, smacked a base hit into center fi eld, moving Martinez to third. Then Karl Seiter, who the soldiers call “Primetime” because he “gets hits in big situations,” hit a single into left fi eld, scoring Martinez. But the ACBL got the fi nal out, ending the comeback. “I thought we could pull something off, but they had good pitching and they didn’t give us many pitches to hit,” Seiter said. It was not the fi rst time the Military All-Stars showed their grit. With the ACBL All-Stars leading 3-0 into the fi fth inning, the soldiers began to turn the tide. ACBL pitcher Keenan Stare gave up back-toback walks to start the inning and the following batter grounded out, moving the base runners to third and second base. Military All-Stars second baseman Brandon Wheeler hit a smoking double past the third base line to score both base runners. The following batter, Christopher Schmitt, hit another double that scored Wheeler and tied the game. “The attitude was when they tied us up that they are a good team, they’re not just going to quit on us,” ACBL vice president Brian Casey said. “It was just, ‘Let’s get back to work, let’s get another lead.’” That they did. In the bottom of the inning, the ACBL All-Stars had a pair of doubles of their own. With one man on second base and one out, ACBL infi elder Rich Ricciardi hit a double to score Chris Smith and swipe the lead back. “It was a 1-0 count,” Ricciardi said. “I was ahead in the count, so I’m looking fastball. I decided I’m going to take a swing and luckily I just got a piece of it and it dropped into left fi eld.” Then outfi elder Joe Bamford slammed a double to score Ricciardi, improving the lead to 5-3. It was just enough to last until the end of the game. Despite the loss, the Military All-Stars earned respect from the college players. “We were surprised at how well they represented themselves,” Ricciardi said. “We were saying how their pitchers really know how to pitch and their catcher had a good arm. It’s an awesome feeling to play against them and be competitive on the same fi eld.” SEASON OF HOPE Bayside Little League does it for Newtown victims BY CHARLES OSBORN Jerry Costa has been managing little league teams for nine years, starting when his son turned fi ve. But this season was different. The Katie Den Little League team out of Bayside not only won all 20 of its games this season; they won on behalf of victims of the December 2012 shooting tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. A parent whose child played for Costa approached the coach about wearing a patch to call attention to the victims of the grisly school shooting. Costa immediately got in touch with Bayside Little League President Bob Reid. “I go to the baseball fi eld all the time and see young, six-year-old kids playing and laughing and having a good time,” Costa said. “Win or lose, it doesn’t make a difference to them as long as they’re playing baseball. I don’t care how much money the professionals make. Baseball was invented for kids.” Reid approved the patches, and the team, sponsored by Katie Den Enterprises, had an offi cial rallying cry: “One-Two-Three-Newtown!” They chanted it before innings as well as after games, including their fi nal victory on June 21, sewing up that perfect 20-0 season and a story for the ages. Each win represented one child whose life was taken at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “There were 26 total victims at Sandy Hook, and six of them were teachers and staff. When I was told that we had won 20 games for 20 children victims, I had to pull myself together,” Costa said. “Two of the kids playing for the team had never picked up a bat or a glove. It’s a miracle what we were able to accomplish for those kids,” Costa added. “Baseball is a great game. The children will never be forgotten. They will always been in our hearts.” THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre The USA Military All-Star baseball team engaged in warm-ups before the start of the game against the ACBL All-Stars.
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