28 JUNE 21, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
SPORTS
BWG girls made Father’s Day special with tourney win
The Blau Weiss Gottschee girls 04 team played in North Rockland Father’s Day Cup. On a special day, the girls made all of their dads very happy with a fi rstplace
fi nish. They cruised to victory over the West Side Red Bulls and World Class FC to win the cup.
Photo by Ovid Cusu
College Point Rebels bring home coveted L.I. Hot Stove title
The College Point Rebels, Managed
by Alexander Fried and
coached by Tom Neville, Debra
Neville and Keith O’Connor, brought
home the coveted 12u Long Island
Hot Stove Travel Championship to
Queens on June 16 aft er defeating the
elite Glen Cove Lightning in a heart
stopping 5-4 victory under the lights
at Alken Field in Seaford.
After going 6-0, the College Point
Rebels had two more regular season
games to win in order to lock
in first place. In game seven, Gavin
O’Connor, Shane Sullivan, Ryan
Neville, Gianni Grasotti and Evan
Antzoulis combined to throw the
Rebels’ third no-hitter of the season
in a 16-0 rout against the Long
Island Crushers.
Matthew Neville and Steve Kubic
both got two huge hits, stole three
bases and scored twice, while Brian
Baek, Tanner Fried and Evan Antzoulis
each had multiple doubles in the
game. Gianni Grasotti contributed
with a triple in the fi ft h inning to
secure the victory.
The last game of the regular season
pitted the Rebels’ against the
only other undefeated team in the
division, the Valley Stream Jayhawks.
This game was important not only for
bragging rights, but also to capture
fi rst place and the all-important top
seed in the playoff s.
Shane Sullivan was brilliant on the
mound, throwing a complete game no
hitter in a 21-1 route. The only run allowed
against Shane was a walk, followed by
an error, stolen base and fielder’s choice.
The Jayhawks ace pitcher, who stymied
all of the other teams in the division,
was no match for the Rebels offense.
Lead-off hitter Brian Baek was 5-5
which included a double and a triple;
he also scored four times. Tanner
Fried also went 5-5, driving in four
runs, which included a perfectly executed
drag bung squeeze and a double.
Tanner’s RBI was the fi rst of the game
and set the stage for the victory. Peter
Vanechanos went 3-5, drove in 3 runs
and scored 3 times. Gianni Grasotti
continued his hot hitting with a triple
and 2 singles. Gavin O’Connor, Carmine
Savino and Ryan Neville also
went 3-4 in the aft ernoon. The victory
resulted in the Rebel’s capturing fi rst
place and fi rst seed in the playoff s.
Aft er defeating the Jayhawks, the
Rebels faced the Glen Cove Lightning
in the Championship game. The
Lightning were favored to win the
championship from the start and
are strong in every facet of the game.
With a packed house watching, the
stage as set for a tight game. And our
fans were not disappointed. Shane
Sullivan pitched great, allowing
two runs in three innings against a
juggernaut off ense.
Down 1-0, Brian Baek led off the
fi rst with a home run over the right
center fi eld fence, tying the game at
one. Now down 2-1, Peter Vanechanos
led off with second with a single and
stole second. Shane Sullivan, helping
his own cause, drove a single to right
center, tying the game 2-2.
With the score tied 2-2 in the fourth
inning, Tanner Fried got on base with
a walk and stole second and third. Aft er
Vanechanos walked, Sullivan again
came through with a single to left , scoring
Fried. Ryan Neville then laid down
a perfect sacrifi ce bunt to move the
runners to second and third. Carmine
Savino then hit a monster double to the
right center fi eld fence scoring 2 runs.
With the score 5-2, Brian Baek came
in to close the game. Aft er walking
two batters, throwing errors resulted
in both runners scoring, which
tightened the score to 5-4.
With the tying run at third base in
the last inning and the championship
in jeopardy, Baek struck out the next
2 batters, securing the championship
trophy for the Rebels.
While the spring season is over,
the College Point Rebels will look
to continue its winning ways in the
summer travel league in LI Hot Stove.