(11) ISLANDERS

ALL STAR GAME

18AAA All Stars-Wednesday, December 19, 2012—North 12 South 6

     (Royal Palm Beach)—The South, featuring Wild West Wranglers, Tigres and Hurricanes All Star players, blitzed  the North squad, headed up by a half dozen Beach Bums, joined by the Badgers and Titans, 12-0 at Seminole Palms Park.  The Wrangers are now in first place, but were in second behind the Beach Bums back on December 2, the date for All Star allotments based on position in the league standings. 

     Four pitchers combined on a two hit shutout, but the big story on offense for the South was catcher Melvin Bruno, who had four hits, including two doubles, a sacrifice fly and three runs batted in to earn the game's Most Valuable Player award. 

     Steven Hibbs, Danny La Perna and Drew Davis, all from the Wranglers, posted a combined ten strikeouts, and Bruno got the final out of the game, which ended as time approached the three hour limit and lights went off just before 10PM.

     Hibbs pitched a hitless three innings, fanning three.  LaPerna gave up the three North hits, and fanned five in his three inning stint, and Davis also pitched no-hit ball while registering five K’s.

     Starters Hibbs and Nick Renault (Beach Bums) battled through a scoreless first three innings, with Renault yielding only a first inning double by Bruno, a walk and eight strikeouts.  The South, though, cracked through against Beach Bums’ manager Charles Sano, who was also hampered by a porous defense in the fourth inning when two unearned runs scored.

     Bruno’s second double started the inning, but back to back errors enabled Bruno to score, and Ryan McDonald (Wranglers) also tallied on a one out fielder’s choice by LaPerna, both runs scored as unearned.  The South added another in the fifth on a walk and two steals by Max Johnson of the Wranglers, who scored on Bruno’s RBI hit to left.

     The South broke it wide open with four runs in the 7th and 9th innings, sandwiched around one run in the 8th.  An RBI triple by Davis, followed by a Bruno RBI hit, a single by the Wranglers’ Ryan McDonald, a throwing error and an RBI double by Luis Mejia (Tigres).  Bruno’s sacrifice fly in the 8th scored Chris Hanna (Hurricanes) who walked and reached third on an outfield error on a ball hit by Johnson.  Hanna knocked in two more in the 9th with a single, Johnson plated another with a triple to right, and Johnson scored on a fly ball to center that was dropped for an error. 

     The South also pulled off an unusual triple play in the 7th inning.  With two runners on, both hit by Davis’ pitches, Luis Gonzalez (Badgers) hit a comebacker to Davis, who fired to second for a routine 1-6-3 double play, but Hibbs alerted fired to third base where the Beach Bums’ Ryan Togher got caught in a rundown with Hibbs crossing the diamond to apply the tag for the third out.

     Andrew Hansack (Beach Bums), Omar Hernandez (Badgers) and Dave Salley (Beach Bums) had the only hits for the North, both singles.  LaPerna drove in two South runs on infield grounders.    In addition to Bruno’s four hits, Johnson, Davis, McDonald, Mejia, LaPerna had one each. 

     LaPerna received credit for the pitching win.  Sano (3IP), the second of four North hurlers, took the loss, with teammate Dave Salley (2IP) and Hernandez also appearing on a staff, depleted by the absence of four Twins’ players, including two pitchers.  Two eligible Hurricanes and a White Sox’ representative also missed the game.   

                 18AA All Stars—-Wed.,December 19, 2012

                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H  E     

                 South       0 0 0 2 1 0 4 1 4 12 10  2       

                 North       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  3  4     

SOUTH (12)             AB  R  H BI W  K NORTH (0)             AB R H BI W  K

Max Johnson(Wranglers)  4  3  1  1 2  2 Dave Salley(Bums)      4 0 1  0 0  1 

Drew Davis(Wranglers)   5  1  1  2 0  4 Nate Palmer(Bums)      4 0 0  0 0  2

Melvin Bruno(Tigres)    5  2  4  3 0  1 Nick Renault(Bums)     2 0 0  0 1  1

Ryan McDonald(Wranglers)6  2  1  0 0  2 Andrew Hansack(Bums)   3 0 1  0 0  0

Francis Dinzey(Tigres)  5  0  0  0 0  0 Ryan Togher(Bums)      2 0 0  0 0  1

Luis Mejia(Tigres)      3  1  1  1 1  1 Junior Reyes(Titans)   2 0 0  0 0  1

Danny LaPerna(Wranglers)3  1  1  2 2  0 Luis Gonzalez(Badgers) 3 0 0  0 0  1

Ariel Adames(Tigres)    4  0  0  0 0  1 Omar Hernandez(Badgers)2 0 1  0 1  1

Chris Hanna(Hurricanes) 4  2  1  2 1  1 Eduardo Godines(Badg.) 3 0 0  0 0  3

Steven Hibbs(Wranglers) 0  0  0  0 0  0 Charles Sano(Bums)     0 0 0  0 0  0

TOTALS                 39 12 10 11 6 12 TOTALS                25 0 3  0 2 11

LEFT South 8,North 4 ERRORS-Hibbs,Bruno,Gonzalez,Palmer,Reyes,Hansack.Togher

TRIPLE PLAY-South DOUBLES-Bruno 2,Mejia TRIPLES-Davis,Johnson

SB-Johnson 3 CS-Johnson SAC.FLY-Bruno,Davis WP-LaPerna,Hernandez 2

HIT BY PITCH-Togher(by Davis), Reyres (by Davis)

SOUTH PITCHING        IP  H  R ER BB SO NORTH PITCHING     IP  H  R ER BB SO

Steven Hibbs         3.0  0  0  0  1  3 Nick Renault      3.0  1  0  0  1  8

Danny LaPerna (W)    3.0  3  0  0  1  5 Charles Sano (L)  3.0  3  3  1  1  1

Drew Davis           2.0  0  0  0  0  2 Dave Salley       2.0  4  5  5  2  1

Melvin Bruno         0.1  0  0  0  0  1 Omar Hernandez    1.0  2  4  3  2  2

Managers-Rob Wiley (Wranglers, South), Charles Sano (Beach Bums, North)

Umpires-Bernie Ginsburg (P), Hector Cruz(B)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER-Melvin Bruno (Tigres, South) 

Time of Game-2:57

 18AA All Stars-Wednesday, December 12, 2012—North 12 South 6

     (Royal Palm Beach)—The North All Stars, headed up by six members of the first place Gators rallied twice, including a 7-run seventh inning to beat the South, led by six players from the division runnerup Havana Cubans, at Seminole Palms Park.  The teams traded unearned runs for the first three innings, until the South took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a long double by Ryan Romero , a wild pitch and an infield grounder by South skipper Lazaro Diaz . 

     The North went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, on a two run double by William Ramos, and widened the margin to 5-2 on a two run single by Alex Gonzalez.  Gonzalez had singled in a run in the third to tie it at 1-1.  The South’s first run came in the second on a bases loaded fielder’s choice bouncer to third base by Ramon Serpa). 

     The South closed the gap to 5-4 in the 7th on a single by Jose Burgos, a fielder’s choice on which Austin Souther was safe, and a wild throw to third base, followed by a second error on the same play that advanced Souther to third.  Javier Sotolongo brought him home with a sacrifice fly to center.

     A seven run bottom of the 7th put it safely in the North’s corner.  The inning featured two-run singles by Anier Cartaya and Joshua Rivera, an RBI hit by Gonzalez, and a two run double by Eddie Vazquez. 

     The South plated two in the 8th on a walk to Anthony Rodriguez, a wild pickoff attempt that sent him all the way to third base, and an infield out by Lazaro Diaz.  Luis Martinez drove in the final run with an RBI single to score teammate Manny Ramirez, who had walked and advanced to second on a passed ball.

     Rivera (3IP, one run, one hit, two strikeouts) relieved starter Ronal Diaz for the win.  Diaz gave up one unearned run on one hit in his three innings.  Joe Mazzeo pitched the 7th and 8th, giving up four unearned runs, and William Ramos closed it out with a scoreless ninth. 

     Ryan Romero (3IP) started for the South, gave up an unearned run, and two hits, but the loss went to Anthony Rodriguez (3IP, 4R, 3ER, three earned, three walks, a strikeout and a hit batter).  Austin Souther pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up six runs, four of which were unearned.  Martinez completed the inning, giving up two hits, but the runs were charged to Souther.  Serpa pitched a scoreless 8th inning. 

     Gonzalez was 3 for 3 with four runs batted in to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

     The 18AAA All Star game, scheduled for Thursday, December 13, was postponed due to wet grounds at Seminole Palms, and was played on Wednesday, December 19.       

                       18AA All Stars—-Wed.,December 12, 2012

                             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H  E     

                 South       0 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 0  6  4  4       

                 North       0 0 1 2 2 0 7 0 0 12 13  3     

SOUTH (6)               AB R H BI W K NORTH (11)             AB  R  H BI W K

Manny Ramirez(Cubans)    3 1 0  0 1 0 Carlos Jimenez(Gators)  3  1  0  0 1 0

Rob Romero(Expos)        3 0 0  0 0 0 Jordan Gazquez(Gators)  3  0  0  0 0 1

Luis Martinez(Cubans)    3 0 1  1 0 0 William Ramos(Gators)   2  0  1  2 1 0     

Eddie Sanchez(Cubans)    3 0 0  0 0 0 Eduardo DelToro(Gators) 3  1  0  0 0 0    

Dargel Gomez(Cubans)     2 1 1  0 0 0 Yandry Cabrera(Gators)  3  1  2  0 0 0      

Tim McManus(Expos)       3 0 0  0 0 0 Ronal Diaz(Gators)      3  1  1  0 0 0     

Darien Viera(S.Kings)    1 0 0  0 2 1 Anier Cartaya(Giants)   3  2  2  0 0 0     

Ramon Serpa(S.Kings)     2 0 0  1 0 1 Dom De Santis(Giants)   2  3  1  0 1 0     

Jose Burgos(Cubans)      2 1 1  0 0 0 Joshua Rivera(Giants)   3  1  1  1 0 0

Austin Souther(Nats)     2 1 0  0 0 0 Alex Gonzalez(Giants)   3  1  3  4 0 0     

Lucas Scuteri(Bulldogs)  1 0 0  0 0 0 Eddie Vazquez(Tigers)   3  0  1  2 0 0

Carlos Sotolongo(S.Kings)2 0 0  0 0 1 Juan Arroyo(Tigers)     2  0  0  0 1 0

Javier Sotolongo(S.Kings)1 0 0  1 0 0 Steve Mulligan(Marlins) 3  0  0  0 0 1

Ryan Romero(Expos)       2 1 1  0 0 0 Joe Mazzeo(Marlins)     2  1  1  0 0 1

Anthony Rodriguez(Nats)  0 1 0  0 2 0 TOTALS                 38 12 13  9 4 3

Lazaro Diaz(Cubans)      2 0 0  2 0 0

TOTALS                  32 6 4  5 5 3

LEFT-South 7, North ERRORS-McManus 2, Gomez, Scuteri, Mazzo, Vazquez, Ramos, Cabrera DP-South 1, North 1 DOUBLES-Ry.Romero, Ramos, Vazquez SAC.FLY-J.Sotolongo SB-Gonzalez, Mazzeo 2. Gomez. Viera WILD-Ry.Romero,Rodriguez

HIT BY PITCH-Gomez (by Rodriguez, Rivera (by Diaz), Mazzeo (by Rivera), Scuteri (by Mazzeo)

SOUTH PITCHING       IP  H R ER BB SO SOUTH PITCHING       IP  H R ER BB SO

Ryan Romero         3.0  2 1  0  1  0 Ronal Diaz          3.0  1 1  0  1  0

Anthony Rodriguez(L)3.0  4 4  3  3  2 Joshua Rivera (W)   3.0  1 1  1  1  2

Austin Souther      0.1  4 6  5  1  0 Joe Mazzeo          2.0  2 4  0  2  1

Luis Martinez       0.2  2 0  0  0  0 William Ramos       1.0  0 0  0  1  0

Ramon Serpa         1.0  1 0  0  0  1

Managers-Lazaro Diaz (South), Yandry Cabrera (North)

Umpires-Hector Cruz (P), Bernie Ginsburg (B)

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER-Alex Gonzalez (North, Giants) 

Time of Game-2:56

BEACH BUMS' HOPES END IN FWS SEMIFINALS

In the last analysis, the South Florida Beach Bums never recovered for the two close losses they suffered on Thursday, November 1 as the Palm Beach League's lone representative in the NABA's Florida World Championship Series in Jupiter. The teams they lost to on the fateful opening day are meeting in Sunday's 18 Over Championship game. The Beach Bums lost to the defending champion Florida Cardinals 2-1, and to the New York Mariners 5-2.

The Beach Bums split Friday's two games, walloping the Montreal A's 13-6 after losing to the Virginia Beach Snipers 11-1. And Saturday morning, the Beach Bums won a "must game", defeating the Tampa Bay Thunder 7-4 to earn a berth in the semifinals. That's where it ended, though, as the team's second meeting with the Mariners ended abruptly with a crushing 9-0 defeat. The Mariners went on to capture the Over 18 title Sunday, by flogging the Florida Cardinals 10-4. The Cardinals had won the 2011 FWS championship.

BROWARD NABA LEAGUE ASTROS, WITH HELP FROM PALM BEACH ADDITIONS WIN THEIR DIVISION

The Southeast Astros from a neighboring (Broward County) League, buoyed by a trio of Palm Beach League players, won the Over 25 championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Tri-State Titans 7-3. Key additions to the Southeast lineup were Drew Davis, Rob Wiley and Steven HIbbs, all from the Palm Beach League's Manatees, and Guy Bichatcho of the Palm Beach League's White Sox. Congratulations to Jay Caddle, League President and team organizer/manager.

Both championship finals were played at Roger Dean Stadium, spring training home of the St.Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, as well as their Florida State League Advanced Class A affiliates, the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads.

BEACH BUMS' HOPES END IN FWS SEMIFINALS

In the last analysis, the South Florida Beach Bums never recovered for the two close losses they suffered on Thursday, November 1 as the Palm Beach League's lone representative in the NABA's Florida World Championship Series in Jupiter. The teams they lost to on the fateful opening day are meeting in Sunday's 18 Over Championship game. The Beach Bums lost to the defending champion Florida Cardinals 2-1, and to the New York Mariners 5-2.

The Beach Bums split Friday's two games, walloping the Montreal A's 13-6 after losing to the Virginia Beach Snipers 11-1. And Saturday morning, the Beach Bums won a "must game", defeating the Tampa Bay Thunder 7-4 to earn a berth in the semifinals. That's where it ended, though, as the team's second meeting with the Mariners ended abruptly with a crushing 9-0 defeat. The Mariners went on to capture the Over 18 title Sunday, by flogging the Florida Cardinals 10-4. The Cardinals had won the 2011 FWS championship.

BROWARD NABA LEAGUE ASTROS, WITH HELP FROM PALM BEACH ADDITIONS WIN THEIR DIVISION

The Southeast Astros from a neighboring (Broward County) League, buoyed by a trio of Palm Beach League players, won the Over 25 championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Tri-State Titans 7-3. Key additions to the Southeast lineup were Drew Davis, Rob Wiley and Steven HIbbs, all from the Palm Beach League's Manatees, and Guy Bichatcho of the Palm Beach League's White Sox. Congratulations to Jay Caddle, League President and team organizer/manager.

Both championship finals were played at Roger Dean Stadium, spring training home of the St.Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, as well as their Florida State League Advanced Class A affiliates, the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads.

FALL TRYOUTS

Nine new players joined the league through Fall League tryouts player draft at the Santaluces Complex on Sunday, September 30, 2012.

The Create-Core Badgers, formerly known as the Pirates, drafted a 6-5 lefthanded pitcher---Jordan Taylor, a native Californian who now lives in Boynton Beach. Taylor, who spent six years in the US Navy, showed a lively arm as he continues to recover from a pitching arm shoulder injury he suffered while trying it for a Baltimore Orioles' farm club, the Delmarva Shorebirds. Taylor is 27 and can also play first base. He showed power in batting drills, and could help the Badgers as they get set for another season in the 18AAA division.

The White Sox corraled the top hitting prospect in selecting third baseman Alain Hernandez, a 26 year old, who moved to West Palm Beach after a nice high school career at the same Hialeah HS program as Washington Nationals' star lefthander, Gio Gonzalez. Hernandez, who can also play first base and catch will bring a solid stroke to the White Sox as they hope to improve off last year's somewhat disappointing season in the highly competitive 18AAA division.

Seven others were drafted by 18AA division teams. The South Florida Giants took middle infielder Juan Mercedes, 27, of Greenacres, who showed versatility on defense and demonstrated solid hitting in live batting practice.

Two other AA division teams took three players each. The Marlins, who played the past few seasons as the Devil Rays or Rays, took a father/son team in ouitfielder-pitcher Reymar Cabrera, as well as his 43-year old dad, Reimar Cabrera, a pitcher-shortstop. The Cabreras live in Loxahatchee. They also took second baseman-outfielder Noah Tenenbaum, 23, of Wellington.

The Bulldogs added 19-year old Alex Marcantonio of Boca Raton, who plays first base, as well as the outfield, 19-year old outfielder Renard Bailey of Greenacres, and18-year old Mark Snyder of West Palm Beach.