Announcement
After winning the District 27 Flag the RGMVM 12U Major team advanced to Sectionals to square off against District 25 Champions –Roberto Clemente LL on July 18, 2011.RGMVM Blues came ready to play, leading off in the top of the first inning with a single was red hot Vincent Rosario and a walk to Matt Nickel placed runners on 1st and 2nd when Gaspare Artale hit a rocket in right center gap for triple bringing in the game’s first 2 runs. Gaspare scored on Frank Cerillo ground out to 1st and RGMVM was on top 3-0. On the mound for the RGMVM Blues was southpaw Matt Nickel, who coasted thru 2 and 2/3 of inning but ran into some trouble in the 3rd inning, with District 25 scoring 3 runs cutting the RGMVM lead to 4-3. In the fourth inning, Frank Cerillo pitching in relief got into a little jam with a runner on first and two outs, when District 25- Gutierrez hit a moon shot off the high fence in right field. Right fielder Lenny Lynaugh quickly threw the ball to 2nd base, where Phil Murtha fired a strike to Gaspare at the plate to nail the runner trying to score and retain the RGMVM lead at 4-3. RGMVM tacked on two insurance runs in the fifth on a big hit by Colin Ritter and added 5 runs in the 6th inning to cap the scoring and RGMVM win 11-3. Phil Murtha closed out the last two innings for the win.
RGMVM hitting was lead by Matt Nickel 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 rbis, Gaspare Artale 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 rbis, and Colin Ritter 2 for 4 with 2 rbis. Great pitching, solid defense and clutch hitting has carried this team to the Sectional Semi-Final. Next stop is South Shore Little League in Staten Island to face –off against Staten Island District Champions Great Kills American. It was a great summer night for baseball and the hype was in the stadium with a full house on hand to watch RGMVM vs. GKA. Back on the mound for RGMVM was left handed ace Matt Nickel vs. right hander Jonathan Carbonella for GKA. GKA jumped out ahead in the top of the first with a two run homerun for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd inning GKA added 4 more runs via the long ball on back to back homeruns for what seemed a commanding 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd the RGMVM bats came alive. Matt Nickel led off with a single and scored on Gaspare Artale’s double. After Cerillo grounded out advancing the runner, Colin Ritter’s single scored Gaspare for the second run of the inning. With Matt Nickel tiring Phil Murtha came in relief to work a 1,2,3- 4th inning. In the bottom of the fourth inning Matt hit a tremendous homerun over the fence in right center to bring RGMVM within 6 to 3. But this night was not for the RGMVM Blues as they had many missed opportunities leaving 16 runners on base. GKA’s great fielding shortstop James Grieg took away two singles up the middle for Vincent Rosario and turned two double plays in the 4th and 5th inning to kill RGMVM rallys. GKA tacked on two runs in the 5th inning and 6 more in the 6th inning for a 14-3 final. GKA went on to win the Sectional Championship on Friday.
We wish the best of luck to GKA in the New York State Championship series next week as they reach for Bristol and Williamsport LL. A special thanks to South Shore Little League, they did a tremendous job hosting this game for all the kids and parents. Great job to all the boys on RGMVM –Blues, they had a great run in this tournament and a wonderful experience that they will remember for many years.
