Published: July 21, 2008 10:55 pm            

LOCAL BASEBALL: TALL team captures championship

The Tonawanda American Little League 10-year-old all-star team was recently crowned the District 1 tournament champion at North Tonawanda National Little League. A potent offensive attack, along with stellar pitching and defense, were the key components enabling TALL to claim the title.

Tonawanda advances to sectional tournament play to take on the District 6 winner at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Olean. A victory there would propel the team into the state tournament.

“It was really a team effort, all the kids contributed,” TALL manager Virgil Cross said. “The kids played hard and they were rewarded for their efforts.”

Tonawanda claimed the title with a 3-2 win over Mel Ott in the championship game, with Matthew Cross scoring the winning run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cross, who a posted a team-high .727 on-base percentage for the tournament, walked, stole second and third and was plated by a Connor Hudson single. Hudson, who taillied a .571 tourney batting average, scored along with Bret Kelly to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Cody Diaz pitched the first three innings in the win and Vinnie Militello came on with solid relief.

In the previous game against Mel Ott, Tonawanda was dealt a 9-4 loss. Kelly and Cross led the TALL offense with two hits apiece and Bradley Hermann walked twice. The game was tight going into the fifth, before Mel Ott blew things open with a five-run inning.

A 5-1 Tonawanda win over Lockport put TALL in the finals. Diaz once again performed well on the mound, striking out 10 over four innings. Kelly collected two hits and Hudson reached base all three times he came to bat.

Prior to the win over Lockport, the Tonawanda all-stars had yet another win over Mel Ott. TALL overcame an early deficit to win the game, 12-6, largely due to Cody McGregor’s 3-for-3 day at the plate, also scoring three runs. Cullen Smyth reached base four times and Hudson had two hits while also pitching into the fifth to pick up the win.

McGregor finished the tournament with an impressive .590 batting average.

In an 18-14 win over Orchard Park, Tonawanda led 18-9 before Orchard Park rallied to make it close late in the game. TALL managed to stand its ground and hold off a potential comeback behind four hits and three runs by McGregor. Kelly had three hits to go along with a pair of walks and Militello and Randy Moser both added two hits, with Moser tripling.

The locals opened tournament play with a four-inning, 17-0 trouncing of Lake Shore. Hudson picked up the win on the mound, allowing just two hits and fanning eight batters. He also had two hits at the dish, as did Militello and McGregor.

Other prime contributors for the winners were Joe Spataro, who finished with a .500 on-base percentage, and Anthony Argentieri, who had a .384 on-base mark. Both pitched in the win over Orchard Park.

        

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