Little League Season Enters the Home Stretch

By Neal Comstock
Falls Church Times Staff
May 29, 2014

This is the last week of the regular season for the Falls Church Kiwanis Little League (FCKLL) and there were no games this past weekend for the Memorial Day holiday. Game reports are prepared by FCKLL Managers, Coaches and parents. Complete scores and standings can be found at FCKLL.org.

Little Leaguers After Marching in the Falls Church Memorial Day Parade

Majors (ages 10-12)

On Wednesday, May 21 at Westgate Park, Caleb Parnell led the A’s to 12-6 victory over the Orioles.  He racked up four RBIs on four hits, including singles in the first, second, and third innings and a double in the fourth inning.  From the mound, Parrnell threw nine strikeouts allowing one earned run, five hits and one walk over four and one third innings.  Nine runs in the first three innings helped the A’s prevail.  An RBI single by Timmy Bradley, an RBI single by Parnell, an RBI single by Hollman Smith, and an error in the first inning and a steal of home by Declan Quill during the second inning supplied the early offense for the A’s.  The A’s piled on three more runs in the bottom of the third and retained the lead for the rest of the game.

AAA (ages 9-11)

The Giants improved their record to 7-2-1 with victories in two closely contested clashes this week. First up was the Red Sox at Idylwood Park on May 19 in a seesaw battle that saw the lead change hands five times before the Giants came away with the 11-10 decision. Ryan Doherty was a one man wrecking crew in a losing cause for the Red Sox, smashing a triple, a single and a grand slam in his three times at the plate, but his efforts were not enough to overcome a balanced attack by the Giants that included contributions from Jonathan Oppenheimer (two hits, two RBIs), Ben Petty (two hits, HBP, two runs), Charlie Rowe (RBI double), John Cascella (RBI single), George Papadopoulos (RBI single, five stolen bases), Michael Hammond (RBI single) and Ronan Kelly (two hits, two runs).

Next up for the Giants was a road game against the Mason District Astros on May 23.  Possibly due to the unfamiliar surroundings of Mason District Park, the Giants seemed sluggish at first and found themselves down 8-3 after three innings.  The tide turned quickly after that, however, as the Giants scored nine unanswered runs and brought home the 12-8 victory.  George Papadopoulos delivered the biggest blows, going three for three with a single, triple and double, driving in three runs and scoring three more.  Tapi Goredema got on base all three times (single, walk, HBP), stealing eight bases and scoring two runs.  Ronan Kelly was a triple threat for the Giants, providing strong offense (two hits, two RBI), defense (four unassisted putouts) and pitching (tossing a scoreless fourth inning) and John Cascella was literally unhittable, earning the save by closing out the final two frames, allowing no hits and no runs while overpowering the Astros with five strikeouts.

Single A (ages 6-9)

On Tuesday, May 20 at Jefferson Village Park, the Sea Dogs defeated the Volcanos in a hotly contested match.  The defense was tough from both clubs.  The Sea Dogs showed off their skills with the leather, they had a high effort night and played very smart, knowing where to go to make the play.  Sammy Findler made a very nice play on a well hit fly ball to shallow center.   Tommy Davies stuck with a well-hit ball that fell in and made a great play to gather the ball and make the throw to Findler at second for the tag out.  Jonah Maco made a great hustle play from the mound to scoop the ball and make an excellent throw to Nathan Lake at first for an out.  On the following play, Lake made a nice effort to record the unassisted out at first.  Colt Dixon tracked a high fly ball to left field and almost made a great grab in an impressive effort.  Christian Henry and Gunner Dixon both made strong defensive contributions with nice catches.  Nathanael Clock contributed to several outs and showed off his ever-present hustle.  The Volcanoes had a great day in the field with a strong showing of defensive skill.  Volcanoes first baseman Harris Hunt had a great inning-ending double play catching a well-hit line drive and tagging first to put out the base runner.  Even with the stellar defense being played the hitters were still able to find a few holes.  The Sea Dogs big bats included Gunner Dixon, Sam Varner, and Nathanael Clock all going three for three.  Dixon was locked and loaded belting a double and two more strong hits and he also scored three runs.  Varner and Clock were locked in at the plate and each scored two runs.  Colt Dixon, Jonah Maco, Nathan Lake, Anthony Viola, and Sammy Findler all went two for three.  Colt’s smart base running was rewarded with two runs scored by Maco and Lake.  The Volcanoes’ hitters had a strong day at the plate with Harris have a perfect day at the plate and scoring three runs.  Three Volcanoes went three for four:  Jake Marsh scored three runs with two doubles and an RBI, Angelo Santucci scored two runs with three RBIs, and Jack Turner scored a run and had a RBI.  Jay Geeslin went two for three and scored a run.  Paul Salinetti also scored a run.

On Thursday, May 22 at Falls Church High School, the Sea Dogs defeated the Iron Birds 21-7.  On the offensive side of the diamond, the Sea Dogs had six players perfect at the plate.  Tommy Davies had a great day at the plate going five for five and scoring two runs, followed by Gunner Dixon and Nathanael Clock who were also in zone, they each went four for four and scored three runs.  Nathan Lake and Sammy Findler each went four for four and scored two runs.  Colt Dixon and Sam Varner both made an impact on the game going three for four and scoring two runs each.  The Iron Birds had Ashwin Colby and Conrad Diemel both go three for three and score runs.  Harold Heller and Ryan Carroll each went three for four and scored runs.  With great speed on the bases JJ Peed and Anand Colby each scored runs for the Iron Birds.  Both teams were swinging the bats well and running both smart and hard on the bases.  A strong defensive effort was also on display by both teams.  The Sea Dogs were focused in the field, recording nine outs.  The defense for the Sea Dogs was highlighted by outstanding play by Sammy Findler and Colt Dixon.  Findler showed his ability with the glove making several great plays:  catching a liner at first and making another catch at third, making a nice play off the mound fielding a grounder, and making the throw to Colt Dixon at first.  Dixon was also on the receiving end of a nice throw from Nathanael Clock to get an out at second.  Other defensive standouts for the Sea Dogs included:  Christian Henry who made an incredible grab catching shallow fly ball hit to center, Nathan Lake made a great heads up play scooping up a grounder and hustling to the base to get the force out at third, and Jonah Maco who had a great catch at Shortstop and nearly made another grab.  Tommy Davies also had a terrific game especially behind the plate recording a force out in the fourth.   Gunner Dixon played a great game rising up as a team leader in field and on the bench.  The Iron Birds had a solid defensive showing recording four outs in the field and had several close plays.  All around the defensive hustle was great by each of the clubs.

Left to Right: Megan Carpenter, Raptors Manager Doug Carpenter, Raptors Coach Jim Alverson and John Alverson in the Falls Church Memorial Day Parade

Tigers Jack and Peter Villa marching in the Falls
Church Memorial Day parade.