Aug 6th Sectional Final
Our loyal fans made the trip across the river to support our boys at Twin Town Little League for a Section 3 showdown between East Greenbush and Colonie in the Section Final. The history of these storied little leagues have many such "win or go home" critical games.
Both teams brought top shelf pitching, and stellar defense. As the innings past it seemed like this game might go on for a dozen innings before someone would blink and give up a run.
Colonie couldn't hit anything more than a single. Twice we ended an inning with a runner on third. We just couldn't get that one extra hit to put a run on the board.
We put together great defense to defend our shut out. Jordan Obercon made a throw home in the 5th to keep East Greenbush off the board.
In the top of the 6th inning one swing of the bat made all of the difference in the game. The lead off hitter for East Greenbush hit a line drive over the centerfield fence to make it 1 to nothing.
Our guys never gave up. Tommy Kretzler and JO kept the magic in the air as they teamed up to retire the side.
We started the top of the 6th with a dramatic hustle for a single, but we never got beyond that. A few minutes later it was all over, and East Greenbush was celebrating a trip to the state finals in oswego, and our kids knew their season was over.
Fans after the game commented on how special this group of young men are. They worked as hard as any team in Colonie history, and they took on all comers for a month. We recalled the big home runs, the great pitching, and the air tight defense. This one run loss will fade from our memories, and the great times will stand out for a lifetime.
Thanks to the kids for the thrills, and the pride you brought to Colonie Little League.
Aug. 5 Sectional Semi-Final
This was a tough elimination game. Losing tonights game would have ended our season. We were fortunate to get another home game in the tournament, and to have an "All Time Great" pitching performance from "Big Game" and "Mariano".
We started the game down by a score of 2-0 after a rough first inning start. Our defense has a few balls hit to them, but seemed just a little tense. John "Big Game" Baluch took matters into his own hands and stuck out the side stranding 2 runners.
That was virtually the only opportunity the defense had to play. Johnny pitched for 4 and 2/3 innings for 14 outs.... 12 by strike out. To call this a dominant pitching performance would be an understatement. That hill belonged to John, and he seemed to do whatever he wanted to do with the baseball.
I am sure the opposing team looked forward to seeing another pitcher, but we gave them no quarter. Jordan Obercon came in to take the last out of the 5th and the entire 6th inning. Jordan just picked up where John left off. JO "Mariano" Obercon retired the 4 batters with consecutive strike outs. In a game where we recorded 18 outs, there were 16 Strike Outs.
Offensively we were stifled for the first trip around the batting order. In the bottom of the second we scored one run when Mike Megyeri was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. We stranded all of those runners, and still found ourselves down 2-1.
The bottom of the 3rd inning, the top of our order changed the tide. John Baluch beat out a throw to first, which was followed by a HUGE double to centerfield by Tommy Kretzler, scoring JB. Now we were tied 2-2, but you could feel the momentum on our side of the field.
In the 4th inning we had another big rally, led by the usual suspercts. Megs hits a hard single to center, then advances on a passed ball. John Baluch hits a laser to the fence for a double, scoring Mike Megyeri, Then Kretzler hits his second double of the game scoring Baluch. Now we were up 5-2.
In our final at bats in the 5th Jimmy Morrison got us started with a hard fought single, followed by a Carson Hearst walk, Mike Megyeri hit a single to the third base side that allowd Jimmy to score. That made it 6-2 and that is where the score would stay.
Our boys should be full of confidence as they roll into the sectional championship game at Twin Towns Little League
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View Larger Map Monday Aug. 3 Second Sectional Game
We played our last game at Cook Park, and the fans gave us a great reception. Their were celebrities throughout the crowd including Ben Contento, Mike Mueller, and Zack Gallagher from the 2008 11 Year Old State Championship team.
Tom Kretzler took the mound with confidence tonight. The first 4 outs of the game for the District 16 Champion Rondout team were strike outs. Through 5 complete innings TK had 10 strike outs. It was a show of power, and consistency around the strike zone.
At the plate, we continued our patented 2 out hitting. The highlight came with 2 runners on and 2 strikes on Dominick "Nooooooch" Herald. 3rd base Coach Hearst said " I like you with 2 strikes Dom." The next pitch came in fast, and went out faster. Our catcher hit a screaming line drive out of the park, right at the flag pole in center field.
Hitting Leaders:
Carson Hearst: walk and BIG triple, 2 RBI
Jonathan Montensanti Double, 2 Singles, RBI
Morrison: Double , Single 4 RBI's
Dominick Herald: Home Run, Single 3 RBI
Phil Adikes: Single
Jordan Obercon: Single, RBI
Michael Megyeri: Warning Track Double, RBI
In the 6th inning, Coach handed the ball to the best bull pen in the state. Jordan Obercon recorded the first 2 outs by strike out, then Mike Megyri came in to put the final out in the books.
Out next game is an elimination game, and it will be played at Cook Park on Wednesday Aug. 5th at 6PM. Please come out and support our team.
Good Luck Boys!
Saturday Aug.1 First Sectional Game
We were honored to play at the little league field for the Burnt Hills Little League. We were actually playing on the same field the 12 year old State Championship is being played on. It was a much bigger park than the one we won our games on in Hudson Valley. The ourfield fence looked to be about 25 feet deeper. That adds up to a much tougher outfield to play defensively, and a bigger need to string together basehits.
The sidelines were peppered with a "Who's Who" of Colonie Little League. Nick Donato, and Kyle Ruth are among the loyal fans cheer their Colonie brothers on.
The bread and butter of this little league team has been pitching strikes and stellar defense. That was the recipe for success on Saturday. Johnny "Big Game" meant business. He completed the game with 4 innings of pitching in 59 pitches. He had a shut out, and he let his defense do the work behind him. We were flawless, not a single error, and the huge outfield proved no match for our outfielders.
We showcased another hallmark of Colonie Baseball. On our last at bat of the game, we started a rally... a 2 out rally... that scored 5 runs on consecutive basehits through most of the order.
As big as that outfield was, it wasn't big enough to keep Mike Mygeri in the yard. Mike has hit 5 home runs this all-star season, and has about 10 more in him.
The boys are coming home to Colonie to play what looks like their last game at Colonie for their 11 year old season. We hope to see a big turn out at the field, and when Chris plays New York New York, we hope this team will be on it's way to play for it's Sectional Championship.
Tuesday July 28th:
There was a little extra tension in the air as Colonie rolled it to play at Hudson Valley Little League... this was the District Championship game against the kids from Tri- Village. The greenskeeper from Hudson Valley had been at the field for hours to put the field in Championship shape. The grass was freshly mowed, the lines painted and immaculate. It was a 92 degree day and the sun was brightly shining on the deep green grass.
The kids from Colonie took the field and Tri Village was at bat. The first batter reached on an error and the second on a walk. It looked like this game might not go our way. A call came from the dugout "Tommy you gotta dig down deep, we need you tonight." Tommy Kretzler did exactly that. Tom found another gear for that fast ball, and Dominick Heralds glove made a "Swack" sound on the very next pitch.
There was no looking back after that. The bats roared. Carson Hearst batted lead off and came inches away from putting one out of the park in the deepest part of center field. This was Colonie baseball. Line drives were hit all the way through the order. Smart baserunning kept runners on second and third with a merry-go-roound of runners coming home.
The big lumber of the day came from Dom Herald, and Michael "Megs" Megyeri.. they both left parting gifts for the homeowners in the neighborhood behind the fence. Brand new hardly used baseballs, courtesy of the "Wrecking Crew".
There was a scare that went through the crowd in the top of the 4th. A player from Tri-Village hit the only home run scored against us, and Michael Mygeri went after it like a Kamikaze pilot. The end result was a full speed knee first into the center field fence that left Mike down grabbing his knee.
By the time we closed it out in the bottom of the 5th inning with a Carson Hearst walk off single, Mike was ready to charge the field with the rest of the kids. The kids and coaches partied like it was 1999 (when the players were 2).
Now Colonie advances to the Sectional Tournament to face other teams from our region. We will play on Saturday against the winner of District 12 (Schenectady County), at their park. On Monday we have a home game against the winner of District 16 (Ulster County ).
Sunday July 26th: The first 'game ball' of this All-Star season went to Johnny "Big-Game" Baluch.
Big John took the hill with a ferocity that he saves for the post-season. Dom Herald didn't have to call many hooks, it was a steady diet of fast balls for the crew from Pine Bush American.
John had a great defensive team behind him, and they handled everything that came to them. It was a perfect 5 inning defensive performance.
John Baluch and Tommy "K" Kretzler both hit bombs to the neighborhood behind the centerfield fence. There was plenty of offense as we put up 10 runs in this abbreviated game.
Now it's on to the District Championship game on Tuesday Night at Hundson Valley Little League... The District Reps will be there with two trophys... we want the big one.
Good Luck Colonie!
Saturday July 26th: Wrecking Crew hits Hudson Valley
Colonie goes to 3-0 in the District Tournament by defeating the home town Hudson Valley Little League Team.
Pitching Duties were handled by Jordan Obercon, Brendan Zebrowski and John Baluch. Their perfect game was ruined by a hard hit ball down the first base line. In all the pitching staff only gave up one hit.
On the other side of the coin, the boys came with their bats loaded. There were 6 home runs hit is 4 innings. The Colonie Siblings roamed the street behind the fence and tried to protect the homes from crashing baseballs. Sadly they missed one, and the owners of the tan house beyond the center field fence thought their house was hit by a truck... Johnny B made no apologies.
Colonie 11 Year Old Wrecking Crew
The 11 year old boys traveled to Hudson Valley Little League to battle the best players in District 13 to defend their title as District Champions. The road was made harder because our star shortstop and homerun hitter Kyle Ruth was asked to play up with the 12 year old team. This is the highest possible honor for Kyle, but a big loss for the 11 Year old team.
In our first game we faced a great pitcher from Tri Village. He was a tall young man with a very powerful fastball and a great change up. Our hitters really had to step up to handle this challenge.
We started "Big John" Baluch on the hill and knew we had to play tough defense behind him.
Colonie was held scoreless until the 4th inning when our top hitters got a second look at this pitcher. The top of our order went at Tri Village hard, bouncing bulleted line drives off the fence. In all we put up 3 runs.
Tri- Village was game, they came back and scored 2 and never stopped putting runners on. In the 5th Colonie answered with 3 more runs to make the final score 6-2.
This was a great effort for Colonie to start the tournament with. We had offense, defense and pitching combine to make it a very tight performance for an opening game.
Our second game was played on Sunday afternoon at the same Hudson Valley Little League. We had to face the mighty Pinebush National Team. They have a strong line-up that hits from top to bottom. We also know that Pine Bush is one of the premier defensive teams in the league.
Tommy "TK" Kretzler took the mound and made it look easy. He threw bullets, and was able to paint the inside and outside corners of the plate with grace. He had great defensive support from Brendan Zebrowski, Carson Hearst, and Jimmy Morrison. In the end the defense was able to hold the Pine Bush team to 1 run all day.
On the offensive side, Mike Megyeri was the first to put one over the fence and start what will be a long run of Home Runs by the kid from Colonie. Mike is a feared hitter that can take anyone deep. Carson Hearst hit one just under the top of the fence in left field.
Jimmy "The Iceman" Morrison came in for the final 4 outs of the game, and "put this one in the books" for Colonie.
We had a large caravan of fans make it down to see us compete. Special Thanks to the 12 YO All-Stars for being so enthusiastic for us.