Thursday, July 29, 2010
Updated with Stony Point baseballl 9-10 state-final results
Section 4 Baseball Championships
Majors
Wirchansky leads the hit parade as Stony Point wins Section 4 championship
Hits two home runs, drives in six, Pinelli, Greeley homer in 19-5 win over Montgomery
Tony Pinciaro
ORANGEBURG -- Stony Point came out swinging yesterday against Montgomery, beginning with Dan Wirchansky lacing the first pitch of the game for a single.
That was an omen of what was to come, and that was only in the first inning. When Stony Point was done, with the first inning, it had erupted for eight runs and it would continue.
Wirchansky belted two home runs and Stony Point had four in all as it hammered Montgomery, 19-5 in four innings in the championship game of the Section 4 Little League baseball majors' championship at South Orangetown Little League.
It was the third Section 4 title for this Stony Point team, which won the 10-year-old and 11-year-old divisions the previous two years. Stony Point advances to the New York State championships beginning today through Monday, Aug. 2 at Germonds Park in West Nyack and will open against East Greenbush Castleton (Section 3), 7:45 p.m.
Wirchansky finished 3 for 4, with a pair of three-run blasts, with three runs scored and six RBI as Stony Point amassed 15 hits. Austin Pinelli had a two-run clout in the second inning and finished with three RBI. John Greeley smoked a two-run homer in the third inning. Winning pitcher Frankie Nigro, who allowed two earned runs on four hits in the four innings, had two hits, scored three runs and a RBI and Ben Muller doubled, singled and drove in two runs.
Following the game, Wirchansky was holding his two home-run baseballs as he received congratulations from family and his teammates' parents.
"I was shocked because I never knew I had that much power," said Wirchansky, 13, and an eighth-grader-to-be at Fieldstone Secondary School. "I've barely even had one in a game. Those were only the second and third home runs of my career."
The hit parade continued in the first inning following Wirchansky, with Greeley, Nigro and Tuesday's hero, Billy Rotella, getting hits. Rotella's double to left center scored Wirchansky and Greeley. After Montgomery Ken Cummings got two outs, with Nigro and Rotella scoring, Glen Stila started it up again with a single. Jeff Grosin singled, Muller down the left-field line, scoring pinch runner Rob McFadden, and Wirchansky sent a 2-1 pitch skyward over the right-field fence.
"We have batting practice before every single game and I thought we were ready coming into the game because I saw how good we did in the cage," Wirchansky said.
Greeley felt Stony Point's fast start was a carryover of momentum from its' walk-off 6-4 win Tuesday on Rotella's two-run homer.
"That gave us alot of momentum because we had a great comeback against one of the better teams," said the 13-year-old Greeley, an eighth-grader-to-be at Fieldstone Secondary School. "After we lost to them we thought about what that was like and it made us come out more hungry to win. We came in here today wanting to go to states again."
And Stony Point wanted to hit. Pinelli hit a monstrous two-run homer in the second, clearing the fence in left center by at least 25 feet. Greeley followed in the third with poke over the center-field fence. Pinelli's and Greeley's home runs came with two outs.
"They had their hitting shoes on," Montgomery manager Paul Cummings said. "Every one of their kids stepped to the plate and crushed the ball. And it didn't stop. Hats off to them."
A reserved Stony Point manager Brian Coyle, who missed Tuesday's game because of a death in his family, cited his team for a great effort, especially Wirchansky.
"They knew they had their backs up against the wall and with last night's win, they wanted to keep the momentum going and they did," Coyle said. "This is what we've been waiting for. We've been getting alot of singles, so we worked with them on driving the ball and tonight, everyone was driving the ball.
"Dan is a fantastic kid with a great attitude. He had one of thise magical nights he will never forget."
Stony Point 822 7 -- 19-15-0
Montgomery 302 0 -- 5-3-3
RBI -- SP: Dany Wirchansky 6, Austin Pinelli 3, Billy Rotella 2, John Greeley 2, Frankie Nigro, Ben Muller, Brian Bohlander, Jeff Grosin; M: Brett Jennings 2, Rudy Gervolino 2. 2B -- SP: Billy Rotella, Ben Muller; M:Brett Jennings 2. HR -- SP: Dan Wirchansky 2, Austin Pinelli, John Greeley; M: Rudy Gervolino. WP -- Frankie Nigro. LP -- Ken Cummings.