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Official Grand Island Website
For forms and more information: www.grandislandll.com
Grand Island Little League Baseball Mission: to provide baseball and softball
to the youth of Grand Island, to build good citizens, sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork.
Little League Season: May through July.
The League had 63 teams with games for house teams and tournament teams (All-Stars).
There were over 800 girls and boys between the ages of 5 and 18 participating in 2006.
GI Rally Falls Short in Sectional Final - July 2011
(front left) Carson Suffoletta, Tyler Muggli, Drew Callen, Troy Brady, Roman Cacciatore, Zack Valvo; (back) Coach Cacciatore, Danny Dinsmore, Jake Bass, William Frank, Sean Pufpaff, Patrick Cramer, Coach Suffoletta, Coach Pufpaff
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Thurs., July 28, 2011 . . The GI 12U All Stars pursuit of a Sectionals Title came up short on Monday night at Hank Sinkey Field in Wellsville. Playing in front of a huge crowd, GI showed the type of resilience and determination that has been a hallmark of this team, but in the end, Olean outlasted Grand Island by a final score of 9-7 in the Championship game.
After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Grand Island got things going in the second inning. Sean Pufpaff led off the frame by ripping a line drive into left center for a long, loud single. Troy Brady followed with a chopper in front of the plate which was picked up by the Olean pitcher and thrown into centerfield. Pufpaff moved to third on that play, and later scored on a passed ball to get GI on the board. Brady would also eventually come across the plate on a passed ball, and it was 3-2 Olean after two.
Olean responded by scoring three runs in both the 3rd and 4th innings and looked to be in control with a 9-2 lead as the game headed to the 5th inning. GI would have other ideas though. Danny Dinsmore led off the top of the 5th with a base hit, and Roman Cacciatore followed with a walk to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Tyler Muggli got aboard on a fielder’s choice with Cacciatore getting erased at second. With runners at the corners, Drew Callen zipped one past the first baseman down the right field line, and the chase was on. Dinsmore and Muggli scored on the play, as Callen raced to third base making the score 9-4 Olean. Callen would later score on a passed ball and the game headed to the 6th inning with GI trailing 9-5. In the 6th and final inning, Pufpaff led off with a double, and Brady followed suit with a double of his own to score Pufpaff and make it 9-6. With GI down to their final out, Roman Cacciatore delivered a clutch RBI single to plate Brady and bring GI to within two runs at 9-7. That would be as close as GI would get as a groundout to second ended the game, and Olean punched their ticket to the State Championship round in Staten Island later this week. Grand Island was as classy in defeat as they had been in victory throughout this tournament as they congratulated Olean on their victory and wished them well.
While the grounds crew did their postgame work on the field, it was a quite a scene as the GI players lingered for quite a while after the game, soaking in every last ounce of what this tournament experience meant to them. What a ride!
9-Yr. Old All-stars Win Tournament - July 2011
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Members of the 2011 Grand Island 9-year-old All-Star Team won their first tournament of the year at Clarence, July 14-17, 2011. The team scored 70 runs in 5 games while limiting the opposing teams to 16. Shown front are Ethan Person, Easton Speer, Alex Paul, Nolan Massaro, Victor Pavone, and Zach Cramer; (2nd row) Jacob Konopski, Austin Weber, Henry Grunzweig, Liam Hart, PJ Munoz and Cade Carey; (3rd row) Coaches, Jeff Cramer, John Weber, Tanner Speer, and Jon Hart.
Grand Island U12 All-Stars Win District Championship - July 2011
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The Grand Island 12U All Stars captured their first ever 12U District Championship on Wednesday night, July 13.
Timely hitting, strong pitching, and airtight defense was the difference for GI as they defeated Mel Ott 11-1 in a mercy rule shortened five inning game in the Championship Game.
GI scored first as Roman Cacciatore singled home Carson Suffoletta with two outs in the top of the second. Clutch hitting has been a hallmark of this Grand Island team; and on Wednesday night, ten of their eleven runs were plated with two outs.
Mel Ott chased across a run in their third at bat, and the teams headed to the 4th inning tied at 1-1.
With one out in the fourth, Grand Island's Tyler Muggli doubled to right center for his third hit of the night. Muggli moved to third on an infield single by Drew Callen, and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of William Frank. Jacob Bass then promptly deposited the game's next pitch deep beyond the left field fence, and GI led 4-1.
After a scoreless bottom of the fourth inning by Mel Ott, Grand Island put the game away with a seven run outburst in the top of the 5th. Mike Englert pinch hit for Patrick Cramer and led things off by stroking an 0-2 pitch down the left field line for a double. With Englert holding at second, Danny Dinsmore got aboard on a base hit, and then both runners moved up on a fly ball deep to left center by Muggli. One out later, William Frank delivered a two run single for a 6-1 lead, and the rout was on. After Jacob Bass collected a single, Sean Pufpaff's RBI base hit scored Frank. Troy Brady was up next and patiently earned himself a base on balls to load the bases for Suffoletta. Suffoletta electrified the throng of Grand Island fans with a bases clearing triple deep to right center. He would later score in a cloud of dust on a passed ball and it was 11-1.
All that remained was the bottom of the inning, and Callen fanned the last two batters to end it. Callen picked up the complete game win on the mound by scattering six hits, and striking out six.
Grand Island advanced to the District Championship game against Mel Ott by dethroning two-time Champion Orchard Park 6-4 in the Semi Finals. With the win, Grand Island advances to the Sectional Round of the Little League Tournanment. That round will be played July 23-25 at Wellsville's Little League Complex. Grand Island is scheduled to play its first sectional game at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 23.
Grand Island Magic U12 Baseball Team Runners-up in Clarence - June 2010
(front left) Vincent Chiarenza, Troy Brady and Michael Podgorny; (kneeling) Drew Callen, Austin Blair; (standing) Coach Noel Blair, Coach Todd Callen, Mark Valle, Jacob Bass, Joseph SantaLucia, Patrick Cramer and Jake Niland; (standing back row) Coach Bob Carroll, Bobby Carroll, Head Coach John Chiarenza and Coach Jeff Cramer
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The Clarence Memorial Day Tournament played host to some of the best local baseball teams as well as top clubs from Rochester and Canada. In round robin play, Grand Island’s U12 Magic won a hard fought battle over Rochester’s North Coast Sluggers 10-8, beat Elma Marilla Wales 11-3 and won a thriller over Clarence Black 16-11. GI entered the championship game on Sunday, May 30 as the #1 seed after beating Canada’s Ancaster Cardinals earlier in the day in a closely contested, 4-3 win. In the Championship game against North Coast, GI’s late rally came up 3 runs shy, falling 12-9. Head coach John Chierenza was very proud of his team’s effort and determination throughout the tournament. The Magic continue their 2010 12U B Travel season this Sunday (June 6) at 4 p.m. at Vets Park against Lou Gehrig Blue.
