Island baseball team takes early season lumps
by Kevin Cassidy
Islander Correspondent
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| Gillian Cassidy battles for the ball with a Naples soccer player during Region C Cup action in Naples. |
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| Neil Carper delivers a pitch for his West Coast Surf Shop team during Little League action at G.T. Bray. |
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| West Coast Surf Shop catcher Philip Dudevoir stops the ball during Little League action at G.T. Bray. |
West Coast Surf Shop, the Anna Maria Island Little League’s major league entry into the Manatee West Little League that plays its games at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton got off to a rough start. They lost their first four games, including a March 6 game to the Bulldogs by a 22-1 score.
The Bulldogs bats were potent throughout the game. They were led by players Conley, who went 3-for-3 including a home run, and Hooker, Miller and Goodwin, who each went 2-for-2 with multiple runs scored. Miller also stood out on the mound with three innings pitched, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out five Surf Shop players.
The Surf team was led by Neil Carper’s double and one run scored. Henrik Brusso plated Carper with an RBI single, while Philip Dudevoir chipped in with a single.
Last year’s Island major league team also got off to a rough start and ended up finishing in the top six at the Manatee County Little League tournament so there is precedent for improvement. West Coast Surf Shop’s team is extremely young, with only Dudevoir, Johnny Mattay and Brennan Gallagher being 12, the maximum age in Little League. Carper, Devon Cole, Joey Cucci, Blaine Jenefsky, Parker Keegan and Bryce Smith are 11, while Henrik Brusso and Andrew Zink are 10.
Last season’s improvement was predicated on improved pitching and defense and, if West Coast Surf Shop wants to compete, those two components will have to improve. To be fair, last year’s improvement in the pitching department was buoyed by the arrival of Justin Gargett, which gave the Islanders a dominant pitcher, but they did improve their defense.
Parker Keegan showed some promise as a pitcher recently, going four innings and allowing only one run, but once he maxed out at 85 pitches, the wheels fell off the Island bus. Carper and Brusso show some promise on the mound, but they need to improve their consistency and strike throwing. Dudevoir is doing a great job behind the plate so the cupboard isn’t completely bare.
It’s a long season of baseball, so the Island kids have time to work on their game. Play ball!
Region C run ends for Island girls
The U12 Manatee Magic girls soccer team that boasted Island girls Maddy Valadie and Jacqueline Burgess as team members saw their Region C Cup run come to an end during the Feb. 28-Mar.1 weekend. The girls dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision to the Hernando Heat on Feb. 28 and followed that with a pair of 1-1 ties on March 1 against Naples and East Lake, knocking the girls out of the tournament.
The U11 Magic girls remained alive, however, by winning all three games the same weekend. They squeaked out a 1-0 victory over Palm Harbor in the morning and followed with a 2-0 victor over Braden River in the evening. The next day, the Magic girls rolled over the Florida Soccer Club 4-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals played March 7 in Largo, the U11 Magic again prevailed with a 4-0 victory over Wales Soccer Club to advance to the semifinals that will be played March 14 in Cape Coral. The Magic will take on North Fort Myers for a chance to play for the title. Good luck, girls!
Key Royale golf news
The Key Royale Club women played an individual-low-net game on March 3. Jean Holmes and Penny Williams captured first place in Flight AA with a pair of 1-under 31s. Joyce Brown’s 2-under-par 30 put her on top of Flight A, two shots ahead of Judy Crowe, who finished in second place. Sally Keyes carded an impressive 4-under-par 28 to win Flight B by four strokes over Jan Turner and Barb Mason. Flight C winner was Markie Ksiazek, who carded a 3-under par 29 to finish one shot in front of Sue Wheeler.
The ladies also had a putting contest won by Ksiazek with only 12 putts. Keyes and Mary Selby were next with 14 putts. Crowe, Joy Phelan and Selby also had birdies on the day, while Mason chippedin on hole three.
Horseshoe news
The March 7 horseshoe games saw only two teams emerge from pool play with the prerequisite three victories. Hank Huyghe and Rod Bussey earned bragging rights for the day with a 23-15 victory over Steve Doyle and Sam Samuels.
The March 4 games had four teams come out of pool play to battle for the top spot. Rod Bussey and Jimmy Spencer rolled past Bob Mason and Dave Larson 24-9 to advance to the finals. The other semifinal game saw Norm Good and Jim Durrough defeat John Crawford and Leo Hutton 23-10. The finals saw Good and Durrough blast Spencer and Bussey 23-4.
Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warm ups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome. |
