Inexperience shows early for islander baseball team
by Kevin Cassidy
islander Correspondent
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islander pitcher Max Moneuse delivers a pitch during Little League action at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton. |
Most everyone who follows Little League baseball knows that when the Island baseball program is compared to its Manatee West counterparts, Islanders fall behind. The Islanders have less kids playing sports, much less playing baseball, less experience and, frankly, when you talk about the Island leagues over the past few seasons, there is less overall talent.
Now before you fire up a letter to the editor complaining about a certain sports writer, let’s take a look at numbers. Manatee West Little League has approximately 40 baseball teams competing in leagues from T-ball up to majors. Added to that vast disparity is the fact that there are four or five AAU teams in this area for the really serious players. These kids play a very demanding and competitive AAU baseball schedule that runs throughout the year as well as their regular team Little League schedule. In short, the kids in town play a lot of baseball, so how can they not be stronger?
Meanwhile, some of our kids play the game only when it’s in season, and only while fishing, skimboarding, surfing and other activities - and homework - don’t interfere.
With that being said, there is still hope for the Island baseball program. Joining forces this year with MWLL will undoubtedly improve the quality of play of our Island teams - nobody likes getting waxed every game. The more games they play against stronger opposition, the better our Island players will be.
On Friday, March 1, the islander major league team played Horizon Bank and dropped a 10-0 decision in four innings. Horizon Bank, which had six hits on the evening, took advantage of numerous errors, both of commission and omission, to score four runs in the first inning. Conoley (Horizon listed only last names on its roster) reached on an error to lead off the game and scored on Roddenbury’s single to center with the help of an error. Lakin and Dommick reached on walks in front of Peters and Hooker, who both singled. Four passed balls and two throwing errors brought Peters and Hooker across the plate. The remainder of the game brought more of the same.
That doesn’t sound so good, but there were some highlights for the Islanders, which were without three of their most experienced players due to sickness.
Centerfielder Hunter Parrish almost made a circus catch of Hooker’s single, while catcher Garrison Clark threw out Dommick at third on an attempted steal. Other highlights included Henrick Brusso lacing a single to right field in his first major league at bat. Brusso was called up to play from the minors because of the absent players.
Other highlights included a couple of nice defensive plays from Max Moneuse and some good swings by a couple of players. Lee Bergeron hit the ball hard both times at bat and Max Miller singled and hit a foul ball to the fence in left field in his second at bat. Look for big contributions from both of these players as they gain more experience.
The whole team will be much stronger by seasons end, thanks to playing games night in and night out against the players from Bradenton. Once they get over the “intimidation factor,” the Islanders will start playing the game the way they practice, which will eliminate a lot of the errors.
Horseshoe news
Horseshoe action on Feb. 27 saw 13 teams whittled down to one after pool play with the team of Debbie Rhodes and Dean Rowe winning all three games to earn the title. The remaining seven teams battled it out for second place and the team of Jay Disbrow and Bob Lee came out on top.
The Feb. 23 games saw four of 16 teams emerging from pool play with unscathed records to battle it out for the day’s bragging rights. The first semifinal saw Ron Slagh and John Johnson post a 21-12 win over Bob Lee and Gary Pearson. The other semifinal match saw Rod Bussey and Dean Rowe earn a 21-19 come-from-behind victory over Bob Mason and John Crawford. The final match had Rowe and Bussey edging Slagh and Johnson by a 23-15 score.
Play gets under way at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. followed by random team selection. There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.
Key Royale golf news
The Key Royale Club men teed it up for an 18-hole, low-net-of-partners game on Feb. 27. Hal Sears and Peter Proxy teamed up to fire a 137 to finish three strokes ahead of second-place finishers Bob Kral and Vince Mercadante. Third place went to Bob Lamp and Paul Proxy with a 141, while Lew Winegarden and Bob Elliott fired a 143.
The men’s nine-hole game was played in the same format and produced a tie for first place. Don Ledford and Bob Jorgensen matched the 3-under-par 61 carded by Bob Sayles and Bob Lamp. One shot back in second place was the team of Don Ruggles and Jim Auch, while third place went to the team of Dick Eichhor and Dick Rowe with a 63.
The coed tourney on Feb. 20 saw the team of Mariam Mulroy, Hal Sears, Earl Huntzinger and Jim Finn fire a 108 to claim clubhouse bragging rights by eight strokes. Second place went to the team of Nell Bergstrom, Larry Fowler, Eunice Warda and Joyce Brown, which also managed a chipin on the day.
Anna Maria Island Little League schedule
Majors
7 p.m.March 7Islanders vs. MJ 6GTB Field 1
7 p.m.March 10MJ10 vs. IslandersAMICC
Minors
6:30 p.m.March 6MN1 vs. Surf Shop
5 p.m.March 8Surf Shop vs. Sun AMICC
6:30 p.m.March 11MN5 vs. Surf ShopAMICC
Anna Maria Island Community Center basketball standings
Premier DivisionWonLost
WCAC 8 2
IRE 6 4
Cycles 5 5
Ralphs 1 9
Division I
Sun 8 2
Lumber 7 3
Paradise 4 6
A&E 1 9
Division II
Dips 9 2
Kumon 8 4
Jessie’s 0 11
Division III
Duncan 10 1
Ross 8 4
Orthopedics 5 6
LPAC 3 9
Bistro 3 9
Anna Maria Island Community Center basketball schedule
Premier (ages 14-17)
6 p.m.March 13Ralph’s vs. WCAC
7 p.m.March 13Cycles vs. IRE
10 a.m. March 15Championship game
Noon March 15All-stars game
4 p.m.March 15Coaches game
Division I (ages 12-13)
6 p.m.March 14Lumber vs. Paradise
7 p.m.March 14A&E vs. Sun
11 a.m. March 15Championship game
2 p.m. March 15All-stars game
4 p.m.March 15Coaches game
Division II (ages 10-11)
6 p.m.March 12Kumon vs. Jessie’s
1 p.m.March 15TBA vs. Dips
3 p.m. March 15All-stars game
4 p.m.March 15Coaches game
Division III (ages 8-9)
10 a.m. March 8Ross vs. Orthopedic
11 a.m. March 8LPAC vs. Duncan
6 p.m. March 11Championship game
7 p.m. March 11All-stars game
4 p.m.March 15Coaches game |