ALL GAMES ARE GKLL ARE CANCELED FOR MAY 19TH 2013 DUE TO THE WEATHER

TO ALL DIRECTORS YOUR UPDATED DOD SCHEDULE IS LISTED ONLINE!!!!

The pitch counts are as follows:

11 & 12’s   May 75 and with proper days rest an additional 20 for the week
                June 85 and with proper days rest an additional 20 for the week

9 & 10’s    May    65 and with proper days rest an additional 20 for the week
                June   75 and with proper days rest an additional 20 for the week

7 & 8’s     May    50
               June    50

Note the 7/8 year olds can never surpass 50 pitches in a week.

 THE RAFFLE TICKET DRAWING DATE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO

 MONDAY MAY 20th 2013 

PLEASE BE SURE TO HAND IN YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS AT THE CONCESSION STAND PRIOR TO 8PM. 

IN ORDER FOR YOU TO HAVE RECEIVED THE RAFFLE TICKETS YOU WERE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY FAMILY MEETING. THEY WERE HANDED OUT AT THIS MEETING. THIS INFORMATION WAS SENT IN NUMEROUS EMAILS PRIOR TO THE FAMILY MEETING.

Mangers please make sure you are

sending in all of your scores to GKLLScores@aol.com

It is very important to keep our web site updated

Also, the kids look forward to seeing their name in the bullseye section

when they hit a home run so please report it

And as you all know if you send me highlights from the game

win or lose I will post that to the web site as well

We would once again like to Thank Mike Scerbo and BexterSports.com for donating brand new bats to all of our players who were affected by the storm.

In addition, they have informed us that anyone who makes an order with them and uses promo code GKLL (in capital letters) will recieve 10% off the order and free shipping, as well at GKLL getting an additional 5% kicked back to the league to help us raise funds

That's a Great Deal!!! and a Very Gernerous offer from them!!!

Please visit thier store and mention GKLL or order online

BexterSports.com

1741 Richmond Terrace

(718)720-7122

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate to the GKLL League Membership that in order for any 9,10,11,or 12 Year old to be eligible to play on any GKLL Tournament Team, you must not have missed more than 20% of your Little League Games (including Pre-season, regular season, post season) due to an "unexcused absence". For the purposes of this post an "unexcused absence" is defined as missing a game (as defined above) due to participating in an outside sports team activity i.e. Another Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Hockey, Football, swimming etc team. I do understand that school commitments will occasionally interfere with Little League Games and we at GKLL always put School and educational commitments FIRST. School related absences will not be considered an "unexcused absence" BUT missing a GKLL game for a CYO Baseball function is absolutely an "unexcused absence". Lastly, for those of you who know me I take the GKLL Opening Day Parade very seriously and expect full participation in same by all of our teams; especially the older teams who tend to have kids that blow it off. GKLL will be considering this weekends parade as a "game" so missing same due to an "unexcused absence" will count. CCD / Religious Instruction is a very valid reason to miss the parade and we at GKLL have no issue with same. I trust this memo clearly outlines the commitment we at GKLL expect of our players (especially the 9, 10, 11 and 12 year old's) in order to be considered eligible to play for one of our tournament (a/k/a all star) teams. If anyone has any issues with the above, you are welcome to contact me directly. My number is available via the GKLL website. I look forward to seeing everyone and getting the 2012 season underway. Best regards, Frank and CRO

To The GKLL Community:

On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to personally thank everyone who helped make our Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser a huge success. On Wednesday night December 19, 2012, Great Kills Little League, in conjunction with Cal Ripken Baseball of GK and SIUF Baseball distributed in excess of $45,000 to a number of families in our baseball community who suffered severe property damage from the storm. We at GKLL are extremely honored to have been in a position to help our community. We sincerely thank all who participated in our combined efforts as we could not have done this without the generosity of those who donated and / or volunteered.

I wish you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Crocitto

President

GKLL

Off to Bristol: Great Kills American rallies in sixth to capture first state title and Mid-Atlantic Regional berth

Published: Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 6:54 AM     Updated: Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 7:08 AM

 

Enlarge Hilton Flores Great Kills American's Jerry Huntzinger is greeted at the plate after hitting a solo homer that sparked a four-run sixth. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Great Kills American wins state Little League crown gallery (12 photos)

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There’s been many a team labeled cardiac kids over the years, some deserving, some not so much.

But in the case of the 2011 Great Kills American team, there’s no doubt they’ve earned the moniker.

And last night, they prominently displayed why.

Noah Echavarria highlighted an incredible four-run, last-inning rally with a go-ahead single and hurler Tom Bonviso capped a superb relief performance by slamming the door as GKA captured its first Little League New York State 12s championship with a 6-5 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius at South Shore LL.

GKA, which staged its third come-from-behind win last night, earned a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Regional after winning its 10th all-star tournament game in as many tries. Coach Frank Cambria’s squad opens regional play against Maryland Friday at 5 p.m. in Bristol, Conn.

“We’re state champs because we never give up,” said Cambria, who also received an outstanding performance from Jerry Huntzinger, who finished with two hits (HR) and three RBI. “This team has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen. They fight to the end and that’s why we’re moving on.”

“All the hard work has paid off so far. This is why we practice twice a day,” added shortstop James Greig, who will get the ball against Maryland Friday. “We’ve come back before and we were confident we could do it again.”

Great Kills had the luxury of knowing if it lost last night, it would have Greig ready to pitch in a second-and-deciding contest tonight.

And with Josh Loeffler, F-M’s hard-throwing ace, on the mound — he hit 71 miles per hour on the radar gun — the task by no means would be easy.

But it became on uphill battle early when F-M rallied for five, second-inning runs against starter Carmine Bruno, including a two-run homer by Mitchell Hoalcraft and a three-run blast by Will Ierlan.

GKA, however, responded in the third as Huntzinger’s two-run single to left cut the Island squad’s deficit to 5-2.

After Bruno blanked F-M in the third, Cambria handed the ball over to Bonviso, who was making his first mound appearance in two months, partly because of a broken thumb he suffered during the regular season.

“He mixes his pitches well. He spots his fast ball and has a nice change-up,” said Cambria. “Tom just has a good, baseball mentality. Nothing fazes him and that’s one of the reasons we decided to give him a shot.”

Bonviso allowed just two hits, no walks and hit a batter in three innings. The right-hander struck out five, including three looking.

“I was a little nervous, but my job was to hold them (at five runs) and I knew if I did, we’d have a chance to come back,” Bonviso said. “I wanted to throw strikes and not allow any walks.”

Loeffler (5 1/3 IP, six hits, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks), however, allowed just one base runner over the fourth and fifth frames and took the mound in the sixth with a chance to hand GKA its first tournament loss.

But Huntzinger gave the SRO crowd a reason to believe when he belted an opposite field homer over the right-field fence to make it 5-3.

“I was just trying to get something started with a single,” Huntzinger said. “It was a fast ball down the middle and I hit it hard.

“It was a good way to start (the sixth).”

Great Kills, as it turned out, was only getting started.

Greig, Sean Fackovec and Jonathan Carbonella smacked consecutive singles to load the bases and Greig made it 5-4 by scoring on a wild pitch (Fackovec and Carbonella also advanced).

Loeffler recorded the first out by retiring Bonviso on a come-backer, but the righty reached his pitch limit and was replaced by Nick Perry.

F-M appeared to turn the momentum in its favor when Fackovec was nailed at the plate attempting to score on another wild pitch.

Perry then got Michael Briordy to ground to third, but the ball was thrown away, thus allowing Carbonella to scoot home with the game-tying run.

Briordy advanced to second on yet another wild pitch and Echavarria helped GKA earn its first lead of the game with a clean single to center.

“I really wasn’t thinking about knocking in the go-ahead run — I was just trying to get on base,” said Echavarria, whose game-saving catch helped lock up a 9-8 win in the winners’ bracket final last Saturday. “The pitch was down the middle and when I hit it, I knew it was going to fall.”

“He’s got a knack for making the big play,” added Cambria. “He’s amazing. I was confident he’d come through with a hit.”

After retiring the first two hitters in the home sixth, Bonviso allowed a two-out single to Colin Sommers (3 for 3, 2B).

The right-hander, however, reached back for a little more and struck out No. 9 hitter Luke Hamel to end the game.

 

NOTES: Because GKA was able to avoid a second and deciding game in the NYS championship round, it will have ace hurler Greig available for Friday’s opener vs. Maryland ... Great Kills LL will be making its first appearance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional in the loop’s 59-year history ... ESPN will televise the semifinals while ESPN2 will televise the championship game ... The Mid-Atlantic winner will advance to the 65th annual Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. between Aug. 18-28.

A great day for Great Kills American as team wins Staten Island Little League crown

Published: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 9:18 AM     Updated: Tuesday, July 12, 2011, 9:22 AM

By Charlie R DeBiase Staten Island Advance
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Enlarge Hilton Flores Home plate umpire punches out Great Kills American's Noah Echavarria after a tag by Mid-Island catcher John Pleszewicz. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) Great Kills American wins Little League District 24 crown gallery (11 photos)

 

Prior to last night’s Little League District 24 12s championship round game, Great Kills American’s Jerry Huntzinger wasn’t sure who would get the baseball from manager Frank Cambria.

So Huntzinger decided to throw his hat in the ring.

“I wanted the ball and I told him I had the guts to take it,” acknowledged Huntzinger, who said he entered the tourney as GKA’s closer, but had only thrown four pitches before last night’s game. “I had pitched in the (10s and 11s tournaments), so I had some experience.

“I had confidence I could get the job done.”

Huntzinger talked the talk. Then he walked the walk.

The right-hander limited Mid-Island to one earned run in five-plus innings and James Greig, Jonathan Carbonella and Sean Fackovec belted two-run homers as visiting GKA wrapped up the district crown with a 7-2 triumph.

Great Kills, which finished with 12 hits (six for extra bases), advances to the Section 5 tournament and will play Monday (5:30 p.m.) against the District 23 winner at Peter Stuyvesant LL in Manhattan. It’s the first 12s district title for a Great Kills team, American or National, since GKA’s 2005 championship.

“It’s the greatest feeling in the world,” said Cambria. “We beat some great competition to get this point and we had to beat everyone’s (top pitcher).

“The kids really responded.”

Greig, who notched the final three outs to secure the victory, was 3 for 4 with a homer and double. The only time Mid-Island got him out was when third baseman Brandon Seltzer robbed him of a fourth hit by snagging a hard line drive.

Huntzinger quieted MILL’s potent lineup, scattering six hits and walking three. He wasn’t overpowering (no strikeouts), but his defense made the plays and he was resilient the few times he encountered trouble.

“First-pitch strikes were important, then I’d use a change-up or curve when I got ahead,” Huntzinger said. “I didn’t mind them hitting the ball because the defense played great. They were making the plays.”

“Jerry’s got nerves of steel. It was a big game and we felt he was the right man for the job,” said Cambria. “He gets a lot of ground balls and when you have the best shortstop on the Island (Greig) behind you, you want ground balls.”

Huntzinger was ahead 4-0 before throwing a pitch.

Following Hayden Gumb’s leadoff double against M-I starter Seltzer, Greig belted a two-run homer over the right-field fence. Fackovec followed with a single and Carbonella launched a moon shot over the left-field fence.

“Taking the lead the way we did in the first inning just gives you so much confidence,” said Carbonella. “I wasn’t trying to hit a homer. I wanted to get some kind of hit and I got something in the strike zone.”

Mid-Island’s Anthony Iglesias led off the home first with a single, but Greig turned a nifty 6-3 double play on a grounder to keep the momentum in GKA’s favor.

“That double play might have further taken the wind out of their sails,” said Cambria. “I think it showed that we’re here to win this game.”

Great Kills tagged on three more runs in the third when Fackovec followed Greig’s leadoff double with a two-run dinger to center. Antonio Gaudino later followed with an RBI single to make it 7-0.

Although Mid-Island scratched out single runs in the third (Seltzer RBI single) and fourth (Brandon Xhunga RBI ground out), Huntzinger escaped further damage both times.

Cambria called on ace Greig to get the final three outs after Huntzinger issued a leadoff walk in the sixth and the righty fought his way out of a bases-loaded jam, to secure the win.

NOTES: Gumb and Fackovec had two hits apiece for GKA ... Great Kills, who committed just one error, received four putouts and three assists from SS Greig ... Mid-Island’s Joe O’Rourke allowed just one hit and struck out three in two innings of scoreless relief ... Mid-Island, which captured the 10s and 11s district championships in the previous two seasons, completed a three-year stretch with a 31-5 record, according to manager John Pleszewicz.

Great Kills American in driver's seat

Published: Friday, July 08, 2011, 12:39 PM     Updated: Friday, July 08, 2011, 12:43 PM

By Charlie R DeBiase Staten Island Advance

 

Staten Island Advance/Bill LyonsGreat Kill American's James Grieg tossed four shutout innings

James Grieg highlighted a four-run first with a homer, then shut down Staten Island over the next four innings to lead visiting Great Kills American into the Little League District 24 12-year-old tournament championship round via a 13-1 win last night in Dongan Hills.

The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

Great Kills American is in the driver’s seat for the district crown, needing to beat either Staten Island or Mid-Island just once beginning Monday (7:30 p.m.) on the road. The ‘if’ game is Wednesday at Great Kills LL.

Mid-Island staved off elimination by defeating South Shore American 9-4 last night. The Travis loop will host Staten Island in the losers’ bracket final tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Last night’s win put a Great Kills team in the championship round for the first time since 2005, when Great Kills American also did it.

"I love the way the kids responded (to playing in such a big game). We were due for a break-out game," said GKA manager Frank Cambria, whose team stroked 15 hits, including three apiece from Jerry Huntzinger and Jonathan Carbonella. "We’ve played in nothing but tight games before (last night) against everybody’s No. 1 (pitcher).

"(Staten Island starter Christopher) Parrinello is a great pitcher, too, and fortunately we were able to rise to the occasion."

GKA’s Hayden Gumb was hit by a pitch leading off the game and advanced to second on Huntzinger’s sacrifice.

That brought up the righty-hitting Grieg (two hits, BB), who smacked a line drive over the centerfield fence for a 2-0 lead.

"We have two great table-setters in (Gumb and Huntzinger) at the top of the lineup. They’ve done a great job getting on (for the middle of our lineup)," said Cambria. "(Grieg) has hit some moon shots for (my regular-season team) and that was another bomb that got us off to a great start."

After Sean Fackovec (single) and Carbonella (double) followed with hits, Tom Bonviso’s run-scoring single and an error helped GKA build a 4-0 lead before Grieg had thrown a pitch.

The hard-throwing righty allowed no runs on five hits (three infield singles), walked none and totaled only 55 pitches. He struck out four in four innings.

Grieg encountered first-and-second situations in the second (two outs) and third (one out) frames, but recovered nicely to deny SILL a run.

"I just pitched the way I’m capable of," said Grieg. "Pitching with a lead definitely helped.

"Having that early lead was big because I know I have a great defense behind me that doesn’t make errors. I knew if (Staten Island) put it in play, we were going to make the plays."

"He mixes his pitches so well," said Cambria of Grieg, who was relieved by Fackovec (1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K) for the final inning. "Usually, a pitcher uses his curve to set up his fastball, but Jimbo does it opposite. He uses his fastball to set up his curve and does it well."

After Bonviso’s RBI single and Fackovec’s RBI ground out helped Great Kills build an 8-0 lead through 3½ innings, Cambria’s troops broke the game wide open with a five-run fifth that featured key hits from Carmine Bruno (RBI double), Gumb (RBI single), Huntzinger (RBI single), Fackovec (RBI double) and Carbonella (RBI single).

 Congressman Michael McMahon, our Staten Island Representative, and New York State Senator Andrew Lanza speak to the members of GKLL Opening Day 2010