2013 Newsletter - Halfmoon Melee

The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
HALFMOON
BASEBALL
Concession Stand Home Run
PO Box 4309
Halfmoon, NY 12065
Greg Bold, President
halfmoonbbl@gmail.com
Inside this issue:
President’s Message
2
Player Development
Program
2
Travel Advisory Com- 2
mittee
Divisional Updates
5
Golf Outing
14
2014 Registration
OPEN
After a one year hi
After a one-year hiatus, our
concession stand was back
in business this year and
cranking out snacks and
drinks and even dinner for
all of us eating on the fly.
Our treasurer Larry Carroll got the ball rolling by
setting up arrangements
with Pizza Plus North and
DeCresente Distributing
and coming up with the
staffing plan. Then the real
magic happened as Bonnie
and Ken DeCerce agreed to
take the lead on shopping
for supplies, opening and
closing the stand, working
with the parent volunteers
so they know what to do
and working countless
hours to make sure things
went smoothly. We would-
n’t have realized the
potential of this
fundraising revenue
without their effort
so all of us in the
league say THANK
YOU!
Then there are
Dave and Bonnie Decerce
the parents who by
and large showed up
on time and ready to
work their shift to keep
The stand will be back
this an all-volunteer operaand better than ever in
tion for the League. We had 2014 and we are looking at
some issues with a couple
equipment upgrades using
age groups being less reliathe proceeds from the 2013
ble than the others but we
season. We will also revisit
will look at ways to tweak
the menu to see if there are
the staffing next year and
smart additions that people
the League is committed to
want while staying away
keeping this a volunteer
from inside grilles and deep
effort. So thank you parfryers the room wasn’t deents and we look forward to signed to accommodate.
working alongside all of
you again next year.
2014 Important Dates
Jan 6: Registration Begins
Feb 8: Silent Auction
March 8: Player Dev Clinics
March 30: Coaches Meeting
April 19: Practices Begin
May 3: OPENING DAY
May 17: Picture Day
May 23: Mem Day Tournament
June 14: Family Fun Day
July 23: Melee Tournament
Mission Statement
Halfmoon Baseball League will provide a safe and healthy environment for the
youth of our community. Through baseball, our focus for every youth is to encourage participation, develop character, discipline, promote teamwork, and advocate
citizenship and community pride. We will strive to provide quality instruction in the
development of baseball skills, sportsmanship, competitiveness and fair play.
Halfmoon Baseball League is committed to enriching the lives of all of our youth
and fostering a love of the game.
Page 2
Mariners 2013
A message from the president
On behalf of the Board of Directors
and all of us at Halfmoon Baseball, I
would likes to extend a sincere thank
you to John Michne for his leadership
as League President the past two
years. John worked tirelessly to make
our league better and fought his way
through controversy and unforeseen
issues, all while keeping a clear head.
It is that type of commitment that
makes organizations like ours successful. Fortunately, John has agreed
to stay on our Board as Commissioner
to continue providing leadership in
this key role for our day to day operations.
Now allow me to introduce myself.
My wife Lisa and I are lifelong
Halfmoon town residents. We can’t
think of a better place to raise our two
boys and hope they do the same in the
future. I played Halfmoon Baseball
myself, and still enjoy bumping into
old teammates while walking around
our fields.
The fun memories of playing little
league ball combined with the great
people I encountered when my boys
started to play t-ball made me want to
get more involved. Fast forward a few
years and here I am. My primary goal
is to make sure the League provides
opportunities for all of our kids to play
baseball. This includes balanced playing time in the recreational division
and multiple levels of travel and allstar teams to challenge the kids who
desire more competition. The Board of
Directors will follow the guidelines of
our League mission statement when
making decisions to make this a positive experience for our all of our
kids. I encourage everyone to read our
Mission Statement, which is posted on
our website.
In closing, I look forward to working with everyone who volunteers
their time supporting the League to
make it the best possible community
sports program. We should all be
Halfmoon proud!
Greg Bold
President, Halfmoon Baseball
2014 Player Skill Development Program
New for 2014, our “spring clinics”
will be run by Hayner’s Sports Barn,
giving kids a unique opportunity to
learn new skills for the upcoming season.
The new program is designed specifically to be a win-win for both players and coaches of the 2014 Halfmoon
Baseball Program. Players will be
separated by age group and put
through a variety of fun activities,
drills and competition that both
coaches - and parents watching - can
utilize in the spring at home and/or at
practice.
The six-week program will emphasize pitching, fielding/throwing (catch
& throw, groundballs, fly balls, popups) and hitting.
The program will also serve as a
coaching clinic for our volunteers running teams this year.
Travel Advisory Committee formed
To address the increasing complexity of the travel program as the league
grows, the board of directors has
formed the Halfmoon Travel and AllStar Committee (HTAS).
This committee will address issues
unique to travel baseball, such as
player and coach selection, uniform
consistency, tournament play and
rules for players and parents.
The goal of the HTAS is to provide
travel baseball the attention it needs,
without taking time and resources
from the recreational program.
The new program will also examine community baseball’s role in an
ever-changing travel landscape, given
the rise of independent teams.
The program is for Halfmoon players who are aged 6-12. Sessions run
every Saturday and begin March 8th.
Parents can register for the program online while they register for
the upcoming season at
www.halfmoonbaseball.com.
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 3
Incredible season for the 2013 Cooperstown Team
It was another great season starting with the help of the Halfmoon
baseball community and their continued support of the Cooperstown Team.
Thank You!
The team was selected in October
and the winter workouts started in
November with things coming to an
end after our Melee tournament. It
was an eventful year and broke down
something like this. The owner of the
Halfmoon Diner once again allowed us
access to the old Fred the Butchers
shop for our winter workouts. The
facility was cleaned up and set up by
Scott Carpenter, Scott Houle and
some of Scott's employees to include a
batting cage, two pitching stations
and some work out stations. This
along with the gym at the Waterford
School is where all the winter preparations took place starting in November, 2012 and continuing thru April,
2013 with the boys participating 3 to 4
times per week working on batting,
fielding, pitching and agility. The
team also attended a pitching clinic
for six weeks with Ryan Cameron at
the Sports Barn.
We started our season playing ENYTB, spending one week in Cooperstown and finishing the season with
three local tournaments. We played a
total of 56 games and finished with an
overall record of 39-17.
At the start of the ENYTB season
we were traveling to Catskill it was
still cool outside and were told they
were blowing snow off the field and
were very optimistic we would get the
games in. We did and ended up splitting the opener against a tough team,
it actually warmed up enough to make
it a great day for baseball.
The Mariners continued to be competitive against the teams we faced
with Clifton Park Red, the Devil Cats
and Brunswick being what I thought
was the toughest teams. We finished
the ENYTB season with a 14-8 overall
record and a 13-5 overall record in the
High Silver division. As we were finishing up with ENYTB we began
packing our bags for Cooperstown
Dream's Park. We played six games of
pool play and in our first game we
faced a team from Massachusetts and
started pool play with a win.
Our second game presented a
tough team from South Carolina who
defeated us and they ended up with a
final ranking of 2 out of 104 teams.
We then faced the Cobb Angels
and were having a great game with an
outstanding pitching performance
from Ben Voce and suddenly the
weather turned and we ended up
trapped in the dugout in what we
thought was a bad hail storm. After it
cleared up the game was put on hold
and we found out that a tornado had
touched down on a field very close to
ours. Thankfully no injuries to anyone
and we resumed play at 7:30 to complete our game.
Ben Voce returned and finished
what he started pitching a complete
game and a win over what would be a
team that ranked 30th. Our next
game would now be played at 12:30
AM due to weather delays against a
Continued on next page
Left to Right, back row: Manager Jerry Jones, Johnny Michne, Brenden Disonell, Joey Carpenter, Brandon
Jones, Ben Voce, Coach Greg Manning, Connor Houle, Coach Tom Disonell, Ben Weaver.
Front row: Andrew Colla, Luke Potter, Jack Manning, Ty Dmyszewicz
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 4
Cooperstown Dream Season (cont.)
Florida team. Although we lost this
game I thought the boys raised their
level of play against this team, they
made great plays and hit the ball really well to keep the game close up until
the final inning in the early morning
hours. This team ranked 15 overall,
this is one of my most memorable
games at Cooperstown.
Our next game was probably our
worst and was most likely a result of
the late night before, we lost against
another top ranked team who finished
19 overall. We won our next game to
finish pool play with a 3-3 record. Our
first game in elimination bracket play
was against a team from Texas and it
was a battle throughout the whole
game with the Mariners having some
clutch hitting to get bases loaded and
a grand slam to put the game within
reach and eventually winning 13-12.
In the second game of elimination
bracket play we faced a tough team
from Maryland and they won 14-2.
Halfmoon finished with a respectable
4-4 record overall at the dreams park
and played against three teams who
ranked 2nd, 15th, and 19. In addition
to Bens pitching performance Ben
Weaver, Joey Carpenter and Conner
Houle hit their first home runs at the
Dreams Park, Brandon Jones hit 8
home runs including one grand slam
in the elimination game against Texas
and in that same game Johnny Michne made a game saving play at second
base to end an inning. Andrew Colla
made some key plays showing his versatility at playing 2nd base and the
outfield. Luke potter had a great year
at both catching and center field making some great catches at critical
times.
The youngest players on the team
were Brendan Disonell, Ty Dmyszewicz, and Jack Manning who brought
a combination of pitching, fielding and
good at bats; they contributed to the
success of the team throughout the
year and will return to Cooperstown
to create another season of memories.
This was a memorable week for all
who had the privilege to experience it
and the team’s hard work definitely
paid off, it was noticeable both on and
off the field.
Although the excitement of going
to Cooperstown was over we still had
a several weeks of baseball left. We
returned and had a disappointing loss
in the AABC tournament. The Mariners then bounced back and ended the
season with a 17-0 run; winning the
three tournaments they played in.
Our first tournament was SGF
Summer Slugfest where we defeated
the SGF Bulldogs in the championship game. We then played in the ENYTB Last Man Standing Tournament
and defeated the Devil Cats in the
championship game under the lights.
Our last tournament was our very
own Melee in which we defeated Clifton Park in the championship game.
Thank you to all for an enjoyable and
memorable season. –Coach Jerry
Jones
Jones breaks home run record
Brandon “Brando”
Jones broke the 12u home
run record by recording
45 dingers in his 2013 season.
Jones, son of coach
Jerry Jones, broke the
record during a championship game against the Devil Cats at
the Last Man Standing tournament.
Brando nailed the bomb using an
Easton XL, 32--inch minus 10
weapon that was very good to
Brando during the season.
When asked about the pitch
that lead to the moon shot,
Jones said “I knew it had a
chance when it came off the
bat, I did not think he was
going to give me a pitch to hit but he
made a mistake”.
A proud mom
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 5
It’s a kids game: Halfmoon T-Ball provides the fun
This past spring Halfmoon Baseball opened the season with a new
look. First, T-Ball became a 5U division with the creation of a 6 & 7 year
old division. Secondly, 4 year olds got
to join the 5U division and have fun
on the T-Ball fields.
How was this change received?
Over 40 children age 4 joined the
league. With 7 teams, Halfmoon TBall was able to show over 70 children
age 5 & under how fun baseball can
be. Sure, they are not turning double
plays or catching fly balls, but the
fully maintained Halfmoon T-Ball
fields, with base paths and an infield
are the foundation for many years of
baseball ahead.
The number of parent volunteers
continues to grow. Each team had
several assistant coaches and at any
given time you could find a coach on
the field showing kids which base to
run to, helping with a swing off the
Tee, and even chasing down the occasional wanderer in the outfield. Just
because they are 4 and 5 doesn’t
mean it was all fun and games. By
the end of the season, several kids
were hitting solid balls and fielding
plays were being made, all thanks to
the coaching volunteers keeping the
game fun.
Each game ended with a relay
race, which usually provided the most
smiles and loudest cheers. When the
season came to a close the kids were
treated with team parties, trophies
and in one final game, some kids were
treated to an inning of water balloon
T-Ball.
In 2014, the 5 year olds will move
up to the 6 year old division and begin
the next phase of their development.
The returning 5 year olds will welcome
the new 4 year olds and enjoy one more
year of learning baseball, playing with
friends and most importantly having
fun on a baseball field.
8U Division: The kids are playing ball
2013 delivered significant changes
with the creation of separate divisions
for 7U and 8U. While the 7U Division
was strictly a Coach-pitch division,
the 8U division allowed many players
to showcase their pitching skills and
also forced batters out of their comfort
zone by facing fellow kids on the
mound. Speaking of players, more
than 60 kids made up six Halfmoon
teams that competed against each
other and our friends from Round
Lake.
While the weather put a damper
on some of the games, most teams
were able to squeeze in much of the 12
-game and 4-practice schedule. Many
thanks to the Town Staff, and at
times Parents, who did a fantastic job
of weathering the storms and preparing fields that are the envy of neighboring leagues. While offering thanks
we need to remember our business
Sponsors: Stewarts Shops, LaBella
Pizza, Halfmoon Fire. Co., Legion Post
1450, Captain Consultants, LLC., and
Country Drive–In.
Back to the business of baseball…
as a volunteer organization our league
would not work without the service of
parents, particularly in coaching capacities. 8U teams consistently had 3,
4, and 5 Coaches who gave their time
and energy to keep kids on their toes
and knowing the right play on defense, backing up home plate, developing lineups that gave kids as many
chances as possible to shine at as
many different positions as possible,
and pitching. I’m still amazed at some
coach’s ability to hit the bats!
In 2013, the 8U division marked a
change in how our league transitions
to more player-independent baseball.
It’s amazing to see and hear from parents that “the kids are actually playing ball.” League officials worked with
coaches to fine tune the rules both
prior to and during the season based
on coaches feedback. This spirit of
cooperation greatly enhanced game
plan and we will re-evaluate the rules
again prior to the 2014 season to provide the best baseball/learning experience possible. As all who have witnessed it know, kid-pitch requires
patience, both from the teams playing
and the parents watching. At season’s end, while it was not a National
League game with Greg Maddux
pitching (over quickly!), we did see kid
batters putting the ball in play off kid
pitchers. They were playing ball.
We even witnessed a catcher
block the plate (legally) on a player
sliding into home! The ultimate success at the 8U division might best be
demonstrated by the number of players (>40) in attendance at the 8U allstar tryouts and the subsequent formation of two teams that continued
playing into the summer.
On behalf of the 8U coaches, I
want to thank everyone who made
2013 a great success and look forward
to more progress (and fun) in 2014.
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 6
8U Blue All Stars have a near perfect run!
The 8u Blue All Star Team had a very
successful campaign this summer lead
by co-managers John Milham and Bill
Riley and assistants Tom Griffin and
Greg Bold keeping the book. With 8
newcomers and only 4 returners from
the previous year's team, we knew the
2013 8U All Stars would be a bit raw
and inexperienced. But after a lot of
hard work and training from this determined group of 7 and 8 year old
boys, their skills and readiness for
more competitive baseball caught up
with their natural talents.
The team played in three tournaments and walked away with a trophy
in all three. After a couple scrimmages against Clifton Park teams, they
started tournament play in the Greenwich Tournament and after a hard
fought battle with rival Mechanicville
which took three trips to finish due to
weather, the boys took home first
place with a come from behind win in
the final inning of the Championship
game.
The team then went on to South
Glens Falls for their Summer Sizzler
and yes it was hot. They once again
fought hard against some great
squads winning each game to reach
the finals, where they lost in a tough
game against the Queensbury Gold
Team, taking home the second place
trophy.
The team finished the season in style
by playing some inspired baseball to
win all of their games and take first
place in Pool A of our own Halfmoon
Melee. Overall, the team went an
incredible 13-1 for the three tournaments in an unforgettable season.
2013 8U Blue All-Star Team
Front Row: Collin Kalteux, Brandon Stocker, Nino Salati, Ben Tymeson, Philip Matthews
Middle Row: Lukas Donofrio, Chris Bedard, Matt Milham, Jack Griffin, Quinn Riley, Leo Bold, Nate
Hutchens
Back Row: Coaches Greg Bold, Tom Griffin, Bill Riley and John Milham
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 7
8U Grey All Stars finish strong to end the summer!
A last minute decision to form a
second Halfmoon 8U All Star Team
turned out to be a great decision
providing thirteen boys with a memorable summer! Based on high turnout
for the tryouts and the willingness of
a few coaches including Manager Jon
Mueller, Halfmoon formed a second
8U All Star Team, Halfmoon Mariners
Grey, for the summer tournaments.
The team worked hard to get in a
few practices and scrimmages before
playing in the South Glens Falls Tournament. Facing tough competition
the team played well, managed to
have some fun and gained invaluable
experience. For all of the boys it was
their first tournament competition
and many lessons were learned that
would help them in the Melee Tournament.
The summer culminated with an
unpredicted runner-up finish in the
Halfmoon Melee 8U Tournament Pool
-B. The boys earned their first win 22
-9 against the Clifton Park Strikers,
followed up with another win 19-4
against the Clifton Park Fireballs securing the number one seed coming
out of pool play.
In a nail biter, the Mariners then
beat Claremont 8-6 for their third
straight win and more importantly
earning a spot in the finals. A tough
loss to the Clifton Park Warriors in
the finals resulted in the Halfmoon
Mariners Grey with a second place
finish and big smiles on all the boys
faces as they received their trophies!
The team was comprised of Michael Barbagelata, Jack DeChiro,
James Dixon, Danny Kunkle, Jaxon
Mueller, Scott Mueller, Logen Potter,
Louis Rizzo, Austin Rozowicz, Joey
Sweeney, Sam Tymeson, Ben Tymeson, and Billy Wickham.
2013 8U Grey All-Star Team
Front row (L to R) Danny Kunkle, Austin Rozowicz, Michael Barbagelata, Joey Sweeney, Billy
Wickham, and Jaxon Mueller. Middle row (L to R) is Sam Tymeson, James Dixon, Jack DeChiro, Logen Potter, Louis Rizzo, and Scottie Mueller.
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 8
10U Rec: The intensity begins
It’s amazing how much more excitement and intensity there is when
wins and losses count and that’s what
the kids get when they move into the
10U division. This is also the first
time the kids get to play in a full time
kid pitch environment and most players are more than willing to take the
hill and give it a go then beg for another inning no matter how they did.
Then there is stealing, it’s amazing
how hard it is to get a player to stay
on the base until the pitch reaches the
plate when they are just dying to steal
and slide into that next base. Over 70
kids made up our 6 teams and the
improvement in play throughout the
season was noticeable. The interleague games with the team from
Round Lake were also a lot of fun and
gave everyone a chance to mix things
up when the final score doesn’t count
and a chance for an away game just
up the road.
Koval Electrical Contracting won
the regular season trophy with an
impressive lineup that lead the division in runs scored and buoyed by
strong pitching and timely defense.
However, in the championship game
they couldn’t overcome the strong
pitching and defensive performance of
Capital Region Spinal Rehab who
took the playoff trophy after finishing
second in the regular season. It was a
great game to wrap up the season.
Special thank you to all our sponsors, Albany Hoops, Capital Region
Spinal Rehab, GTM Payroll, Seaglass
Logowear, Koval Electrical Contracting and Freyer Insurance Agency for
supporting our teams.
2013 10U Rec Champions, Koval
Electrical
Front Row: Leo Bold, Andrew
Moulton, Jack DeChiro, Tyler Townsend, Matt Coulombe, Jackson Pietrzykowski. Middle Row: Quinn Riley, Aidan Riley, Devin Barber,
Hunter Spitalny, Ben Weeks, Ryan
Saelens. Back Row: Coaches Bill
Riley and Greg Bold
2013 10U Rec Playoff Champs, CR
Spinal Rehabilitation
Back Row: Coaches Mike Shea,
John Milham, Tom Griffin
Middle Row: Gavyn Runyon, John
Milham, Jimmy Carroll, Benny
Liburdi, Connor Margan, Will
Shea
Front Row: Matt Milham, Casey
Asaro, Caleb Ryan, Tyler Paul,
Jack Griffin
Not pictured: Lowden Smith
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 9
10U Fall Travel follows serious ball with fun pizza
The 2013 u10 Fall Travel team
was a young team that played much
older than their age. Playing in the
ENYTB (Upstate New York Travel
Baseball) League was a new experience for the boys. The league rules
are much closer to major league baseball rules, including leading, stealing,
pickoffs, caught third strikes, and other rules that were new to many of the
players. While this was an interesting learning experience, the boys
quickly learned and were truly playing quality baseball as the season pro-
gressed.
Led by head manager, Bob Burdick, and a host of helpful dads, the
team compiled a 9-1 record, with the
only blemish being a one-run loss.
Among the victories were several exciting walkoff wins. Highlights included excellent pitching, throwing
out base-stealers, timely hitting and
exceptional defense. The coaches
would like to thank the commitment
and effort displayed by all 12 of the
boys as it was truly a fun-filled and
exciting season!
Head coach: Bob Burdick; Assistant coaches: David Barbagelata,
John Milham, Peter Semenza, Chris
Weeks
Players: William Barbagelata,
William Burdick, Ryan Dickinson,
Jack Griffin, Nate Hutchens, Matt
Milham, Quinn Riley, Aidan Ryan,
Alex Sandberg, Lucas Semenza, Brandon Stocker, and Ben Weeks
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 10
10U All-Stars Glens Falls Tourney Champions
The 10U All Star team put together great pitching and timely hitting to
go 5-0, and take the crown in the 10
year old “A” division against a very
good South Glens Falls team in the
finals. In the games to the finals we
defeated Glens Falls, Greenwich,
Hudson Falls , South Glens Falls and
South Glens Falls again in the championship game.
walk in only a dozen pitches. Their
fans, coaches , and team were shell
shocked. It was quite an inning and
show of team heart in both of the
come back wins. In a post game talk “I
told the kids to remember this moment and how it feels, as it is always
special to be a champion at anything
in life, and to take a moment to actually feel it together as a team”.
very well and were the number one
seed, but lost in the championship
game to the Tri-City Bombers. Our
defense and the rock hard infield was
not a good combination and we battled, but lost to a very strong team.
We had played and beat Tri-City two
days earlier 5-3 with great pitching,
but the championship game was not
our day as we lost 14-3.
Both teams were 3-0 and playing
a meaningless (so we thought) forth
game prior to the next day final. We
changed our pitching a little and our
defense was not sharp and we spotted
them an early six run lead. After a
pep talk about our defense, our team
came back with plenty of spunk, and
pulled out a 10-9 victory. The finals
were the next day against South
Glens Falls again and trailing 3- 2
into the 5th against their best hard
throwing pitcher, we rallied for 9 two
out runs to win 11- 4 and take home
the crown. At one point we hit five
bullets through the infield with a
The other two tourneys we played
very well, but came up a little short.
In our first tourney in Greenwich we
got matched up with South Glens
Falls (winner) in the opening game
and had carried a 2 - 1 lead into the
6th inning, but lost on a two out hit 32. This put us into the losers bracket
that we battled back to the Semi’s
from and taking a 1-1 tie into the 5th
and eventually losing to Brunswick 31. We were missing one of our key
pitchers or that game may have been
different.
The coaches (Mike Shea, Bob
Burrdick and Norm Hayner) are very
proud of the how our boys played
against very good teams. The teams
that beat us were strictly 10 year old
“A” teams and we were half and half.
Our pitching was lead by Will Shea,
Joel Hayner, Jack Sandberg and Jack
Voceand a little Ben Weeks. Along
with these Pitchers/hitters, were
Ryan Saelens, Alex Sandberg, Collin
Ruth, Hunter Spitalny, Jackson
Brown, Will Burdick and Sean
Popielarczyk (or as we call him Sean
P).
Our own Melee tourney we played
2013 10U All-Star Team
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 11
12U Rec a Slug Fest to the end
The 2013 season of the 12U
Division of Halfmoon Recreational
Baseball was a huge success! For
many new players moving up to this
age group this season, it was their
first opportunity to lead-off and steal
bases, including home plate! This
made for some very exciting games!
With the use of our Wooden Road
field, we were able to schedule each of
the five teams in the Division several
practice sessions to work on these new
skills.
Games were close throughout the
season as teams competed for Season
Championship and Playoffs Championship honors. Gross Electric captured the Season Crown with an impressive 8-2 record.
However, Playoffs competition
was fierce as the teams battled hard
in an effort to prevent Gross Electric
from sweeping both titles. By a score
of 16-15, in a tough semi-final battle
that came down to the final pitch,
Gross Electric narrowly squeaked by
HMS Agency, Inc., to earn a spot in
the Title Game. In the other bracket,
Sal Iavarone CPA topped The Sports
Barn, by a score of 9-4, to set up a
Championship Game between the Division’s two Titans. In an exciting
back and forth battle, Sal Iavarone
CPA came out on top by a score of 8-5.
Thank you to all the coaches and
parents for making this a fantastic
season!!! See you in the Spring!
Pete Hickey- 12U Division Coordinator.
2013 12U Rec Champions, Sal Iavarone CPA
Front Row: Leo Bold, Andrew Moulton, Jack DeChiro, Tyler Townsend, Matt Coulombe, Jackson Pietrzykowski. Middle Row: Quinn Riley, Aidan Riley, Devin Barber, Hunter Spitalny, Ben Weeks, Ryan
Saelens. Back Row: Coaches Bill Riley and Greg Bold
Sal Iavarone, CPA
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 12
Young Men of 14u dominate their own tournament
The 2013 Halfmoon Mariners 14U
Travel Team had a very successful
season no matter how you look at it.
You can look at the overall record of
26-16. You can consider the fact that
this team was playing a 14U schedule
when only 2 of the players were actually true 14U players. The remaining
10 players were 13U eligible. This
group of ball players has always
looked to the next challenge. They
understand that talent can only reach
its true potential through hardwork.
They committed to a rigorous winter
schedule and to a player they all got a
minimum of 20 workouts in with
many getting as many as 40 practices
in. They committed to each other and
this showed in their unselfish play on
the field.
Some other highlights on the
field. The team advanced to the Semifinals of the AABC State Championship. This group ended up 2-1 at
Baseball Heaven against unbelievable
competition. They missed the elimination round by only 1 run allowed
there. The 14U Teamed finished in
6th place in ENYTB going 10-5 in the
league. This was out of 28 teams.
Last but not least, they won their final tournament of the season which
was our own Halfmoon Melee. This
was a wood bat only tournament and
the Halfmoon Mariners 14U ran the
table going 5-0 to take the title.
A thank you goes out to all the
players, parents, and coaches for making this a wonderful season to be a
part of. We look forward to these
players bringing their skills to a new
level in 2014. Team Members: Tommy Barkevich, Payton Kurzejeski,
Joey Palko, Reagan Farley, Joe Rizzo,
Sean Dillon, Devin Disonell, Bailey
Bonville, Alex Cardinale, Robert Luciano, Ethan Schroder, and Cameron
Severance
2013 14U Travel Team
14U Melee Champions
Front Row: L-R: Ethan Schroder, Joe Palko, Reagan Farley, Cameron Severance, Joe Rizzo, Tommy Barkevich
Back Row: Alex Cardinale, Robert Luciano, Sean Dillon, Payton Kurzejeski, Bailey Bonville,
Devin Disonell
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 13
2014 15U Rec Champions
Bottom Row left to right: Coach Carpenter, Justin Michaud, Matt McLaughlin, Kevin Carpenter, Eddy Xie, Jack
Furlong
Top Row left to right: Coach Michaud, Joey Hatlee, Justice Goggin, Joe Michaud, Matt Moore, Lance Woodard,
Aaron Abelove, Ryan Bernstein, Coach Moore.
Missing from picture: Michael Blond, score keeper Nicole Goggin, and Coach Goggin
4th Annual Melee Victory-Fest for the Mariners
The Halfmoon Baseball League
and Halfmoon Mariners hosted their
4th annual Halfmoon Melee All-Star
tournament July 24th through the
29th at the Halfmoon Town Park.
Twenty seven teams participated
across four age divisions split into 6
pools. There were teams representing
8U, 10U, 12U and 14U age divisions.
The 8U Halfmoon Mariners Blue team
coached by John Milham won the 8U
A Pool championship wrapping up the
all-star season with their second
championship while only losing one
game. Coach Jerry Jones and his
Halfmoon Mariners 12U Blue team
won the 12U A Pool championship,
while leading their team to their 17th
straight win. The 14U Halfmoon Mariners led by coach Bruce Barkevich
took the championship in the 14U
division. Also of note, the 8U Grey
team coached by Jon Mueller won the
runner-up trophy for the 8U B Pool,
and Halfmoon coach Mike Shea led
his team the a runner-up win in the
10U Division. This was a fantastic
showing for our community based
teams. We are very proud of the hard
work put in by all the players and the
dedication of our parents to pitch in
and make this tournament a prime
example of what happens when a
community sports program comes together.
The Official Newsletter of Halfmoon Baseball
Page 14
Fourth Annual Golf Tourney drives home the fun
Halfmoon Baseball held their fourth annual Golf Outing and Silent Auction on July 12, 2013. It was a great success:
the weather was perfect, the course was in great shape, and everyone had a great time. We also saw a lot of family participation this year, with kids coming out to join their parents on the course. We expect that in 2014, this trend will
gain traction, making this a truly memorable family event!
2013 Champs: Rich Sniffen, Dan Handerhan, Mike Hickey, Dave
Barbagelata. With guests Ryan and Tyler Dickinson!
Thanks to all the volunteers who made
our tournament such a success!