Levittown West Little League Falls to Merillon Avenue in NBJL U9 Central Championships

The Levittown Tigers Little League finished as the runner-up in the NBJL U9 Central Championships after dropping two games to the Merillon Avenue Sharks on Saturday at Merillon Park.  

The Tigers forfeited the first game after falling behind 15-6 in the fourth inning. They then dropped the second game by a closer 8-7 score, leaving them with a second-place finish.

Coming out of their win at the Summer Bash Tournament against the Long Island Chargers earlier in August, the Tigers were amped up and ready to play.  The first game started off with a bang as the score was 6-4 in favor of the Sharks by the end of the first inning. Miles Scarry and Sean Wolf each drove in a run for Levittown in their half, while Robert Bradley had two runs batted in in the inning.

The Sharks added six more runs in the second inning while holding Levittown off the board. The Tigers scored two more runs in the third inning, but Merillon Avenue answered with three runs of their own. The game was called after the top of the fourth inning with the Sharks leading 15-6.

After the first game, Levittown Tigers manager Michael Sweeney promised a better effort from his team in the second game. "They got a hold of us in that game, but I promise a better game coming up," he said. "We're a tough team and we'll come together."

He was right, as the Tigers jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two innings. After each team traded runs in the first inning, Trevor Williams drove in a run in the second. Myles Scarry followed with a three-run triple for the 5-1 lead. The Tigers held the Sharks off the board in their half and took that lead into the third.

But the lead was short-lived, as the Sharks struck back with six runs in the third inning. After holding the Tigers scoreless, they added a run in the fourth to take an 8-5 lead. Levittown scored one run each in the fifth and sixth inning, but came up one run short in the end.

The Tigers were the number three seed going into the championship game, and defeated the number two seed Kings Park Knights.  The Merillon Avenue Sharks were the number one seeded team.  

The U9 Tigers are a Travel Baseball program originating from the Levittown West Little League. They will be having tryouts in the Spring 2012 for players wishing to join the Tigers Team. This try out is open to players registered with the Levittown West Little League in the spring of 2012.  You can register for the spring season by going to www.levittownwestlittleleague.com or calling 516-796-1312.