Bellmore Boys Knock Merrick Out of 11-Year-Old Williamsport Tournament

In a game where there was a combined four runs scored through the first five innings between the Merrick and Bellmore little leaguers, the 11-year-old team from Bellmore came away with a 5-2 victory in the district tournament Wednesday evening.

Bellmore got great pitching from Ryan Karp and George Savas over the course of the six inning game at Burns Park in Massapequa. Merrick had their chances however, but the pitching and defense from Bellmore came up big time and time again.

Bellmore batted first, as Merrick sent southpaw Eric Gossert to the mound. Gossert pitched well in his four-plus innings of work, striking out six batters during that time.

Bellmore got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first innings. Lou Brush singled to start off the game and was followed by Karp who was hit by a pitch. Next up was the Bellmore catcher, John Strawa, who ripped a two RBI double off the fence in left-center field.

In the bottom of the first inning, Karp threw his first inning on the evening, working around a leadoff walk to Gossert, he set the next three Merrick batters down in order. Nick Lisi made a nice grab at third base on a line drive for the third out of the inning.

When Gossert returned for the mound for his next inning of work he looked dominant. He retired the bottom of the Bellmore lineup in order, including back-to-back strikeouts, and gave the Merrick offense a chance to score some runs of their own.

The Merrick bats did not hesitate to make their presence felt in the bottom of the second inning as Dylan Hughes started off the inning with a triple up the first base line. Two batters later Matt Torretta drove in Hughes with an RBI single and Merrick cut the lead to 2-1. Karp stopped the bleeding at one run by getting a groundball and a strikeout for the final two outs of the innings, with two walks in between.

Bellmore responded quickly in the next inning with an RBI single off the bat of Savas, scoring Karp, and building the lead back up to two runs.

Karp ran into a bit of trouble in the bottom half of the third inning, as Kourkomelis drew a walk and Backus hit a single; Merrick had runners at first and second with no one out. Karp was able to strikeout the next two batters, and got the final batter to ground out.

When asked how he thought his team played, Bellmore coach Dan Bendig said, "Awesome."

Gossert worked in and out of trouble again in the fourth inning. Bellmore got a single and a walk in the inning, but came away with no runs to show for it. Hannon made a play from his knees at second base, and had time to throw out Strawa at first for the final out of the inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, Karp set down the Merrick batters in order, including recording two outs himself. He was able to knock down a sharp groundball off the bat of Gossert, recover and throw him out at first.

Hughes came into pitch for Merrick in the fifth inning, with Savas on first for Bellmore and no one out. Hughes struck out the first two batters he faced, and got the third to fly out.

The Merrick parents were vocal throughout the contest, but especially came alive in the final two innings, as Merrick attempted to make a comeback. The friends and family of the Merrick players did everything in their power to motivate the boys in black to scratch out a few runs.

Savas pitched the final two innings for Bellmore and promptly shut the door, but not before Merrick made things interesting. After Bellmore added two more runs to their tally in the top half, Merrick tried to start a rally of their own.

Tyler Boyer drove in the second Merrick run with an RBI single, but that would be all Savas would allow, as Bellmore sealed the 5-2 victory.

Merrick, with its second loss in district play, is eliminated from the tournament. Bellmore has lost once, but still has a chance to come out of the losers bracket and take home the title.

Bendig said he is looking for his team to "win and play like they did today" the next time the boys step on the diamond.

Download the movie

Download the movie

Download the movie

Download the movie