New City American All Stars Go 2-0 With Win Over Nyack-Valley Cottage

The New City Little League American All Stars squad is 2-0 after an exciting 5-2 victory over Nyack-Valley Cottage.

New City's #0 Justin Rosenberg had a great performance for his team, as he struck out seven, walked none, allowed only four hits, and two solo home runs in six innings pitched.  #1 David Schiff had a great offensive performance, with a three run home run to add to New City's lead in the fifth.  Stellar defense from #33 Zack Riccardi and #10 Brian Kay helped Rosenberg to keep Nyack to only two runs and secure the win for New City.

The game went scoreless until New City got back up to bat in the top of the third.  With two on and two out, Priesel came up to bat.  He hit a grounder into centerfield for an RBI single to put New City on the board.  #3 Kevin Meehan came up next and was struck out to end the inning.  However, after the second strike, #25 Matt Navarro stole home after some confusion resulting from a double steal by he and Schiff.  Rosenberg closed the bottom of the third quickly, with three up and three down.

Nyack pitcher, #33 Cyrus Shirazi, retaliated with a 1-2-3 inning of his own in the top of the fourth.  New City got the first two out to start the bottom of the fourth.  They would have gotten the next out, however the throw to first baseman #7 Kevin Liebmann went wide.  Liebmann reached for it into the base path and caught it, however his arm got hit hard by the runner and he dropped it.  A worried crowd looked on as the officials made sure that Liebmann was OK.  Fortunately, despite some initial pain, he appeared to be okay and the game continued.  Rosenberg then ended the inning as he swept up a ground ball and tagged first.

With two on and one out in the top of the fifth, Schiff came up to bat and hit a three run homer to bring the score to 5-0.  Despite the commanding lead, Nyack-Valley Cottage did not give up.  They finished off the game with a strong performance on both ends as they fought to come back.

Nyack-Valley Cottage's #44 Jordan Correa put them on the board in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run over the right field wall.  They then kept themselves in the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth to keep New City from breaking away even more.  This brought up #7 Devin Samparani, who led off with another solo home run.  Shirazi continued the effort with a double into left centerfield.  New City then fielded the next one to get the batter out at first.  Rosenberg then buckled down to close the game with two more strikeouts.

A talented performance from both sides left this anyone's game until the end.  New City realized this and stayed focused to close out the game and end an overall great performance on a good note.  Manager John Santana was proud of his team's performance and especially of Rosenberg's. 

"Justin Rosenberg pitched an unbelievable game," said Santana, "he got ahead in the count and just pitched a very good game."  With a performance like this, the New City Americans are set to go far this All Star season.

The New City Americans look to extend their streak 7 p.m. this Wednesday at the Reisman Complex in Pamona, when they will play Ramapo.