The team, managed by Joe Ramirez and coached by Joe Magneri and Ben Signore had entered the sectionals on Saturday, July 19, having run through its opponents in the District 22 tournament.
TNLL went undefeated, beating Bronxchester 3-2; Van Nest 14-2; and Castle Hill, twice, 8-4 and 14-11, en route to the District 22 Championship and a slot in the sectionals.
“They worked real hard,” said Signore. “We coached them hard. We held 4-5 hour practices and the kids didn’t complain. Instead, they responded very well to the training.”
And it showed, as the TNLL team continued their winning ways with two quick victories over Queens South and Brooklyn South in the sectionals before facing a tough Brewster team; a game where costly errors proved too much for the Bronx team.
“I was a little disappointed in our performance during that game,” admitted Signore. “We had opportunities to score and we did not take advantage of them. When you have six or seven guys on base, you need to bring them home.”
Injures also hurt the team. After Donato Signore and Wilfredo Gonzales opened the first two games up with two big pitching performances, Ramirez could not turn to his third pitcher in the rotation, Niko Alvarez, after a broken hand took him out of play. Instead, the TNLL manager had to go back to Donato on short rest.
Donato picked up the tough loss, ending the Bronx team’s hopes on Monday, July 21. Despite the loss, there were no sad faces on the team.
“They have nothing to be upset about,” said Lisa Brady, of the TNLL. “The team consists of 13 young men and they all practiced long and relentless for this tournament. It was obvious to all who attended the games this year. These boys have many fans.”
Signore is one of them. The proud coach is trying to bring the team to another tournament at Baseball Heaven in Long Island in September, as a reward for their success this year.
And as the kids grow up and advance to the next chapter of their little league lives, he has no doubt that success will continue to find them.
“Many of these kids will make the 16 and under team, and we will have a new group of young men taking over for the 13 and 14 year olds,” he said. “I believe they will do very well. Everyone knows the game. It has been instilled on them when they were young. I look forward to seeing how well they perform next year.”
The 13 players on the team include Sergio “Niko” Alvarez, Kevin Brady, Michael Costello, Wilfredo Gonzales, Mike Hostompsky, Freddie Lando, Scott Magistro, Frank Magneri, Ryan Mahoney, James Maio, Raul Ortiz, Steve Ramirez and Donator Signore.
