The Throgs Neck Thunder (TNT) participated in the Mike Cola Invitational tournament in Yonkers on June 27 to 28 and won all of their four games.
In the first game, TNT played against TYA (Tuckahoe Youth Association) at Scotti Field (Yonkers) on Saturday, June 27.
TNT showed that they came ready to play by exploding for 11 runs in the top of the 1st inning, which included three home runs. TNT dominated this game with their bats as they eventually won 22 to 11 (five innings). The hit parade was led by Justin DelVecchio (2-5, Grand Slam), Frankie Giuliano (2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 2R,BB), Nicky Padilla (3-3, HR, 2B, 2RBI, 4R, BB), Michael Wickes (3-3, 2B, 2RBI, 2R, BB), Michael Morrone (1-1, HR, 3RBI, 2BB). Nick Genarelli pitched two strong innings at the start of the game and Justin Pena pitched well at the end of the game to help secure the win.
In their second game, TNT traveled a few miles north to Andrus Field in Yonkers to play Kingsbridge. The start of the game was delayed by rain, but the wait was well worth it as these two evenly matched teams played a close contest. The pitchers were dominant in this game but TNT managed to scratch out a few more runs than Kingsbridge as they won 3-1. TNT had only three hits in this game but one of them was a home run in the first inning by shortstop Kyle Mahoney. The other two runs were scored by aggressive base running by Joe Menna and Dylan Monseratte after reaching base on walks. Dylan’s run was extra-ordinary as he showed his physical skills by jumping over the outstretched arm of the pitcher while trying to apply a tag at home plate after a wild pitch. Pitchers, Nick Padilla (3 I), Justin DelVecchio (2 I) and Frankie Giuliano (1 I) combined to hold a strong Kingsbridge lineup to only 1 R, 6 H and 3 BB.
In their third game on the same day, TNT headed south to Friendship Field in Pelham to play Pelham. Pitcher Anthony D’Ancona pitched a quick effortless game as TNT won 11-3. Anthony utilized the defense behind him and needed only 46 pitches over 5 innings to limit Pelham to 1 R, 5 H and no walks. Hitting stars for this game included Dylan Monseratte (2-4, 2R, 2B), Kyle Mahoney (3-4, R, RBI, two 2B’s), Justin DelVecchio (2-4, 2R, RBI), Anthony D’Ancona (2-3, 2R, 2B) and Justin Pena (2-3, RBI),
On Sunday morning, June 28, TNT again traveled up to Andrus Field in Yonkers to play their fourth game against Richards. In this game, TNT’s offense and pitching were overpowering as TNT won 12-0 in five innings. The offense was highlighted by Dylan Monseratte (4-4, 3R, 5RBI, 2HR’s), Frankie Giuliano (2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR), Anthony D’Ancona (2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B) and Nick Genarelli (2-3, R). Pitcher Kyle Mahoney was masterful over the five innings as he only gave up only one hit and no runs.
By winning all their four games, TNT was supposed to play in the tournament championship game. However, with the bad weather playing havoc with the schedules, they were not able to work out an reasonable timeframe to get the last game in. Therefore, the game will be played at a future time and place. Stay tuned!
