West Hartford Youth Baseball (WHYBL) hosted its annual All Star Weekend on May 29-30 at Wolcott Park, with events taking place on Friday and Saturday.

Submitted by WHYBL

Major League Skills Competition

The weekend began with the annual Major League Skills Competition on Friday night, open to all 12-year-old players. There were three events: 1) The Roadrunner – a timed race around the bases; 2) The Golden Arm – throw from center field to a target at home plate; and 3) The Home Run Derby – players competed in a preliminary round and then the final four advanced to the final round.

Winners were:

• Roadrunner 1^st place – CJ Baldini, Hall’s Market (13.81 seconds); 2^nd place – John Gabinelle, Keating Insurance (14.00 seconds)
• Golden Arm 1^st place – Ethan Speranza, Hall’s Market (6 points); 2^nd place – Noah Pryzbek, Connors Insurance (4 points)
• Home Run Derby 1^st place – Will Fox, KofC (10 Home Runs); 2^nd place – Brian Namnoum, Berry Insurance (8 Home Runs)

Minor League All-Star Game

On Saturday, the Minor League All-Star Game was an offensive slugfest with the National League able to pull away from the American League for a 22-13 win.

The National League’s victory was aided by several of their All Stars, as they pieced together a well-rounded effort of timely hits, solid pitching and excellent defense. Leading offensively for the home team were Harry Nelson and Jayden Sgro. Ethan Tiffany also had an excellent all-around game at the plate, on the mound, and in the field for the winning team. On the mound, 10 pitchers combined to hold down the AL squad in the later innings after a furious start by the visitors.

The AL All-Stars started out strong with four runs in the first including a double by Trevor Tanis (1-3, 1 run) and an inside the park home run by Anthony Mangini (1-2, 2 runs, 3 RBIs). Each inning thereafter the comeback attempts by the AL were stopped by the NL. The AL was led by Tommy Baldini (2-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Drew Lewis (2-3 1 run) and Carson Raisner (1-2, 2 runs). Pitching for the AL was Anthony Mangini, Tommy Baldini, Tomas Martin, Matt Santoro, Conor Mangini, Trevor Tanis and Tommy Parker.

Major League All-Star Game

The Major League All-Star Game followed the Minor League game under the lights at Wolcott Park on Saturday night.

The game, sponsored by TD Bank, featured the best 36 12-year-olds in the League, matching the five American League teams against the five National League teams. Rob Gallo managed the National League team, while Joe DeLutrie managed the American League team.

The National League broke open a close 4-3 game with three runs in the 4th and five runs in the 5th on its way to a 23-6 victory. The NL slugged out 20 hits, including two home runs and four doubles while limiting the AL’s offense to just six runs on five hits with 15 strikeouts.

The NL offense was led by Jaedan Carrero (3 for 3, 2 HR’s, 3 runs) and Matthew Glassman (3 for 4, double, 3 runs). Jude Sargent (2 for 3, 2 runs), Brooks McConnell (2 for 3), Cohl D’Addabbo (double, run), Brandon Wolmer (2 for 3, 2 runs), Aidan Foley (1 for 2, double, 2 runs), John Gabinelle (single), Josh Liebman (single), Tyler Remigino (1 for 2, run), Will Fox (2 for 3, 4 runs), Tobey Siegel (double, 2 RBI’s, run), and Jackson Muskrat (1 for 2) also hit well.

 

Nine NL pitchers pitched in the game: Wolmer (1 H, 3 K’s), Liebman, Glassman (0 H, 3 K’s), D’Addabbo (0 H, 1 K), Sargent (1 H, 2 K’s), Kristofak (1 H, 2 K’s), Carrero (0 H, 2 K’s), Robert Schunder (1 H, 2 K’s), and McConnell.

The AL’s offense was led by Brandon Barnett (2 for 2, run), CJ Baldini (single), Patrick McGann (BB, run), Will Cullen (BB, run), Michael Barnett (BB, run), John Cashman (single, run), and Matt DeLutrie (double).

Eleven AL pitchers pitched in the game: Ethan Speranza, Desmond Nigol Mason, Noel Fagan, Cullen, McGann, DeLutrie, Brandon Barnett, Jonathan Morrey, Robbie Barrieau, Noah Pryzbek, and Cashman.

Prior to the game, the WHYBL honored 42-year League volunteer Ed Czapla, who also threw out the game’s first pitch. Czapla has held various roles with the WHYBL since 1974, including umpire, Major League manager with Talcott Transmissions, concession stand, and Jamboree day volunteer. Ed is currently a scorekeeper for Exchange Club in the Majors.

Participating All Star Players:

Majors

American League		National League
Manager – Joe DeLutrie		Manager – Rob Gallo
Brian Nammoun – Berry Insurance		Eric Labrie – AC Peterson Farms
Patrick McGann – Berry Insurance		Brooks McConnell – AC Peterson Farms
Robbie Barrieau – Berry Insurance		Robert Schunder – AC Peterson Farms
John Cashman – Blue Back Dental	Dominic Brigantty – Exchange Club
Noel Fagan – Blue Back Dental	Jaedan Carrero – Exchange Club
Reilly Cabral – Blue Back Dental	Tyler Remigino – Exchange Club
Justin Goldstein – Connors Insurance	John Gabinelle – Keating Insurance
Desmond Nigol-Mason – Connors Insurance	Matthew Glassman – Keating Insurance
Noah Pryzbek – Connors Insurance	Josh Liebman – Keating Insurance
CJ Baldini – Hall’s Market	Jackson Muskrat – Keating  Insurance
Brandon Barnett – Hall’s Market	Alexander Sarkisian – Keating Insurance
Michael Barnett – Hall’s Market	Will Fox – Knights of Columbus
Matthew DeLutrie – Hall’s Market	Griffin Macary – Knights of Columbus
Jonathan Morrey – Hall’s Market	Jude Sargent – Knights of Columbus
Ethan Speranza – Hall’s Market	Cohl D’Addabbo – Venora Electric
Garrett Brown – Talcott Transmissions	Aidan Foley – Venora Electric
John Murphy – Talcott Transmissions	Charlie Kristofak – Venora Electric
William Cullen – Talcott Transmission	Tobey Siegel – Venora Electric
	Brandon Wolmer – Venora Electric

 

Minors

 

American League		National League
Manager – Ken Mangini		Manager(s) – Chris Redden/Rob Hanawalt
Tommy Baldini – Beachland Tavern		Jack Gunsalus – Dick’s Sporting Goods
Shane Bradley – Beachland Tavern		JJ Hurley – Dick’s Sporting Goods
Matt Santoro – Beachland Tavern		Harry Nelson – Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dylan Albanese – Harry’s Pizza	Ryan Gothers – Effie’s Place
Anthony Mangini – Harry’s Pizza	Brody McCarthy – Effie’s Place
Conor Mangini – Harry’s Pizza	Jack Kane – Goldberg’s Bagels
Trevor Tanis – Harry’s Pizza	Jayden Sgro – Goldberg’s Bagels
Tomas Martin – Joey’s Pizza Pie	Owen Shiffman – Goldberg’s Bagels
Tommy Parker – Joey’s Pizza Pie	Matthew Bates – Mr. Trophy
Theo Allen – Pepe’s Pizza	Ryan Smith – Mr. Trophy
Zennon Briggs – Pepe’s Pizza	Ethan Tiffany – Mr. Trophy
Drew Lewis – Pepe’s Pizza	Tristan Baron – Sliders
Carson Raisner – Rizzuto’s	Brendan Grady – Sliders
Camden Rancourt – Rizzuto’s	Tyler West – Sliders