The MWLL 9-11 All-Stars are state champions
Horseheads. Over the course of the District, Section, and State tournament the Monroe-Woodbury 9-11U Little League All-Star team went 10-1 and getting key contributions from all 12 players on the roster. It was the first time a Monroe-Woodbury Little League baseball team has won a NY State Little League Championship in more than 40 years.
Albany /
| 04 Aug 2021 | 12:42
Members of the Monroe-Woodbury Little League 11U team celebrate their State Championship.
Members of the Monroe-Woodbury Little League 11U team: Back Row- Manager Rich Monda, “Big” Mike Zymberi, Coach John Bauer and Coach Matt Bond; second row: Joey Bauer, Brian Sorce, Evan Mejia and Connor McHale; and in front: Cole Engel, Mikey Monda, Brandon Schwarz, Aaron Drucker, Kyle Lascano, Drew Lugo and Jake Bond. All Photo Credit to Michelle McHale.
Joey Bauer makes a great catch during the state tournament.
Cole Engel dealing in the championship game.
Brandon Schwarz working behind the dish.
Mikey Monda pitching in game one.
Aaron Drucker on the hill.
After winning the District 19 and Section 3 North Championship, the MWLL 9-11 All-Star team travelled up to upstate Horseheads for the New York State Championships starting on Friday, July 23.
Game one
The Monroe-Woodbury Little League Team started off play at the NY State Tournament on Saturday, July 24, with a solid 6-0 win over a strong team from Penfield, supported by a combined no-hitter by Mikey Monda, Cole Engel and Aaron Drucker.
Game two
In the second game of the state tournament, the team faced off against Baldwinsville and came out on top, 10-6 victors to advance to the NY State semi-final game.
Semi-final
In the semi-final game of the state tournament the MWLL team faced off against Tri-Village from the Albany area. MWLL won behind a very strong pitching from Joey Bauer who pitched a complete game with eighth strikeouts in a 2-1 victory. Brandon Schwarz had a huge RBI-single to put the team up 1-0 in the second inning.
The championship
Tri-Village came out of the losers bracket needing to beat MWLL in two games to win the State Championship on Friday, July 30. In the first game, Tri-Village beat Monroe-Woodbury 4-2 to force a second and final game for the State Championship.
In the Championship game, Monroe-Woodbury scored first in the second inning Jake Bond hit an RBI-single putting MWLL up 2-0. The game remained that way until the bottom of the fourth. Drew Lugo, Kyle Lascano and Connor McHale had great at bats to draw walks and load the bases for MWLL. Mikey Monda and Joey Bauer hit back-to-back singles to score three runs and put MWLL up 5-0. “Big” Mike Zymberi followed with a hard double in the gap, scoring two more runs to put MWLL up 7-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, MWLL added two more runs with Brian Sorce contributing with a big double to open the inning. Aaron Drucker, Brandon Schwarz and Evan Mejia played strong defense for MWLL.
Cole Engel started and finished the Championship game for MWLL, throwing a gem, giving up just one run while striking out four as Monroe-Woodbury Little League won the NY State Championship 9-1 over Tri-Valley.
Over the course of the District, Section, and State tournament the Monroe-Woodbury 9-11U Little League All-Star team went 10-1 and getting key contributions from all 12 players on the roster. It was the first time a Monroe-Woodbury Little League baseball team has won a NY State Little League Championship in more than 40 years.
Congratulations to the coaches, players, and families on an amazing summer run.