Sun Sets on Mineola 9/10 Summer Baseball’s 2012 Season

The Mineola 9/10 Summer Baseball team traveled to north to Kelleher Field to square off against their neighbors the Williston Park Patriots at Kelleher Field on August 22, but was unable to stand up against an offensive outburst and strong Patriots pitching, ending their summer season with a loss.

Defensively for Mineola, strong plays were made by Vincent Aidalia and Andrew Geagher, who split time at third base. Zach Buongiovanni and Patrick Solosky made a flip force out at second while Thomas Tugander was stationed at first base and also doubled. Mineola pitching was lead by Patrick Solosky, Zach Buongiovanni, Ryan Loughlin and Kenny Solosky. Ryan Burke and Kieran O’Gara were kept busy in the outfield making plays on pop ups and base hits. Mineola also showed the results of their “catching station” with Coach Liam O’ Gara.

Both Kenny Solosky and Zach Buongiovanni threw out Williston Park runners trying to steal bases, as in a strange statistical twist, Solosky threw the runner out at second with Buongiovanni playing shortstop and Buongiovanni threw the runner out at second with Solosky playing short, a 2-6 putout Solosky to Buongiovanni for both outs.

The Mineola 9/10 Summer Baseball Team ended the summer season with a record of , 3 loses and 1 tie, which was “,” Coach Ken Solosky said.

“More than winning, our summer season is a time for the boys to develop and grow as baseball players,” he said. “One of our primary objectives is to let them play any position, including pitcher and catcher and just play for the love of the game.”

In the summer season, the players were rotated through almost every position on the field and 12 of the 14 spent time pitching. The season also utilized Saturday morning clinics where guest instructors worked with the players and included specialized pitching and catching stations.

The Mineola team was led by Manager Ken Solosky, Coaches Sean Burke, Doug Aidalia, Mike Loughlin and Liam O’Gara. The Mineola team consisted of Kenny Solosky, Patrick Solosky, Zach Buongiovanni, Kieran O’Gara, Thomas Tugander, Steven Collica,

Jimmy Tighe, Ryan Burke, Ryan Loughlin, Dominic Ferreira, Vincent Aidalia, Mike Librandi, Derek Lekhwani and Andrew Geagher.

The Mineola team expressed their thanks to Coach Ed Proctor of Kellenberg Memorial High School’s Baseball Program for and all the parents and friends who showed support during the season and in their games.

As the summer season ended, the coaches and players look forward to a welcome “break” before beginning the fall baseball campaign the weekend of September 8.

The Mineola Summer baseball team is a developmental team that stresses fun and learning. Players are assigned to different positions and challenged to try pitching and catching. The team has weekly clinics with guest instructors that develop their pitching, hitting and fielding skills. The clinics have featured a unique, “catcher’s station” at which an older travel team catcher works with the boys on this demanding position.