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KCSS varsity boys baseball team battles, but loses YRAA semi-final to Mulock

June 3, 2014   ·   0 Comments

First baseman Joe Brown takes a throw from pitcher Matt Radeff during a pickoff attempt against Mulock in the YRAA semi finals last week.

By Jeff Doner
The King City Secondary School tier 1 varsity boys’ baseball team had a bit of an up and down spring with a .500 record, but regrouped and made a good run to end the 2014 season.
The Lions went into the playoffs last week with a convincing 10-0 win over Westmount in the quarter finals of the York Regional Athletic Association finals, sending them on to a semi-final matchup with the first place team from Sir William Mulock last Wednesday.
The Lions stuck with them, but eventually began to realize why Mulock was perched atop the league standings with a 6-0 record and +33 run differential in the regular season.
Mulock’s lights out pitching kept the Lions at bay for much the game, making it nearly impossible for the Lions to create any offence.
Veteran Matt Radeff started the game on the mound for KCSS and looked like he was willing to play the same game, keeping Mulock off the scoreboard until the bottom of the third.
However, that’s when Mulock loaded the bases with one out to eventually take a four-run lead.
Pitcher Johnny Mele was put in as relief and limited the damage to end the inning.
Desperately wanting to get back into the game, the Lions were still being stymied at the plate, while Mulock added two more runs for a 6-0 win.
“I think it was just our hitting and we couldn’t just get the bat on the ball,” said Mele post-game. “The pitcher was throwing pretty hard and I think, for a lot of the newer guys, it was pretty hard to keep up with it I think. Yeah, I think it was pretty much just our hitting that was the only problem. They got hits too, but that’s how it goes.”
Despite the loss, Mele, a Grade 12 student playing in his final season with KCSS, said it was a fun spring for the team.
“It was pretty fun. It’s kind of weird being in grade 12 now and having this be my last year. I am going to miss it. I kind of what to come back, but I can’t,” he laughed. “We got some good wins and a lot of time to play. We had some double headers that made it interesting, we never usually do that. Overall, it was fun.”
Grade 9 rookie Mac McDonald agreed that Mulock was successful in shutting down the Lion’s hitting and that the team had a good season overall.
“I think they were just hitting the zone on almost every pitch and we just weren’t ready for it,” he said.
“But we did pretty good this season. We were able to come back from a couple big losses and we were able to maintain 50-50 win loss record. The highlight of the season for me was probably just getting out on the field and getting my first hit.”
This year’s squad was a veteran-laden team led by Matthew Radeff, Johnny Mele, David Granton, Matthew Ardizzi, John Read, Will MacLachlan and Andrew Kandelas. Francesco Amantea and Joe Brown have also been a huge part of the team’s growth this season.
Rookies Jordan Gottlieb and Nobleton’s Mac McDonald have also stepped in to contribute this season, adding some depth on the mound.
One of the team’s coaches, Tom Ellison, added that pitching has been one of the team’s biggest strength’s, with Radeff as the team’s ace.
Rounding out this year’s roster was: Gavin Datt, Eric Marchetta, Adam Cacchione, Zachary Fafalios, Daniel Kandelas, Paul Bianchi and Austin Larsh. All of whom have contributed to the team this season.
The last time KCSS won the YRAA Championship was in 2010 and they will be looking to keep improving for 2015.

         

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