Young players celebrate a great season at Longmeadow Baseball Association

Date: 10/13/2009

The Longmeadow Baseball Association (LBA) recently hosted its year-end pizza party for its four Tri-Town League teams and players found they had many reasons to celebrate.

The Longmeadow baseball players, ages eight through 12, participated in the Tri-Town Baseball League, making up three teams in the 75-foot division and one team in the 60-foot division.

"This group of young ball players has done a terrific job this season," said LBA President George Viamari. "They have worked hard from the middle of March through the end of July, developing their baseball skills. And it shows in their results. We're proud of the record for each of these four teams, and we're even prouder of the quality of baseball they played."

The three Longmeadow baseball teams in the 75-foot division of the Tri-Town League all enjoyed strong regular season results. In the 75-foot "A" bracket, with Viamari as head coach, the team placed first for regular season play, with a record of 15-2-1. "You gave it your all," Viamari told his players when they gathered at the year-end banquet. "You came together as a team and played great baseball."

The other two Longmeadow baseball teams in the 75-foot division were in the "B" bracket. Longmeadow Red (head coach Max Winkler) placed second and Longmeadow Black (head coach Roland Joyal) placed third, both for regular season play. "These two teams together made Longmeadow a truly dominant force in our bracket," said Joyal. "We were fortunate that many of our players brought experience and strength, which helped us get off to a great start. Additionally, our less experienced players developed incredibly well and quickly during the season."

Topping off a great regular season, Longmeadow Red brought home two major championships in post-season play. First, the team won the Play-offs in the Tri-Town 75-foot "B" bracket. This sent the team to the state tournament, where Longmeadow Red won the highly competitive Pee Wee Reese 75-foot "B" bracket State Championship.