The Anna Maria Island Little League Majors team reached the knock out stage of the County Cup this past Friday after a controversial incident halted the game against Munivez Lawn Care from Palmetto.

The Islanders had already over-performed to beat Manatee East champs Gatorade and needed only one more win in the league stages to advance.

But they dropped a tough decision Wednesday to Cooney’s Auto 10-4, as ace pitcher Justin Gargett was rested so he could start Friday’s contest. The loss left the Island squad with a must-win situation as they faced off against Munivez.

They jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on some timely hitting and aggressive base running and were in command against the heavily favored Palmetto team heading into the fourth inning. Things got even worse for Munivez when a player argued a third strike call and threw his bat in disgust.

The fit of temper got the youngster tossed out of the game, leaving Munivez with just eight players. The Island squad tacked on another four runs and led the contest 8-0.

In the sixth inning, Gargett had reached 40 pitches on his pitch count and if he were replaced he would be eligible to pitch the next, and very important, game. Coaches Chris Moneuse and Mike Brusso gambled, took him out and replaced him with Max Moneuse, who served up a solo home run making it 8-1.

At this point, Little League officials intervened and called a halt to the game, saying that a team cannot play with just eight players unless the ninth player was lost due to injury. Since the Munivez ninth player was lost because he was ejected, the game was called and awarded to the Island team. The officials said that the final score actually reverts to whatever it was when the Munivez player was thrown out, which meant the final tally was 4-0 Islanders.

The victory placed the Island team in a Monday night showdown with Beef O’Brady’s, another excellent squad. Complete coverage of that contest will be available on The Sun’s website Tuesday evening at www.amisun.com.

Click here for a virtual tour of Island baseball

 

Two teams remain unbeaten as Community Center Flag Football heads into the playoffs on the soccer field in Holmes Beach. The two are Ross Built Buccaneers in Division Three and AMI Video Buccaneers in Division One. It seems fitting that both are Buccaneer teams and not only are they seeded number one, they are streets ahead of the competition. Go Bucs! In division two it is worth noting that no less than three teams finished 6-3, Americo Title Cowboys, Mr. Bones Steelers and Galati Marine Chiefs.

Monday, May 26
Division Two
Americo Title Cowboys 31 - Mr. Bones Steelers 15

Over the course of the season Mr. Bones, like a good wine, got better over time. Here they came up against a Cowboys team that wanted to secure the number one seeding and did just that with a convincing display. Logan Reiber top scored for the Cowboys with two touchdowns, one each for Keegan Murphy and Zach Stewart, who also converted with a defensive touchdown from Travis Belsito. This win tied the Cowboys with Mr. Bones and gives coach Ben Stewart’s team the edge in points scored. Americo Title Cowboys are the number one seed going into the playoffs. The Steelers’ Josh Zawistoski was fast paced and scored two touchdowns with Noah Connors converting one.

Tuesday, May 27
Division Three
Ross Built Buccaneers 36 - LPAC Eagles 14

Ross Built Buccaneers showed us why they are the number one seed going into the playoffs and why they are unbeaten this term. Jake Ross and Parker Landsberg both had two touchdowns with one each for Andrew Ross and Jackson Sauerbeck. The LPAC Eagles finished as the number two seed, edging out the Sparks Seahawks, and this game saw Joey Altchoff and Gavin Sentmen with touchdowns as Brendan Murphy put in a two point conversion.

Wednesday May 28
Division Three
Galati Marine Chiefs 45 - Mike Norman Realty Browns 14

It’s been a tough season for the Browns as they failed to build a defensive strategy. It was apparent here as the Chiefs went on the rampage, as they have done towards the latter part of the season. The Galati twins, Anna Maria and Chris, scored six touchdowns between them, including a defensive touchdown and a conversion. Seth Walters scored a touchdown and Joey Cucci had two conversions. The Chiefs finish as number three seed in this division after a rocky start to the season. It was Kelly Stewart and Jack Blauvelt for the Browns with Morgan Grieg converting both.

Division One
AMI Video Bucs 37 - Pine Avenue Bills 19

The only other unbeaten team was in action here as the Bucs secure the number one seed in a division it dominated. The Pine Avenue Bills have a decent lineup with the likes of Wyatt Hoffman, Zach Evans and Kyle Arrit, who scored two touchdowns and a conversion. Vanessa Parkin rounded out the scoring with a touchdown. Tommy Price and Daniel Janisch pretty much took care of business for the Bucs with two touchdowns each. Kyle Parsons also had one TD and Chris Pate, along with teammate Mackenzie Kosfeld, took care of the conversion. The Bills are the number two seed heading into the playoffs.

Thursday May 29
Mr. Bones Steelers 18 - Mike Norman Realty Browns 12

The Browns narrowly missed the chance to secure its first win of the season against a Steelers side it managed to contain. The team defended well and looked a different outfit than the one that faced The Chiefs 24 hours earlier. Luke Shackleford and Jack Blauvelt both scored touchdowns. Mr. Bones Steelers scored one more touchdown, Jared Wacaser with two and Josh Zawistoski with one.

Americo Title Cowboys 26 - Galati Marine Chiefs 24

In a division that has three teams at 6-3 it is obvious that points are all important and this game went to the wire with the difference being the ability to convert the extra points. Chris Galati proved his worth once again as he took it upon himself to score the points for the team. He had three offensive and one defensive touchdown but the conversion went A.W.O.L. Austin Morrow and Denver Hardy both had two touchdowns for The Cowboys and conversions were paramount if they wanted the win. Hats off then to Jake Parsons and Logan Reiber who stepped up to convert one each and make a difference in the game and give the team the number one seed.