Two teams got their measure of revenge last week in the Community Center basketball league. Second-place finishers Jessie’s in Division III and A Paradise in the Premier Division knocked off the regular season champs Ross Built and Rotten Ralph’s to take their post season tourney titles in games that went right down to the wire.

   Meanwhile, in Division I, Dips Ice Cream took its fourth consecutive title by defeating Island Family Physicians and Sand Dollar won its tourney by beating E Training Solutions in Division II.

Feb. 16
Premier Division
A Paradise 35 - Ralph’s 34

As he has all year, Kyle Aritt led the way in scoring for A Paradise, hitting for 21 points in a back-and-forth game that wasn’t decided until the buzzer. Kyle Sewall added nine points for the champs. Matt Bauer led all scorers with 23 points for Rotten Ralph’s.

Feb. 17
Division I
Dips 48 - Isl. Family Phys. 41

Regular season champs Dips used a balanced scoring attack and a tough defense to take this title. Justin Gargett and Max Miller shouldered the scoring duties, with 17 and 11 points respectively, while Elio Gomez and Connor Field frustrated the Physicians’ ball-handlers all night. Leading scorer Daniel Pimental was mostly held in check through three quarters but hit four buckets late to finish with 18.

Division III
Jessie’s 7  - Ross Built 6

This low-scoring affair was a nail-biter all the way, with Jessie’s taking a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter. But neither team could throw it in the ocean in the final stanza, as both sides mounted furious defenses and nobody scored. Seth Walter tossed in three points to lead Jessie’s, while Gavin Sentman and Andrew and Jake Ross each had two for Ross Built.

Division II
Sand Dollar 31- E Training Solutions 16

Regular season champs Sand Dollar continued to dominate in tournament play in this division in a game that was essentially over by halftime. Leading the way was Cameron Brauner with 12 and Burke McCampbell-Hill with 11. Blaine Jenefsky and Logan Reiber each had seven for E Training Solutions.

The much anticipated start of the 2009 Little League baseball season kicked off last Saturday, as the West Coast Surf Shop Islanders were defeated in an exhibition game 15-2 by USA Fence.

Despite the score, there were some bright spots in the contest, which provided hope for improvement and success over the course of the season for the Majors division squad. A few players on the team have little to no experience playing baseball, and for these players the game was an important step. Bryce Smith played solid defense at third base, with Andrew Zink and Brennan Gallagher making hard contact at the plate as well.

The team put up both runs in the second inning, while threatening for more before USA Fence’s pitcher came through in the clutch and recorded two outs with the bases loaded to end the inning. The number one through five hitters all consecutively reached base in the second inning, with the ninth batter striking out to begin the inning. It started with Neil Carper drawing a walk, followed by Henrik Brusso and Phil Dudevoire hitting line drives to the outfield for singles, which drove in Carper. Johnny Mattay then singled, scoring Brusso, and Devin Cole followed with another hit but Dudevoire was gunned out at the plate by the left fielder. The next batter, Blaine Jenefsky, battled the pitcher to a full count before striking out to end the inning.

The game only went four innings and was called by the umpire because of the score and time restraints for games on opening day. Mattay started the game pitching and threw hard but had some control trouble, which made it hard for Dudevoire behind the plate. This led to a number of passed balls and wild pitches, with runners on base taking advantage of it numerous times. This was the story of the game for Islander pitching, as Jenefsky later took over for Mattay, followed by Brusso and Devin Cole to finish the game. Almost every run scored by USA Fence was unearned, as it actually didn’t manage very many legitimate base hits off Islander pitchers.

 Essentially this was only a practice game and an experience to learn and improve from, and a good way to get rid of the first-game jitters. This is the lone 11-12 year old team in this division from the Island, so games will rotate between Anna Maria and G.T. Bray as part of their league. West Coast Surf Shop will play again Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m. at G.T. Bray and Monday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Anna Maria Island Community Center.