12U PCYBL Pirates come back from trip of a lifetime after week spent playing ball at historic Cooperstown
August 29, 2024 at 1:51 a.m.
Lake Mary, Fla., rallied in extra innings, scoring from second on an overthrow to first base to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and win the Little League World Series Sunday (8/25) in South Williamsport, Pa.
It was a game the participants, all aged 12 and under, will never forget.
Especially since the U.S. team, representing the Southeast region, won on a bunt when the throw to first went into the outfield, scoring the runner placed on second base. That runner was stationed on second to start the overtime in the eighth inning, thus following the Major League Baseball rules for extra innings. Ironically, Florida had tied the game in its last at bat after Taiwan had clung to a 1-0 lead from the first inning on.
Local Pirates own memories
While the 12U Port Chester Youth Baseball League Pirates didn't win the Little League World Series, they returned home on the same Sunday (8/25) the Little League World Series ended having accomplished something almost equally memorable, something they too will never forget.
The local Pirates finished 4-4 after playing a week's worth of age-group tournament baseball against some of the best teams in the nation at Upstate Cooperstown, home of the MLB Hall of Fame.
In between, they stayed at the All-Star Village in the historic town.
"It was an unforgettable experience because the week-long tournament was more than just a series of games," said Fabio Garcia, Pirates head coach, after the team's return to Port Chester. "It was a unique bonding experience for the young athletes. The team stayed together in a bunkhouse at the All-Star Village, sharing meals, trading pins and other memorabilia with the other teams there, sightseeing together including the MLB Hall of Fame, and building camaraderie that translated into their performance on the field."
The perfect game & homers
Those performances included Alex Malhotra pitching a perfect game in a 12-0 win over the Milford Wildcats during a tournament where every player in the Pirates starting lineup seemed to take turns stepping up.
Those step ups included home runs at various times from the Malhotra twins (Alex and Aaron), Tyler Varbero, Joey Bologna, Jack Louis, Ross Kantor and Michael Vernace.
And in just about every game, everyone in the lineup was doing something special up and down the line, starting with centerfielder Fabio Garcia, Vernace at shortstop, Alex Malhotra pitching, Aaron Malhotra at third base, Varbero in right field, Louis Rytelewski at second base, Louis at first, Braden Squillace at catcher and Juan Garcia in left field.
In a way, that kind of impressive play wasn't surprising because the Malhotra twins, Varbero and Rytelewski had made the PCYBL Major League (12 and under) All-Star team and Rytelewski was the MVP of the PCYBL All-Star game.
While those PCYBL accomplishments were great, playing at Cooperstown was even greater.
The unforgettable thrill
"I will never forget the thrill of playing all those great teams on so many different baseball fields so close to the Hall of Fame," said Louis Rytelewski. "I loved meeting players from all over the country. And I loved playing such meaningful games against so many top tier teams on such great fields with the Hall of Fame nearby."
One of the most amazing things about the week was that it almost never happened.
To make it happen the coaches and the team had to raise between $20,000 and $25,000 because that's what it cost for room, board and all the other expenses necessary to bankroll a week playing in the tournament at Cooperstown. Raising that kind of money in blue collar Port Chester wasn't easy.
Especially since the coaches had to make an initial $1,000 deposit to reserve a Pirates spot in the Cooperstown tournament at the end of August 2024 when the PCYBL season ended. And the rest of the money was due before they got to play.
That meant they had to come up with approximately $20Gs to pay the $1,500 minimum cost per week for each of the Pirates players and their coaches with five more monthly installments of $3,900 due on the 15th of November, January, February, March and April. And that is just if they wanted to get to Cooperstown on a shoestring.
The daunting challenge
It was a daunting challenge. But they wanted to make it happen so the kids could have a last hurrah before they aged out of the Youth Baseball League and began climbing the ladder towards making the Port Chester High School ladder rung by rung as aspiring varsity Rams.
So Pirates head coach Fabio Garcia, assistant coaches Steven Rytelewski, Dan DeBari, George Varbero and team motivator Rob Brenzel set out to raise the funds to make the Cooperstown dream a reality. They went in for all kinds of fundraisers including car washes, bake sales, raffles, Facebook posts, a Venmo account to which people could submit dollars, requests for donations to the PCYBL with the notation that the funds should be applied to the 12U Cooperstown registration, even a special Halloween Fall Baseball League Tournament at Lyon Park in early October with entry fees going towards the Cooperstown costs.
It was a lot of work, took a lot of effort, but it worked.
"Thanks to the incredible support from the village, local businesses and residents, these 12-year-olds had the chance to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime event that they will cherish forever," said Garcia.
New rite of passage
Now it looks as though the 12U Pirates—who have played their last game together as a U-team—have established a rite of passage and a new PCYBL tradition. Because it seems as though the current 11U Pirates, 21-2 on the season and a team that just lost in the finals of the Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League championships, has its sights set on going to Cooperstown to play in the tournament next year with a lineup that includes an infield made up of Kristian Devora at third base, Ben Frimere at shortstop, Aidan Brenzel at second base, Luke Doherty at first and Gavin Quinn at catcher with an outfield revolving around Juan Garcia, Brody Jampole, Lucas Molleturo, Harsh Patel, Mason Quinn, Max Quigley and Teddy Hertzmark.
So the current 11U coaches will have their fundraising work cut out for them, but it's a job they think they are up to with the coaching team including head coach Danny (Booms) Greco and assistant coaches Fabio Garcia (who will be going back for a second shot at Cooperstown), Rob Brenzel, Dom Quinn and Jim Doherty. They have a long way to go—and we're not talking about the geographical distance between Port Chester and Cooperstown. But it is a trip worth taking. Just ask the 12U PCYBL Pirates who just got back from there after the experience of a lifetime.
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