Merrick, NY – The North Bellmore North Merrick Rebels improved to 3 – 0 in the NY District 31 Williamsport play-offs when they defeated Merrick North Merrick LL last night, 13 – 2 at Merrick Road Park. The win leaves NBNM as the sole survivor in the winners bracket where they will wait to face the losers bracket finalist this Sunday in a game for the District championship.

Rebels starter Nick Valeriano was once again in command and highly effective never allowing Merrick any substantial momentum and pitched shut-out innings in four of his five en route to the complete-game victory. Further, he fielded his position like a cat making a couple of outstanding plays on defense.

And speaking of defense, the Rebels set the tone right out of the gate. After Merrick saw their lead-off man manage a two-base hit to start the game, their two-hitter lined softly to Matt Conry at third. Merrick’s number three then smacked a hard grounder toward the hole at short-stop. The Rebels Jack Delaney fielded the ball, froze the runner at second, and gunned it for the out at first. The Merrick base-runner, having to start from a dead stop, broke for third on the throw. NBNM first-baseman Kevin McCleneghan then fired a strike across the diamond to Conry who tagged out the Merrick runner two feet short of the bag completing the inning-ending 6-3-5 double play.

Meanwhile, the Rebels bats stayed aggressive and hot.

In the bottom of the second, Kevin McCleneghan singled and later scored on a clutch, hard hit double in the left-center field gap by Matt Coster to give the Rebels the early lead, 1 – 0.

NBNM really lit things up in the third. After Conry reached on a walk and Delaney singled, Billy McAdam singled to score Conry. Valeriano then singled to drive in Delaney. McCleneghan, continuing his tear, drove a ball deep down the left field line plating McAdam and Valeriano. Next up was Brian Porricelli who crushed a ball to the fence in left-center with a back-to-back triple scoring K-Mac. Matt Coster then managed a very effective at-bat hitting a ball to the right side driving in Porricelli for the sixth run of the inning and a 7 – 0 lead at the end of three.

The closest Merrick came to threatening was in the top of the fourth when they managed two on with nobody out. But Valeriano and the Rebels defense stayed tough and smart playing for outs and avoiding a big inning. The score was 7 – 2 at the end of four.

After Merrick went quietly in the top of the fifth, the Rebels sealed the deal.

Showing the killer instinct of a prize fighter with an opponent reeling on the ropes, the Rebels provided the baseball equivalent of a flurry of cleanly-landed left-hook, right-hook combinations.

McAdam started things off with a well-struck double into the alley in right-center. Valeriano singled and the Rebels had men on first and third with no one out. The red-hot McCleneghan then doubled in two and extended the Rebels lead to 9 – 2. Next, Porricelli grounded a ball that was too hot for the Merrick shortstop to handle putting Rebels at first and second. Michael Proios singled to drive in McCleneghan, 10 – 2 Rebels. Then Conry singled up the middle to drive in Porky, 11 – 2. Delaney provided the final at-bat of the evening smacking a two-RBI double into the left-center field gap scoring Proios and Conry and invoking the run-rule and a 13 – 2 final.

The Merrick Patch’s version of things can be found at http://merrick.patch.com/articles/timley-hitting-leads-nbnm-over-merrick-in-williamsport-tourney-2#c

The Williamsport tournament continues with what could likely be the championship final Sunday July 11, 3:30 pm at Burns Park where the Rebels face whoever emerges from the losers bracket.

The Rebels next game is Saturday July 10, 10:00 am at Mattituck as NJBL Summer League play resumes.