My son Michael asked me to post this picture to our website, when I asked him why, he responded as follows:

Dad, I have been around a lot of baseball teams over the past few years, and these kids need to know that if they keep playing like they have been and practicing as good as they have, the sky is the limit for them.

Story by Alex Oppenheimer, Bellmore Patch

Massapequa, NY – The North Bellmore-North Merrick Rebels U-11 Williamsport team claimed the District 31 title with a dominating 13-0 win over Massapequa International Thursday night at Burns Park to finish the tournament undefeated.

Massapequa finished the tournament with a 2-2 overall record – their first loss also coming at the hands of the Rebels, a 17-7 decision.

“The kids have been preparing for over a year and have been working hard and they weren’t going to be denied this year,” Rebels head coach Sam Acri said. “I have a real team because anyone on any day comes up and shows me how to win a game.”

Eric Soloman got North Bellmore-North Merrick on the board in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly, followed by a run by Nick Valeriano on an infield error. In the next inning, Matt Nilsen drove in two of his team-high three RBIs on a single to extend the lead to 4-0.

Massapequa had a chance to score in the bottom of the fourth with Tom Harris reaching third, but Rebels pitcher Brian Porricelli helped his team escape the jam. Porricelli led the team on the mound with his impressive outing of 4 1/3 shutout innings and 12 strikeouts.

In the top of the fifth, North Bellmore-North Merrick loaded up the bases with no outs and piled on run after run. They scored nine in the inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Alex Acri and an RBI single from Nilsen.

Kevin McCleneghan came on in relief for Porricelli in the bottom of the fifth with the 10-run mercy rule in effect. He recorded the final two outs, including a strikeout of David Campos, to close out the big win and hand his team the District 31 title.

“Their pitcher was awesome tonight, and overall, it was a good game by them. I give my hats off because they are a great hitting, pitching and fielding team,” Massapequa head coach Arty Prim said. “I’m really proud of our kids and they’ve gotten much better during the year. They come out and practice everyday, and that is what it’s all about.”

North Bellmore-North Merrick will move on to compete in the sectional tournament for a chance to represent Nassau County in the Long Island championship game and potentially beyond. Their first game will take place on Sunday, July 24 at Lions Field in Port Washington against an opponent to be determined.

“We know the sectional competition because we’ve played a few of the teams in the past and we are hoping the boys could do well there as well,” Acri said.

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http://bellmore.patch.com/articles/north-bellmore-north-merrick-defeats-massapequa-for-u-11-district-baseball-title

Massapequa, NY – The Massapequa International LL Braves defeated the Massapequa Coast LL Cyclones at Burns Park Sunday, 8-4, to set up a District 31 championship final round between the Braves and the undefeated NBNM LL Rebels.

The Rebels need only defeat the Braves once to capture the flag while the Braves would need to beat the Rebels twice.

The championship round begins this Thursday 7/14 8:00pm at John J. Burns Park in Massapequa.

Massapequa Park, NY – If you had the Rebels, giving a touchdown and a field goal, you won! For the second time in as many games, the North Bellmore North Merrick LL 11U boys run-ruled an opponent in the 2011 Williamsport District 31 tournament and, for the second time in as many years, they will appear in the championship game.

NBNM beat the Massapequa International Braves at Brady Park yesterday, 17-7, and advanced to the district final. The football-like score was the result of offensive attacks and counter-attacks that more resembled heavyweight boxing.

The early going featured flurries of blow-for-blow exchanges. After Massapequa took an early 2-0 lead into the middle of the first inning, NBNM countered with three to go ahead 3-2. The Braves plated two more in the top of the second and the Rebels got two right back and a 5-4 lead after two. International came back swinging with three runs in the third to retake a 7-5 lead. Then the Rebels answered the bell in their half, batted around, and put up a six-spot pulling ahead at the would-be half-way point in the game, 11-7.

But the second half of the contest found the Braves unable to withstand this toe-to-toe battle of offenses. After Massapequa finally went scoreless against Rebels reliever Kevin McCleneghan in the top of the fourth, NBNM responded like a champion fighter who senses his opponent is reeling. The Rebels again ripped through their batting order, letting fly hits like cleanly-landed combinations, scoring six more runs and invoking the run rule and a 17-7 final.

While their defense probably, and uncharacteristically, left a few outs on the field, the Rebels offense was prolific against all that International had to throw at them this day. Virtually the entire lineup contributed with tough at-bats, balls in play, and hits. Extra-base hits were recorded by Jack Delaney, Alec Acri (a good bid for a dinger that rattled the fence), Brian Porricelli, Nick Valeriano, Matt Conry, Eric Solomon (the walk-off!), and Mike Proios.

The Rebels will now fine tune for a week while they wait and see who survives the losers bracket to face them in a district championship final at Burns Park, Wednesday July 13 8:00 pm.

It was announced yesterday that the North Bellmore North Merrick Rebels are the 2011 NJBL Spring 11/75 American Division champs.

The team will be receiving trophies next week.

Congratulations Rebels!