Congratulations go out to the Ossining 11U Little League Tournament Team, who won the District 33 championship this past July in the Little League World Series. District 33 is made up of teams from Northern Westchester and lower Putnam counties.
According to Coach Matt Friedler, the 11U team (which includes his son Owen Friedler) is an all-star team. “The top five members were chosen from each of the age bracket’s Ossining Little League’s season teams based on player votes. Then the coaches held a session, and we picked additional players by considering their skill, commitment, teamwork, and character,” Friedler says.
“A lot of the kids on this 11U team have been playing together since they were seven years old and I’ve been coaching them since they started on the 8U team,” says Friedler. “It’s fantastic to see them grow as players. They’re all wonderful and really good friends, and the families are very close.”
During the District 33 tournament, the Ossining 11U team had to play three games and swept all three. Ossining beat Briarcliff Manor to start, and then defeated Cortlandt in the next round of the district tournament. In the consolation round, Briarcliff beat Cortlandt, moving Briarcliff Manor up to play in the District 33 championship against Ossining in an exciting game held on July 7 at Ryder Park in Ossining.
“Our Ossining team was down 5 to 0 in the first inning, but battled back against Briarcliff Manor to overcome the deficit and win 12 to 7,” says Friedler. “I’d have to say each one of our kids participated in helping us win in some way, so everyone was incredibly important on the team.” He also pointed out that many of the kids were practicing as many as five times a week and put their all into each and every game.
“I’m so proud of this team and how they’ve progressed,” Friedler said. “They didn’t give up, they grew up. And they all supported one another. When we entered the 8U tournament we literally didn’t score a run.” He adds, “Last year, they entered the 10U District 33 tournament and won one game, and then continued to train for this year’s tournament and did amazing.”
After winning the District 33 championship, the Ossining 11U team ascended to the Little League World Series Sectional Tournament, where they played against teams from Warwick and West Nyack. They first played Warwick on July 11 in a very tight game, but lost by a score of 12-11. The following game was a 6-1 loss against West Nyack on July 12.
In addition to Owen Friedler, other team members include: AJ Bozzi, Anthony Capasso, Chase Carone, Alex Frick, Owen Koraca, Luca Marrone, Grayden Metz, D’Angelo Muranelli, Jack Novotny, Jack Perron, Asa Pollock, Nick Rocha, and Logan Venuto. Assistant coaches are Nick Carone and Adrian Venuto.
Hi, I’m Asa Pollock, and I would like to say thank you.