This weekend, we had the tremendous opportunity to partner with the United States Merchant Marine Academy on the 2023 Kings Point Classic. The event featured six teams in the 14u age group.
After a weekend of great baseball and great weather, the Taconic Rangers captured the Championship with an impressive 8-4 victory over the Connecticut Cubs, a talented team that won 1st place with a 7-0 record at Field of Dreams last season.
“We hope we were able to provide an unforgettable experience for the over 100 players across the six teams that participated in the 2nd annual Kings Point Classic. we are proud of our baseball facility and having our superintendent present the championship trophy just shows how important it is for us to showcase, just how special the United States Merchant Marine Academy is,” said Lou Bernardi, who serves as USMMA’s pitching coach and spent the entire weekend assisting the Kings Point Classic.
Xander D’Onofrio was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. The 2027 grad went 6-for-10 with a triple, HR, 7 RBIs and 5 runs scored.
Congratulations to the Taconic Rangers (4-0) on capturing the 2023 Kings Point Classic. Xander D’Onofrio was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. He is pictured with USMMA Superintendent Vice Admiral Joanna Nunan pic.twitter.com/L3GK83F28n
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2023
Road to the Championship
Taconic Rangers 9, Next Level 2
Taconic Rangers 10, Next Level 0
Taconic Rangers 10, Dodgers Nation 3
Taconic Rangers 8, CT Cubs 4
It was a dominating effort for the Rangers who featured plenty of fire power on offense.
Despite their incredible run, the Game of the Weekend had to be on Saturday night under the lights between 5 Star National and the CT Cubs. Both teams had impressive pitchers on the mound – Tyler Groblewski for 5 Star and Reed Glanville for the Cubs. The teams exchanged zeros for 7 full innings and went to extra innings. The atmosphere was on the field was intense and the crowd was electric as well.
In the home half of the 8th inning, Brayden Franco led off with a well-struck triple to right center field. The next batter, Van Johnson followed with a walk-off hit near the same spot in the outfield and sent his team into an absolute frenzy.
We were fortunate to host the event in such an incredible complex and we are looking forward to making this an annual event. Last but not least, a very special thank you to Rosa’s Pizzeria for providing personal pizzas for the players and crowd!
