THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 12, 2024 Page 15 Not much luck for Everett Little League stars in Williamsport Tournament Most of the team now head to Wakefield to participate in Jimmy Fund tourney By Joe McConnell W hen a new Little Leaguer hears the word Williamsport, a sense of excitement usually comes over them, and they’d do anything to make that all-star team. After many hours of practice and hard work to go along with the natural progressions through the league from T-ball to the Majors, they were hoping at that point they had showed enough to be selected to play in the granddaddy of all baseball tournaments. If by then they made the cut, they would suddenly realize they would also need some luck to advance from district play to the state finals to the regionals in Bristol, Conn. to finally Williamsport, Pa. Last summer, the Everett LitThe 2024 Everett Little League Williamsport Tournament all-star team is, from left, third row, assistant coaches Billy Kotsiopoulos and Billy Gaskill. Second row, Cristian Miranda, Jason Oliviera, Dimitri Kotsiopoulos, Aidan Kane, Daniel Harr, Shane Gaskill and Joseph Reyes. Front row, Elias Elmouttaki, Allie Grant, Natalia Negron, Davin Graham, Denzel Reyes and Archer Polson. Missing from photo, manager Marc Harr. (Courtesy photo) tle League Williamsport representatives won the District 12 title, but this year’s squad had some trouble getting untracked. They ended up losing two straight district games to South Boston (June 29) and host Melrose (16-1 mercy rule loss on July 1) to drop out of the double elimination tournament rather quickly. The Everett stars scored their lone run against Melrose in the second inning. Elias Elmouttaki led off the inning with a walk, and came all the way around to score the run on a line double to the leftfield fence by Allie Grant. But unfortunately, Melrose scored a bunch of runs in the TOURNAMENT | SEE PAGE 18 Everett Little League Red Sox clinch 2024 Major Division city championship M By Joe McConnell anager Marc Harr’s Major Division Red Sox finished second during the regular season with a 14-4 record. The Angels ended up on top, but in the playoffs both teams reversed roles, when the Sox defeated the halos two games to one in the championship round to secure the city crown. The Sox began the postseason against the third place Rays, and that series also went three games, before Harr’s crew eliminated its worthy opponents. “In both series, our bats came alive and our fielding was on point, but in the end the pitching was the key to our success,” said Harr. Niko Kotsiopoulos pitched five-plus innings in the second game against the Rays. He then turned the pitching chores over to his big brother Dimitri after reaching the requisite pitch count limit of 75 for 10-year-olds. Dimitri, pretty much the team’s designated closer, did the rest to tie up the series. Daniel Harr started the decisive Game 3 on the hill for the Sox, and he too went fiveplus innings, when he reached the pitch count limit of 85 for 12-year-olds. But there was Dimitri Kotsiopoulos once again to lock down another win – this time the series clincher – to send his teammates to the finals against the Angels. The Angels series followed a similar script. The Sox startCHAMPIONSHIP | SEE PAGE 16 The Everett Little League Major Division Red Sox proudly pose with the 2024 city championship trophy after defeating the Angels two games to one. Team members are as follows: coaches Mark Kenney, Billy Kotsiopoulos and Arturo Cortes, and manager Marc Harr, and their players Noel Cortes, Daniel Harr, Allie Grant, Dimitri Kotsiopoulos, Elias Elmouttaki, Legend DiPaolo, Symon Golden, Niko Kotsiopoulos, Nathan Kenney and Archer Polson. (Courtesy photo) FOR SALE - MIXED-USE COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL 225-229 Highland Ave., Malden MIXED-USE Two Commercial Convenience Stores AND Three Apartments - Two, 2-Bedoroom & One, 1-Bedroom Yearly Rental Income: $166,200 Call (781) 520-1091
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