Cumberland Minors open 2008 season

CUMBERLAND - The pennant race is on as the Minor Division of the Cumberland Youth Baseball/Softball League opened its baseball season last week.

In opening contests, the Giants got strong first day pitching from Kyle Creamer, Nathan Marcelino and Ryan Farrell and beat the Cubs, 10-3. David Wandrey was the big noise on offense, pounding a pair of hits and knocking in four runs. Creamer and Farrell also had a pair of hits. Best for the Cubs were Alden Leso, Bobby Miller and Zach Noke.

The Valley Breeze Diamondbacks defeated the Miller Truck Sales Brewers 10-6 in an exciting season opener. Andrew Van Winter and Josh Cayer both knocked out a pair of hits to pace the winners, and Steven Ward snagged a deep fly to left to rob the Brewers of an extra base hit.

The Rangers had their hitting shoes on, scoring 10 times in the first two innings on the way to a 16-8 win over the Mariners. The Ranger offense was led by Jeremy Peacock, who cracked a double and two singles and knocked in four runs, Connor Kopack, three hits and Matt Marion and Stephen Dugas, two hits each.

Leading the Mariners with a double, two singles and four RBI was Jacob Romaniuk.

The Orioles opened the season with a 6-3 win over the Royals. Pitching proved to be the dominant factor with Austin Cabral followed by Cameron Rosa and Anthony Canastrari combining for the mound win. Derek Bross, Nick Farrell and P.J. Tziachris paced the offense. Leading the way for the Royals were Hayden Gardner and Tom Malloy.

The Cubs won their first game of the year, 12-6 over the Rockies. Cub pitchers Andrew Cabatingan, Brian Bouchard, Josh Percy and Cam St. Amand all had strong outings. Leading the offense were Alden Leso, St. Amand and Tommy Pawlitschek. Nick Giorgio had a pair of hits for the Rockies.

The Valley Breeze Diamondbacks and the Bain and Farrell Re Max Giants played to an 8-8 tie. Josh Cayer had a pair of hits for the Diamondbacks, and Matt Landry slammed a triple. Ryan Farrell belted three hits for the Giants.

The Tigers came from behind and beat the Royals, 9-4, scoring three runs in the third and five in the fifth. Chris Wright was the big noise, slamming three hits for the winners.

The Tigers also topped the Mariners, 14-7 as Chris Wright slapped three hits, and Alex Giguere, Noah Tougas and Yazan Abu-Hiljeh had two hits each. Jacob Romaniuk was the big noise for the Mariners, hitting a laser to right center and circling the bases for a homer, and adding a single.

The Valley Breeze Diamondbacks defeated Consumers Petroleum Cubs 5-3 in a good contest. The Cubs took the early lead with Brian Bouchard and Cam St. Amand notching RBIs. But the Diamondbacks came roaring back on the strength of the hitting of Jake Lizotte and Andrew Van Winter, each with two key hits.

The Cubs pitching was strong with Bouchard Josh Percy, Andrew Cabatingan and St. Amand toiling on the hill.

But the D'Backs pitching was even better, thanks to Lizotte and Josh Cayer.

The Tigers lead the American Division at 3-0, followed by the Twins, Rangers and Orioles, 1-0; the White Sox, 0-1; and the Mariners and Royals, 0-2.

In the National Division, the Diamondbacks are atop the standings at 2-0-1, followed by the Phillies, 1-0; Giants, 1-0-1; Cubs, 1-2; Marlins, 0-0; Brewers, 0-1; and the Rockies, 0-2.

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