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Sports

Rockland Revolution Softball Team Revved Up

The latest summer recreation and sports in the area

The summer Patch season will showcase the Recreation Notebook each Friday. The College Sports Notebook will resume in September. Please continue to forward items of interest to Marc Maturo at marcmaturo@aol.com.

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Fueled by its championship success at the state tournament, the Rockland Revolution, a modified fastpitch 10-man softball team, is now prepping for a Labor Day tournament in Port Huron, MI.

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The Revolution, coached by Stephen Zaris of New City and Matthew Fucci of Bardonia, won the state ASA title in Mechanicville, going undefeated at 5-0, powered by outfielder Mike Murphy of New City, the tourney’s MVP award winner.

Murphy cracked a game-tying homer in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the game-winning single in seventh, to turn back Fitness Factory. Murphy went 8 for 9 with three walks on the weekend.

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Outfielders Chris Popkave and the aptly named Kenny Plate, both of West Nyack, each went 7 for 12 for Rockland, whose pitching staff is led by Gene Francis of Toms River, NJ, and Wayne Nicholsen of Greenville.

The Revolution knocked off such notable teams as 2010 champion Fitness Factory of Monticello, and Homers of Port Jervis. Other local teams in the field were Villagio Pizza of West Nyack, which went 3-2, and the Rockland Rivers Cats of Valley Cottage, who went 2-2.

The Revolution roster also includes infielder Bo Batorfalvy of Bardonia, catcher Joe Orlando of Suffern, infielder Bruce Greenberg of Suffern, outfielder Mike Francis of Toms River, NJ, first baseman Doug Rader of Milltown, catcher Matt Mckeon of Florida, NY, outfielder Josh Horton of Saugerties, utility player Greg Saetre of West Nyack, third baseman Mike Allen of New City, outfielder Artie Yanacco of Suffern, and shortstop Dane Doucette of Middletown.

The national ASA tourney in Michigan is expected to attract nearly 40 teams from across the country. Some of the top teams competing the last few years have been Secory Flyers, Team TPS and Hurricanes, all of Michigan, and Brandels Painting of Pennsylvania.

“We hope to win this year’s tournament and bring the national championship to the Northeast for the first time,” said skipper Zaris in an email.

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Go West young man

Pat Kivlehan of West Nyack, a former Rutgers University football standout who was named the Big East Baseball Player of the Year in his only season on the diamond, has continued to sparkle in professional baseball in the majestic Pacific Northwest.

Kivlehan, drafted by the Seattle Mariners on the advice of scout and Albertus Magnus alum Tom McNamara, helped the Everett (WA) AquaSox win the first-half title in the Northwest League West Division with an impressive 28-10 record.

The right-handed-hitting Kivlehan, who mans the third-base bag in the pros as he did at Rutgers, has appeared in 37 minor-league games with the AquaSox, and leads the league with seven home runs. His .295 batting average is third-best on the team, and seventh-best in the league; and his 28 RBI ranks second on the team and third in the league.

The AquaSox, who are 1-1 in the second-half race, host Vancouver in a three-game set this weekend as the team continues a testing league schedule of 73 games in 75 days.

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This and that

  • Monroe College of New Rochelle has another opening and another show on tap when the Mustangs’ inaugural season in football kicks off with a scrimmage on Aug. 25 in Philadelphia against Valley Forge Military Academy. The official season begins on the road at Wagner in Staten Island on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. The Mustangs open their home season on Sept. 15 at noon against highly regarded Nassau CC at Reinhart Field in the Bronx, a 1,500 seat facility located on the campus of SUNY Maritime College at the base of the Throgs Neck Bridge. “We can't wait to get going,” said athletic director Bert Shillingford in an email. “In addition to being a wonderful opportunity for student athletes to play collegiate football, this is really a coming of age of sorts for the Mustangs. We have first-rate programs in all our other sports and it’s led us to this moment when we can field something as significant as our own football team.” The Mustangs, who will practice at City Park in New Rochelle, are a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I team playing in the North East Football Conference (NEFC). There will be free admission to all fans who attend the five home games, and it important to note that alcoholic beverages of any kind are strictly prohibited.
  • Skyhawks Sports Camps, in conjunction with the Town of Orangetown Parks & Recreation Department, is continuing its series of mini camps at Veterans Memorial Park, starting July 23-27. Other sessions are set July 30-Aug. 3, and Aug. 6-10. The cost is $90 per session. For information contact the recreation office at 845-359-6503.
  • Educator Bob Hudson of Sparkill, a longtime physical fitness enthusiast, will lead hiking devotees on a “medium difficulty” trek on Sunday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m.-noon at Tackamack Park, north trail to Nyack College. The hike begins at Tackamack Park. No fee is required, but each hiker must register. For information call 845359-6503.
  • For any player or coach involved with a travel team in any sort, you might be interested in visiting www.travelballnews.com/content. As it says on the website, Travel Ball News is a friendly place for all communities who are involved or would like to be involved in the next level of travel sports. The site is geared towards travel ball players, coaches, parents, and all sports-driven people. Currently, TBN has users all across the United States from coast to coast and border to border. In a recent video post, famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews talks about Little League pitchers.
  • The Sparkill Historical Society is meeting August 2 at the old firehouse at 7 p.m., with the main topic of discussion expected to be a proposed day in October to hold a special event at the refurbished facility, which is owned by Simon Basner. The concept is only in the planning stage, and all concepts are welcomed.
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