Smith Post: The Aftermath

There's only so much you can say or write about a baseball game (or any game) to try and convey the action to those who couldn't be there.

http://www.uticaod.com/sports/x1806338441/Smith-falls-in-final

In today's Observer-Dispatch, I tried my best to give readers an in-depth account of yesterday's American Legion New York State championship game. As I'm sure most all of you know by now, Smith Post fell to Anaconda 9-8 in that game - an 11-inning heartbreaker.

However, I realize there are many more things that I simply could not fit into that article that tell so much more about Smith and its season. So, I thought I'd post the transcripts of my interviews with three Smith players - Jason Nowicki, Kyle Richardson, and Zack Ciccotti - and the two Smith coaches - manager Tony Abone Sr. and coach Tony Abone Jr. - so that you all can hear (from them) about this season, and what it's meant to them. It will also provide you with their thoughts on yesterday's game.

Jason Nowicki (final year with Smith)
AD: Try to sum up for me this season.
JN: It’s was just an amazing season. I’ve been playing base for, I don’t even know how many years, but this has been my favorite season of all; one I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Great teammates; we’re like a family in here. You can tell that everyone’s a little upset now. But, it’ll get better every day. For the overall season, I couldn’t ask for anything more in my last year. Just that state title, that would have been the top.

AD: Looking back on this week, you guys lost on the first day, and then you fought back to make all the way to this game. You were right there. What does that say about this team?
JN: The resiliency on this team is just amazing. We knew what happened the first day. We knew had to win a couple games to get to the big one, and see what happens. We showed a lot of heart this week. We really did.

AD: Looking back on your legion career – these past three years – tell me what this team has meant to you, and what playing for Smith has meant to you?
JN: Playing for Smith – around the state of New York – it’s the best legion program there is. The years here just go by so quick. I’ll remember these years for the rest of my life – my three favorite baseball years. To go to the state tournament three times – couldn’t come out on top – but the three years that I had were just phenomenal. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I really couldn’t.

Kyle Richardson (one year of eligibility remaining)
AD: You lost your first game of the tournament, and then you fought all the way back to this point. Tell me what that tells you about your team?
KR: We have a lot of fight. We worked hard. We had a little bit of luck along the way, but you can’t do it without the heart that we had. We bounced back after that first day and did everything we could. We played a good game today. We lost some opportunities, but so did they. That’s the way the game goes and they came out with the win.

AD: Bases loaded in the ninth inning – what didn’t happen there that needed to happen?
KR: It’s just chance. It’s getting hit then instead of another time; me getting a hit on the first pitch instead of getting hit in the back. It’s just the way things happen.

Zack Ciccotti (two years of eligibility remaining)
AD: You guys had a chance with bases loaded in the top of the ninth. What do you think it was? What just didn’t click there?
ZC: We just weren’t capitalizing. We tried to fight. Maybe we were tired; I don’t know. We tried to give it everything we had. That’s the game of baseball. Stuff happens life that – a strikeout and a fly-out. You can’t really do much. We tried everything we could to fight to win this game. We were up 8-4 in the bottom of the eighth. We blew the game.

AD: What are your thoughts when you think about this season?
ZC: I just love the players I played with. We did have a great year. It would have been better if we won a state championship, but the year was phenomenal. This is the best team I’ve ever played on in my life – hands down.

AD: Coming back next year, I know you guys lose some key players. Having said that, what do you think the potential is for the future of this team?
ZC: We’re still going to be good next year. We’ve got young guys still coming up. We’ve still got Joe (Melioris) if he comes back; maybe (Garrett) Baker if he wants to come back. We can battle it out next year; maybe win the counties again. We have a good team coming back, and we have a good coach. I think coach is going to get us in shape and make us a good team.

Smith Manager Tony Abone Sr.
AD: Try to sum up this season for me.
TA Sr.: We just had a great, great year. These kids worked hard all summer long. They practiced every night. They worked hard. Even thought we didn’t win the state championship, we were runner-up, and there are 157 other teams in the state that would like to be right where we are. We’re very proud of the kids. They gave it all they had. We just ran a little short. We had our opportunities. We had a four-run lead. But those things happen in baseball. They were just a little bit hungrier than we were, but you can’t ask for a better bunch of kids than we have here.

AD: What does it say about your programs that our team has made it to the state tournament three years in a row now, and finished runner-up in the last two?
TA Sr.: We have a great program. We just get so much support. We had people coming here from all over, and listening on the radio and reading the paper’s coverage. The kids are just proud to be here. I know they’re disappointed, but what are you going to do? You can’t win them all. And we had, what, 31 wins this year? That’s a lot of wins.

Smith Coach Tony Abone Jr.
AD: You guys had the bases loaded in the ninth, with probably the two guys (Ryan Kramer and Nate Mallinder) you wanted coming up to hit. Go through your thought process with me there, and on through how the game ended?
TA Jr.: We hit the starter (Aaron Sapp) early on. He throws hard, but he was right down the middle of the plate. We had a good plan going to the plate. When he came back in, actually we were kind of excited. We hit him pretty good. We had the same plan – just look fastball. He wasn’t getting anything else over the plate. Ryan Kramer battled him and battled him on the one strikeout. He fouled him off a couple of times and then he got him. And then Nate flew out. That happens. You go back to the Ilion game where Nate hits the inside-the-park homerun. It happens. We had more opportunities. We were up early and then they kind of scratched back in, and then we went up again. When it was 8-4, at that time, we felt pretty good. We were thinking, let’s just get outs, let’s get outs. And then a little dink here, a little dink there, and then the double there. Then the wheels started falling off there. We had no more gas. We played two games in a day and six games in five days. Everybody gave everything they had…Like I told these guys, ‘You guys battled and that’s all we can ask you to do. Today you didn’t come out as the winner, but, you’re winners. To go 31-5 as we did, and win the games that we did, and how we won the game. You can’t ask for any more than that; we go 11 innings in the state championship game.

AD: You have Kyle (Richardson), Garrett (Baker), and Joe (Melioris). They’ve been your three big guys all year. None of them were pitching on full rest today. What does it show you about them that they put it all on the line today?
TA Jr.: They’re grinders. They all work real hard. They’ve all been in it ever since Little League on up. They’ve always been the big-game pitchers all the way on up. They showed it this week. When we needed to get outs, they got outs. When we were down and needed an arm to go in, we got an arm to go in. That’s a credit to those kids. They’ve got a lot of pride in themselves. They’ve got a lot of confidence in themselves. All three of them have been in big-game situations in high school and legion ball. They’re going to be successful in whatever they do in life. They stuck this out in a situation where some guys would fold.

On the final outcome of the season...
TA Jr.: No complaints. Yeah, we’re a little disappointed. Like I told them, “It will hurt for a few days, and you’ll think about the ifs and what’s and all that kind of stuff. But, in another week or two, you’ll be real happy that we went this far. It was a great journey.