The East Boynton Beach Little League recently delivered an impressive performance on the diamond as they captured the Palm Beach County Intermediate Championship on May 31.
The East Boynton Little League Knights of Columbus squad won its league league title on April 30. As league champion, East Boynton entered into the district strong team tournament along with league winners from Boca Raton, Delray American, Delray National and West Boynton.
The district strong team tournament consisted of a double-elimination format. The teams played seven innings with 70-foot bases and with the pitching rubber 50 feet from home plate.
East Boynton defeated Delray National 13-3 in the opener. Dylan Fry had three hits and five RBI, Tyler Johnson registered three hits and two RBI and Mikey Iglesias also drove in two runs. Tyshaun Cameron reached base twice and scored two runs. Ashton Janisko added a double, RBI and scored two runs. Jacob Geringer reached base three times and drove in a run. Aaron Richardson had two hits and scored a run. Johnson tossed two innings and recorded four strikeouts and Iglesias pitched 1 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
East Boynton advanced to the finals with a 5-3 victory against Boca Raton. Hunter Cenkar reached base three times and drove in two runs and Richardson had a base hit and two RBI. Johnson pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Cenkar closed the game with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to secure the win.
Boca Raton was able to stave off elimination with a 10-6 victory against East Boynton in the opening game of the finals to force a decisive second game. In the loss, Jake Nullman had two hits, including a home run and three RBI.
“After our loss against Boca, I talked to the kids about Teddy Roosevelt’s man in the arena speech,” East Boynton head coach Tony Cenkar said. “A lot of kids their age are just staying at home playing video games and it takes a lot of heart to put yourself out there and sometimes fail for everyone to see. Without failure, the taste of victory wouldn’t be that sweet. I was proud of their effort and how they came together as a team no matter how the season ended.”
East Boynton defeated Boca Raton 6-4 to win the Palm Beach County Intermediate Championship. Tommy Deloye recorded two hits and an RBI, Johnson registered two hits and an RBI, Iglesias had two hits and two runs scored, Nullman had two hits and scored a run, Fry had two hits and scored a run and Cenkar recorded a double and drove in two runs. Andrew Moore stepped up and reached base and Janisko added an RBI. Cenkar tossed four innings with five strikeouts. Johnson pitched three innings in relief and recorded four strikeouts.
“Little League teams consist of players of various skill levels and abilities and my favorite part of the strong team tournament is that it provides some players who might not have a chance to participate in All-Stars the opportunity to play in a high level tournament,” Cenkar said. “Boca Raton was a great team who finished their season at 18-4 and our three games to wrap up the tournament were a positive example of what Little League baseball can be.”
Nullman, who had a team-high .619 batting average with six home runs, started at coach pitch at age 7 in the program and reached his first championship game. He started at catcher throughout the season and also played first base during the playoffs as he battled through injuries to help the team win the title.
Deloye stepped up with a .532 batting average to help lead the offense. Iglesias recovered from an injury at the beginning of the season and showed his determination to contribute out of the leadoff spot.
Cenkar and Johnson helped lift the pitching staff during the playoff run. East Boynton had 11 different players have the opportunity to pitch on the mound during the regular season.
The East Boynton Little League Intermediate Division consisted of players from ages 11 to 13 and also included two 10-year-old participants, who were eligible based on league rules.
“It was a great opportunity for some of our older players to serve in a leadership role to the younger players,” Cenkar said. “As coaches, we are trying to raise future coaches and community leaders. Halfway through the season, I could feel our team becoming complacent so I instituted something I hadn’t done in my 13 seasons of coaching at East Boynton. After each game, two players received a key tag for a free Frosty based on who had the best hustle, attitude and effort. The players voted for one player and the coaches the other. It added a fun element, which brought the team together in giving their full effort for each other every game.”
The East Boynton Little League Knights of Columbus finished with an 18-3-1 record. The group included Tyshaun Cameron, Hunter Cenkar, Tommy Deloye, Dylan Fry, Jacob Geringer, Trey Hill, Mikey Iglesias, Ashton Janisko, Tyler Johnson, Andrew Moore, Jake Nullman and Aaron Richardson. Head coach Tony Cenkar was joined by assistant coaches Mike Johnson, Mike Iglesias, Chris Janisko and Mike Deloye.
