IT WAS A SEASON THAT BEGAN WITH MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS FOR THE SCC CYCLONES. WITH ONLY THREE PLAYERS RETURNING FROM THE 2021 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM, NO ANALYST OR EXPERT WOULD BE ABLE TO FORECAST HOW THIS TEAM WOULD FARE IN A TOUGH KINGSBAY LEAGUE. HOWEVER, BY THE SEASON’S END, THIS GROUP OF 12-YEAR-OLDS LEFT NO DOUBT AS TO WHICH TEAM SHOULD BE CONSIDERED THE BOROUGH’S BEST.
Having played pivotal roles on last season’s championship team, veteran starters Abie Antar and Eddie Braha, along with lefty slugger Stephen Zekaria, knew what it would take to get this team title ready.
“We want to accomplish something no community team has ever accomplished—back-to-back championships,” said Antar. Braha added “We know what it takes to win, and we are going to set a good example for our new teammates.” Each of the newcomers, badly wanting to continue the championship pedigree of the Cyclones, worked tirelessly and within a few weeks the team had the look of a contender.
The season began with the team’s pitching, buoyed by righties Antar and Braha, consistently keeping the Cyclones in each game. The burden would fall on the bats and gloves to ensure their success. As the weather began heating up, so did the team’s hitting. The regular season saw five games where the Cyclones would win by a margin of four runs or more, but also six games that were decided by two or less runs. Having the experience of playing in those tight games proved to be an important factor in the squad’s post season success.
Clutch, Gold Glove caliber late game defensive plays by David Antar, Jack Swaid, and Max Shalom were needed to close out some of the tight contests, while two well hit balls off the bat of Zekaria provided dramatic walk-off wins in those nail-biters. With those standout plays receiving accolades, it was the season-long steady play by the key contributors of the team that had the Cyclones considered to be a tough team to beat. The lineup was a threat from top to bottom. Isaac Mizrahi and Mark Antar would be among the league leaders in on base percentage setting the table for the big bats of Jesse Setton, Swaid, Braha, Zekaria, and “Bash Brothers” Marshall and Jacob Levy who provided hard-hit balls—game in and game out—on the offensive side. It was signal caller Jesse Setton who set the defensive tone behind the plate, leading the league by a wide margin in runners thrown out while attempting to steal.
“I take tremendous pride in making opposing runners think twice before trying to steal,” noted Setton. “Abie and Eddie keep the ball in the zone most of the time, so it kind of makes my job easy.” Indeed, it was that same team first approach that helped propel the Cyclones to an undefeated regular season, and the World Series game.
The Cyclones knew they were in for a battle, because in their three regular season matchups vs. their World Series opponent, the games were decided by a total of just four runs! Abe Antar took the mound that June evening knowing that this championship game would prove no different. The game saw both teams manufacture early runs, but it was a go-ahead shot in the 5th inning by Jack Swaid scoring Mark Antar that proved to be the deciding run. The Cyclones would tack on an additional run in the top of the 6th inning to bring the score to 3-1. With steady team defense, stellar pitching by Antar, and a key pick-off of yet another base-runner by the catcher Jesse Setton, the Cyclones would not allow a run to be scored. Antar would strike out the final batter of the game—his 15th strikeout—securing the championship for the Cyclones!
The Cyclones would like to thank the entire SCC team, especially Harry Chazanoff for coordinating the league games, as well as their coach Eddie Antar who was a guiding force in the dugout. They would also like to thank all the parents who sacrificed their time to get to the games. The Cyclones can’t wait to triple down and go for an unprecedented three-peat next season!
