Swee Brand Works makes winning intergenerational

SOMERS, N.Y. - On Monday, June 29, Swee Brand Works took to the upper field at Reis Park, and a family feeling was in the air. With five sets of fathers and sons on the roster, the day began—and mostly ended—with the Sweeney clan.

Eamon Sweeney doubled hard down the left-field line to get Swee back into the game early, and four innings later, his father, Bill, provided another spark by finding the same real estate. Opening the rally that broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth, the younger Sweeney didn't mind laying the groundwork for his father.

"I think he copied me," Eamon joked after the 13-3 win over Bull Trade Finder.

Of course, Bull Trade crossed the plate first. Joe Rossi singled, Luke Fedele followed with a single, and after Phil Foglia moved the runners over with a sacrifice fly to center, Luis Santos made the most of getting very little on the ball. His dribbler down the third-base line scored Rossi, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Swee didn't wait long to respond. Johnny Kearney's bloop to center was dropped, while Stefan Swee and Steve Peters followed with singles up the middle. With one out, a tying run seemed imminent.

Erik Swee's grounder to short appeared to do just that, but the throw came home for the force. Vinny Costanzo then lifted a routine fly to left-center, and Bull Trade escaped the inning.

Not for long. Nick Giannotti lined a one-out single up the middle, and Emilio Gonzales slapped an opposite-field single to right. An out later, Joe Rossi's long fly to center was misplayed, allowing both runners to score and extend Bull Trade's lead to 3-0.

Bull Trade didn't initially take advantage of its defensive opportunity in the bottom half. A pair of errors put Chris Herzegovitch and Connor Fucci aboard.

With runners on first and second and nobody out, the Bull Trade defense recovered. A bloop to shallow left resulted in a force out at third, and the left fielder then made a diving catch on Declan Talleur's soft liner.

That set the stage for a two-out rally. Eamon Sweeney's single hugged the left-field line, and Kearney once again benefited from a dropped fly ball. The error tied the game, Kris Swee's grounder was hit too hard to handle at second, and Steve Peters joined the hit parade with a single, followed by base hits from Stefan Swee and Erik Swee.

Now leading by three, the Swee defense preserved the advantage. With runners on first and second and two outs, Marco Fedele's sharp grounder to third looked destined to drive in at least one run. Instead, Vinny Costanzo made a diving stop and stepped on third to end the threat in the top of the third.

The Swee players weren't the only ones flashing the leather. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the fourth, Eamon Sweeney's bloop into short center prompted Giannotti to charge in and make a diving catch.

The three-run margin kept Bull Trade within striking distance, but in the fifth, Peters put an exclamation point on the game. He launched a drive to deep center and circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

The insurance began in the sixth when Anthony Costanzo drove a ball into the left-center gap for a stand-up double. The pinch hitter said the moment was worth the wait.

"Playing with my son, it's great. That's why I've held on to play so long," said the 56-year-old.

From there, the hits kept coming. Swee scored six more runs, and Bull Trade went quietly in the seventh as the afternoon came to a close.