KANSAS CITY, MO. — Austin Patti, 12, of Monroe, belted a record 49 home runs in the local derby. Then he put on a power display in the East Region Little League Home Run Derby at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, bringing home a $5,000 prize for the Monroe Little League.
Ryan Driscoll, president of the Monroe Little League, said Patti is now going to Williamsport for the finals.
“He’s a quiet, humble kid, who is passionate about baseball and football and is a straight A student at Jockey Hollow Middle School,” proud mother, Janet Patti, said of her son.
Austin’s coach is his father, Kevin Patti, who was a former Division 1 baseball player at the University of Rhode Island from 1994 to 1998.
Sunday’s contest, sponsored by T-Mobile, featured 10 boys who were selected to represent the East. The top four competitors will continue on to face the top four competitors from the West Coast at the National Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
