MINORS
Reds vs. Orioles The Reds (2 – 2) were hungry to face off against the first-place Orioles and it showed from the top of the first inning. Spencer Kiehl singled to get the rally going. Tyler Kraehling grounded to the shortstop and forced Kiehl out at second. With Kraehling on first, Tyler Rohan smashed a line drive to right field and tore around the bases for his first homer of the season. Sam Frere-Holmes stepped up and singled, and Kai Glick brought him home with a smack to left center field for a sliding triple. Jonathan Parker’s fly ball to right field was gloved by the Orioles’ Justin Wong for the second out, and Will Best succumbed to Brandon Moy’s pitching to end the inning with a three-run lead. The Orioles did their best against Glick on the mound, but the Reds’ defense proved too much. Billy Holloway’s grounder was handled nicely by Kraehling at second to Kiehl on first, James Borrelli struck out, and Wong walked, but was caught stealing when Rohan lofted the ball to second base.
The Reds added another two in the second, starting with three consecutive walks by Oliver Mettle, Liam Barwick and Kiehl. Holloway took over the mound for the Orioles. Kraehling grounded to first for a sacrifice R.B.I. Rohan took a base on balls, and Frere-Holmes’ grounder drove in a run, but forced out Kiehl at third. Glick walked as well but was stranded when Parker struck out. In the bottom of the second, the Orioles’ George Simonds led off with a strikeout, followed by Jackson Mansfield’s walk. Mansfield stole second just in the knick of time before being tagged out from Rohan’s throw. Rick Mortenson and Gabe Leitner also struck out, stranding Mansfield on third.
The Reds added another run in the third with two outs. Best led off with a base on balls and Mettle struck out before Jackson Vertucci came in as relief pitcher. Barwick grounded to first for an unassisted putout. But Kiehl tattooed one into right field, scoring Best and sliding safely into third for a close play. Vertucci made a great snag of Kraehling’s grounder to end the inning. The Orioles, however, had another scoreless inning in the bottom of the third. Vertucci struck out, and Matthew Burnett must have set a record for consecutive foul tips on two strikes without swinging his bat, before finally striking out. Moy walked, but Spencer Brownstein went down looking for the third out.
In the top of the fourth, Rohan took a walk and was driven in by Frere-Holmes’ double. Glick struck out, but Parker also walked and stole second and third, and went home on the overthrow. Vertucci’s magic on the mound continued, however, when he struck out Best and Mettle. The Orioles came into the fourth down 8 – 0. Glick struck out Dante Secada-Oz, then turned the ball over to Kiehl. Holloway blasted a double to Best in right field, who threw it to Glick, who tossed it to Barwick, who didn’t react in time, and Holloway scored. Borrelli and Wong took a base on balls, but Kiehl struck out Simonds. He couldn’t find the strike zone for Mansfield and the bases were loaded. Mortenson walked to bring in the second run for the O’s, but Leitner struck out to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Sal Derogatis sauntered into the game and was hit by a pitch. Barwick walked, and Derogatis stole to second. Kiehl walked, and Derogatis attempted to steal third and reached the base safely, but he was called out because he did not slide. Kraehling grounded to short, but both runners scored (excellent base-running by Barwick and Kiehl). Rohan took a base on balls and stole to second. He scored on Frere-Holmes’ triple to the fence in left center. The throw to third rolled into the next field, and Frere-Holmes was able to score as well. Glick’s grounder to first ended the scoring for the Reds, and the Orioles went into their last licks down 12-2. And what a comeback inning! Frere-Holmes faced four Orioles, hitting Vertucci’s calf with a wild pitch, then walking three consecutive batters: Burnett, Moy and Brownstein (bringing in Vertucci for the first run.) Kraehling stepped in as pitcher, but also couldn’t find the strike zone for Secada-Oz, walking him and bringing in another run. Holloway blasted one to the fence in left center for a bases-clearing triple. Borrelli struck out, but Wong reached first on a walk. He stole second, and Simonds’ high, deep ball over Frere-Holmes’ head brought Holloway and Wong home. Mansfield’s grounder was handled neatly at first, but still drove in Simonds. Mortenson’s strike-out ended the eight-run rally for the O’s, and the final score was Reds 12-Orioles 10.
JUNIOR MINORS UPPER
Reds vs. Tigers The Reds and Tigers squared off with Sunday with the Tigers coming out on top. Keeping the Reds on top early were great defensive plays by first baseman Morgan Omara and shortstop Henry Grant. With the bases loaded and down 10-4 in the fourth, James Stanke hit a base-clearing double to left field, scoring Ava Omara, Georgia Greenlief and Noah de Guthteneere, leading to a five-run inning.
For the Tigers, Drew Child tagged second for an out that retired the first inning. Just a few minutes later at bat, Child hit a triple, pushed home by a single by Sophia Delaney. Jasper Stoch, Zoe Morrison, Zachary Curtis-Ginsberg, Wesley Chong, Melina Driscoll and Devyn Zaminski once again showed solid, consistent hitting skills. Maude Latour hit a double twice, making it safely home once. Maria Skovel managed to hand her team two runs after hitting singles. Duncan Stuard got several chances to demonstrate master fielding, once assisting Caleb Rubin with an out at first. Jonathon Romano assisted a runner home with a double. Arthur Perry ended the game with a flawless, unassisted double play.
Cardinals vs. Phillies On a bright and breezy Sunday afternoon on Governors Island, the Phillies and Cardinals locked into a terrific offensive battle. The Phillies scored five runs in the first inning.
The Cards played excellent defense in the second inning. Shortstop Marcus Wong made an exciting catch for the second out. On the next play Wong fielded a hard-hit grounder and fired it to first for the third out. The Cards got onto the board in the bottom of the second when Bain Boudreaux led off with a single and Walker Brandt hit a triple to drive him home.
The Cards’ bats heated up in the third inning to bring the score within striking distance. Trevor Maruffi and James Stinnett led off with singles. Palmer Menken followed with a single to score Maruffi. Qiufei Smart collected an R.B.I. with a hard-hit single to short. Bain Boudreaux tied the game with a single that brought Stinnett home. With Smart and Boudreaux on base, Walker Brandt smashed a double to right center to collect two R.B.I.
In the fourth inning, Tai Manheim led off with a single and Mak Manheim followed with a triple to drive in his brother.
At the top of the fifth, Walker Brandt stalled a Philly rally with an unassisted double play at second base.
At the bottom of the fifth and the Cards trailing, Qiufei Smart and Bain Boudreaux led off with singles each. Ogden Opheim followed with a single to collect an R.B.I. Walker Brandt, Tai and Mak Manheim, and Trevor Maruffi all reached base to keep the rally going. James Stinnett followed with a hit to tie the game.
At the top of the sixth and the game tied, the Phillies added two runs to the scoreboard.
With the momentum swinging to the Cards side, Palmer Menken led of the final at-bat with a double. Bain Boudreaux reached base again, Ogden Opheim followed with the single. Walker Brandt hit his second double of the game to score Bourdreaux and tie the game. With a tie game and two outs, and two on base, Tai Manheim had a hard-hit double to score two runs and win the game. All in all, it was a fantastic game for both teams.
Blue Jays v. Mariners This past weekend the Blue Jays and Mariners played two of the most intense and suspenseful games of the season. Both teams hit their offensive stride late in the game on Saturday morning, at B.P.C. North, after both teams exchanged early inning defensive gems.
For the Blue Jays, third baseman Jason Kao made a great stop and throw-out to keep the Mariners scoreless early in the game. The fourth inning proved to be a lethal offensive inning for the Mariners, who came up with a five-run explosion.
Key hits by Carlos Ritchie, Bobby Baumann, and Patrick Costantin set up a bases-clearing triple by Morgan Witt to break through in the bottom of the fourth inning for the Jays to answer the Mariners’ attack. Ava Villalba followed later in that same inning with a bases-clearing single of her own to add another three runs to the Jays’ total. The Blue Jays managed to generate an additional run in the fifth inning led by solid hit singles off the bats of James O’Grady and Rosyln Yang. The Blue Jays fell short by one run at 9 – 8 in a slightly abbreviated game.
MAJORS
Eagles vs. Monarchs, May 28 The Eagles came back to defeat the Monarchs on Wednesday night by a score of 7 – 4. Drawing first blood, the visiting Eagles scratched a run across in the first inning when Kojin Glick scored on Clay Walsh’s single. Monarch starter John Zito, however, then settled down and struck out the next two batters, leaving the bases loaded and the Eagles mulling a wasted opportunity.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the third, when Daschel Lieberman tripled to start a Monarch rally. Weston Loving followed with a double and then scored on a single by Danny Sexton. Lee Perry’s hit scored Sexton and then Brian Burns drove in Perry to give the Monarchs a 4 – 1 lead. But that would be all the offense the Monarchs could muster as relievers Michael Klusendorf and Louis Moreschi shut them down the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Eagles chipped away at the Monarch lead, scoring a run in the fourth on Clay Walsh’s solo home run and another on Will Merrill’s R.B.I. single in the fifth. Still trailing 4 – 3, Walsh doubled in the top of the sixth to drive in his third run of the day and to tie the score. After advancing to third on a bunt single by Chris Yee, Walsh then stole home to give the Eagles the lead. Three batters later, after walks had loaded the bases, Shai Goodman’s line-drive single to centerfield drove in two insurance runs, providing the final margin of victory.
Eagles vs. Monarchs, June 1 Facing each other for the second time in less than a week, the Eagles and Monarchs on Sunday inaugurated play on Governors Island for the Majors division this season. While pitchers Will Merrill and Michael Klusendorf held the Monarchs scoreless for three innings, the Eagles exploded for 13 runs in the first two innings to put the game out of reach. Merrill’s two-run single capped a four-run first inning. An inning later, with Chris Yee and Dean Scotti providing key hits, they scored nine more times. Yee drove in two runs with a bases loaded single. Then, after the Eagles reloaded the bases, Scotti tripled to deep left field to drive in three more. The Monarchs would score twice in the fourth. Danny Sexton singled and was driven in by John Zito. Zito then scored when Cooper Weaver doubled to center. After Weaver was stranded at second, the game ended with a final score of 13 – 2.
