JUNIOR MINORS
MARLINS VS. CUBS
The Marlins and the Cubs had a marathon game that the Marlins won, 12-11.
The game was a back-and-forth struggle. The Marlins struck first with two runs in the first inning, which were quickly answered by three Cubs runs, setting the pattern throughout the game. In the second inning the Marlins scored five runs on the strength of hitting from batters Sarah and Simon Miles, Egan McClave and Taidgh Baron.
The Cubs had a banner inning in the fourth as they rallied on hitting by Justin Wenig, Dylan Pryor and Laila Costello. That set the stage for a bases-loaded double by Dante Secada-Oz that drove in three runs to put the Cubs in the lead.
In the top of the sixth, Laszio Horvath drove in two runs for the Cubs to put the Cubs up 11-10. In a do-or-die finish, Marlins catcher William Carr’s game-winning single drove in Sam Davis and Egan McClave to finish a closely fought game on a beautiful night.
DODGERS VS. PHILLIES
The Dodgers topped the Phillies in a battle of top junior minors teams.
The Dodgers allowed only one run, with catcher Lucas Deysine making a tag at the plate to block a second Phillies run. Though the Phillies were strong defensively in the infield, the Dodgers “Murderer’s Row” continued to pound the ball into the outfield in their biggest win yet.
A spirited Red Sox team eager for their first win staged a late game comeback Sunday morning to nip the home team Padres 5-3 and emerge from the Junior Minor cellar.
Perennial Padres All-Star Henry Martin opened the scoring with a first-inning homerun to right field, but the Red Sox’s Gideon McCarty and Eli Silver answered right back in the top of the second with a run of their own, despite some superb fielding by shortstop Bryan Gomez.
In the bottom of the second the Padres loaded the bases for Alexander Komanoff, who drove home leadoff hitter Graham Nelson for the go-ahead run, but the Red Sox shut the door leaving three Padres stranded.
After a scoreless third inning in which the Padres failed to bring home a streaking Taylor White despite his leadoff double, both teams broke through in the fourth. McCarty and Silver again combined to put up two runs, but the bottom of the inning saw the Padres answer right back as Michael Shorris turned his leadoff single into the tying run on Anthony O’Donnell’s line drive. An outstanding catch of a foul tip by Red Sox catcher, Will Merrill, stymied the rally as the Padres again left two men on base.
The fifth and final stanza was tense and dramatic as the Red Sox completed their comeback breaking the 3-3 tie to score two runs — one on an R.B.I. by Samantha Sewell. The Padres threatened in the bottom of the inning as Komanoff hit a leadoff single to go two for two, but tough defense by Laila Fadel and Brody Scharoff stopped him at second on a fielder’s choice to end the threat and the game.
RANGERS VS. CARDINALS
In a solid team effort, the Cardinals defeated the Rangers by the score of 17-4. For the Cardinals, Emmet Smith had three hits and scored four runs. He also made a terrific tag at the plate on Ranger Nicholas Vega, who unsuccessfully tried to stretch a triple into a home run. Jack Finio was the starting pitcher for the Cardinals and threw two scoreless innings. For the Rangers, Ethan Gooderun pitched two solid innings in relief.
TIGERS VS. BRAVES
Pitching was the big story in this game as the Tigers defeated the Braves 7-4. The Tigers effort was led by Ricardo Smith, who pitched three innings of no hit baseball. Sam Cohen played terrific defense, making an unassisted double play at first base. As for offense, Jake Wegweiser had what proved to be the Tigers’ game clinching hit, a three-run homer in the top of the third inning. Henry Gunderson put the ball in play two out of three times at bat and scored once due to super base running. Matt Tuzzino and Ethan Gross chipped in with two hits apiece. For the Braves, Gabe Smith threw three strong innings as well. In his first start of the season, he struck out two and caught an inning ending pop up. Robbie Martino led the offense, with the team’s sole hit, a triple. He also saved a run by gunning out a base runner who slid into the plate into the waiting tag by Daniel Sexton, who played the catcher position for the first time. Playing heads up defense was Nicholas Fils-Aime, who fielded a grounder in right field and got the out at first base. The tigers won 7-4 but all who saw the game witnessed roughly two-dozen winners on the field give their very best from start to finish.
MARINERS VS. ORIOLES
In a very exciting game, the Mariners rallied from an 8-2 deficit to defeat the Orioles 11-10. The Mariners got two stellar innings of relief pitching from Sam Ryman, who also reached base four times including a game winning hit with two outs in last inning. Leighton Brillo-Sonnino played solidly at catcher and led off the game with a home run. Gregory DeSeve got a key hit to keep a five run rally going. For the Orioles, Cooper Weaver led the way with a key walk and a hit despite playing injured. Campbell Weaver pitched well and centerfielder Joshua Lorberblatt held couple of well-hit balls to long singles.
A’S VS. WHITE SOX
In a hard fought game that wasn’t settled until the final out, the White Sox outlasted the Athletics 12-10 on Saturday. The game featured snazzy fielding by both teams, including a dramatic putout at third base by A’s third baseman Lee Perry, who gathered a throw from centerfielder Sasha Auerbach. White Sox pitcher Zak Kraehling and A’s hurler Joe DeMarco kept the game tied at seven each, going into the fifth inning, when the Athletics scored two runs with aggressive base running by Mason Grassfield and Grant Glovin. The White Sox countered in the bottom half with five runs on three hits by Isaac Simons, Charles Eltrich, and Michael Porter.
But the Athletics weren’t finished. Down by three in the last inning the Athletics scored one run, had a runner on third and the tying run at the plate. The White Sox pitcher Michael Porter had already struck out two when right fielder Jonathan Lane made a spectacular catch to end the rally and the game.
ANGELS VS. MARLINS
In a tense match up of undefeated teams, the Angels squeaked by the Marlins 5-4. The outstanding pitching of Aren Gallagher and Jack Hatton barely eclipsed that of Michael Klusendorf and fireballer Tyler Brandon. Tyler turned in a rally killing unassisted double play while Weston Priest saved his fellow Halos with fancy glove work and quick feet at first base.
T-BALL
METS & REDS
The Mets and Reds continued their namesake teams’ decades-old rivalry this Saturday and the game lived up to the hype. Joshua Goodman and Alexandra Gottlieb flashed some sweet leather for the Mets. The Reds pounded the ball all day long with blistering hits from Kaya Scheman and Noah Brodsky. The highlight of the contest was Madison Eltrich shaking off the effects of a line drive to the shoulder and staying with the play. Marissa Song also stood out for her tenacious defense and timely hitting.
RED SOX & MARLINS
The spring sunshine was warm and welcoming as the Red Sox welcomed the Marlins for a truly thrilling T-ball game on Saturday morning. The Marlins’ Sammy Duffy showed real power with a fierce hit, almost caught by Matthew Levine. Greg Elefterakis of the M’s ran to first base in an exciting exchange. The Red Sox cheered loudly as each player took the bat, in a heartwarming display of camaraderie.
In one of the tensest moments of the innings Red Sox Athena Karavasilis sped into the base having been almost tagged by Gianna La Greca. In the second and third innings, great performances were put in by all the players, with a particularly good run by James Carney of the Sox as he slid home in the second, and Taylor Gangi from the Marlins with a low fast hit that a pro would be proud of. Mark La Greca, coach of the Marlins summed up the feelings of all when he said, “The kids are all hitting the ball well. I want them all to hit the ball, and have a lot of fun.”
MARINERS & ROYALS
It was another great day for the Mariners and Royals. The game started off on a cloudy note, but soon gave way to sunny skies. The Royals showed great power at the plate, with Matthew Gunther who started off the game with a line drive single. The hitting streak continued with Eva Kaufman who followed with another a hit to the outfield. First baseman, Ethan Wallis played another great game with a base clearing double, which brought in the Royals’ first two runs. With the Mariners down, Ariana Howard, Thomas Burns and Kate Woolverton produced consecutive hits to help the Mariners get on the scoreboard. In his first appearance, Matthew Burnett hit a line drive up the middle for a base hit and made impressive defensive plays during the game. Blas Lee also contributed by hitting a single to put his fellow teammates into scoring positions. The game ended in a tie.
GIRLS SOFTBALL
POWDER KEGS VS. BATTERIES
In a well-fought rubber match, the Batteries played the Powder Kegs for
the second time in as many weeks for a 6-1 Powder Kegs victory. The first two innings went scoreless with shutout pitching from Emma Huibregtse of the Batteries and Emma Dries of the Powder Kegs.
The Powder Kegs struck first with one run in the top of the third when Miranda Strand reached first on a walk and then was driven in with a two base smash from Lindsay Holcomb.
The Powder Kegs came alive with four runs in the top of the fourth with lead off walks by Sarah Weldon and Emma Dries and R.B.I. hits from Katerina Michaels, Marina Quranitas, and Aimee Chico. After two more walks to Greta Jenkins and Miranda Strand, the Batteries led by Jackie Benefield worked out of a bases loaded situation to end the inning.
The Batteries fought back in the fourth as Caroline Rauffenbart hit an R.B.I. single and the Batteries were poised to score more but Powder Keg first baseman Sarah McGowan made an outstanding double play to end the inning.
The Powder Kegs added one more run in the top of the fifth with a lead off hit from Lindsay Holcomb, who was driven in with by a double from Sarah Weldon. The Batteries defense led by Jessica Consalvo, Max Kenig and Jaclyn Livoti hung tough and closed the door on any more scoring.
The Powder Kegs’ Madeleine Steinberg pitched a great fifth and sixth inning with solid fielding help with a foul catch from Willa Nathan and double play from shortstop Lindsay Holcomb and Sarah McGowan on a well hit ball from Emma Huibregtse. Willa Rubin and Miranda Strand opened the top of the sixth for the Kegs with a walk and hit, only to be stranded after the Batteries pitcher Ellen Mullan-Jayes shut the Kegs down.
PATRIOTS VS. GREENWICH
VILLAGE BLUE SMOKE
Another strong pitching game by the Patriots, along with solid hitting saw the Patriots up 4-0 in the first, then up 8-0 by the third inning. Several bases loaded situations for the Blue Smoke were ended with an innings’ third out. The Patriots gave a clapping ovation to the Blue
Smoke’s number three who took a foul ball off her own bat to hit her in the jaw but returned to finish batting and playing the rest of the game.
The bottom of the fourth inning the Blue Smoke roared back into the game with a grand slam for the Blue Smoke’s player in uniform number two. Top of the fifth inning saw many walks push the Patriots lead up to the final score of 13-5 in a great game played extremely well by both teams.
MAJORS
ASTROS VS. ROCKIES
The Astros won their third straight game, defeating the Rockies by a score of 10-2. Cal Cook got the win and pitched four shutout innings for the Astros before being relieved by Owen Kimmel who got the save. It was the stingy Astro defense that highlighted the day, turning back all that the Rockies sent their way. Ridley Younge of the Rockies had the hardest hit of the day, a double to left.
Miles Schuck followed with a well-hit ball to Astro first baseman Wyatt Leach who turned a beautiful double play at first base, first getting Schuck then nailing Younge at third base with a beautiful throw. Jake Shapiro led the Astros offense with three solid hits and Rafe Lepre added two more including a long blast to right field resulting in a triple. Max Bowens, Jake Goodman, Leach and Cook of the Astros also contributed with two hits on the day.
And in Majors highlights from a week ago:
ASTROS VS. CUBS
After a slow start, the Astros got on track and defeated the Cubs by a score of 12-6. The Astros scored first in the top half of the first inning but the Cubs answered with four runs on some timely hitting by Nick Morton and Michael Indelicato.
Starting Astros pitcher Cal Cook pitched a good first half and in combination with an excellent Astros defense left the game trailing 5-4. In came Astro pitcher Owen Kimmel who shut down the Cubs along with some stellar defensive plays by Astro infielders Jake Shapiro and Wyatt Leach. In the fourth inning Jake Shapiro doubled home two runs to put the Astros ahead for good. Astro catcher Travis Brandon threw out a runner in the sixth inning to put the Cubs down and preserve an exciting Astro win.
ASTROS VS. DEVIL RAYS
In a well-played game, the Astros defeated the Devil Rays by a score of 5-4. It started out a pitcher’s duel, with Devil Ray pitcher Justin Valenzuela and Astro pitcher Jake Shapiro not allowing a hit the first inning. The Astros broke it open in the second inning with three doubles by Wyatt Leach, Cal Cook, and Rafe Lepre, taking a 3-0 lead.
The Astros added another in the fourth with key hits by Jake Goodman and Cook. The Devil Rays answered with two runs in the third to make it a 4-2 game. The Astros added another run on Rafe Lepre’s second hit of the day and three stolen bases. Shapiro left the game after the fourth inning yielding a strong performance on the mound and defensively as well.
Owen Kimmel’s defensive prowess behind the plate added to the Astro’s tremendous defense. Kimmel came in to pitch in the fifth and shut down the Rays. In the 6th inning Kimmel got the first two outs and a defensive collapse allowed the Devil Rays to sustain a two out rally and come back within one run. Kimmel rose to the occasion and struck out the final batter stranding two Devil Ray runners and preserving the win. Matthew Sheriden’s bat kept the Devil Rays in the game along with the exceptional complete game and bat of Justin Valenzuela. Nile Green also had a nice day at the plate for the Rays. Leach and Cook had outstanding bats for the Astros.
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