T-BALL
Marlins & Pirates
Blustery winds and cooler-than-usual temperatures may have resulted in a lower turnout for the Pirates vs. Marlins match up on Saturday. Both teams played with just eight players. The Marlins batted first and cheered up the freezing parents with solid hits from Douglass Stapler and Gregory Elefterakis. The Pirates did their best to field, and it was fun to see them hustle toward the ball a little better. Christian Plota showed consistently good fielding at the pitcher’s mound.
The Pirates did well at bat despite excellent defense by the Marlins. Jacob Morris had a nice hit, and Tyler Rohan tested the muddy field with a slide into home. James Borelli slugged one into the outfield. The game also marked the debut of Mak and Tai Manheim, who were in Japan for the first two games. (The Manheim boys weren’t the only twins playing that day the Marlins had the LaGreca twins also!) Naturally, in the “Twins” vs. the “Twins” game, the score was a nice even tie!
Yankees & Royals
The New York Yankees may not be performing well, but the T-Baller Yankees and their opponent, the Royals, certainly were fielding well in Battery Park City on Saturday morning.
In the first inning the Royals pitcher Gabriel Leitner made an impressive play tagging a runner out at home. When the Yankees took to the field, Zak Wegweiser performed some quick fielding to get a runner out at first. Meanwhile, Yankees pitcher Lorren Winder had an impressive inning, assisting on three outs at first base, where first baseman Rusty Gerber did some good fielding to complete two of them.
In the second inning, Yankee Liam Clayton made a solid hit with bases loaded to bring a runner home. Out on the field, the Royals’ Ethan Wallis got a runner out at first. And in the third inning, Royal Lily Meier made a solid hit for a single and Yankee Gina Geshlider whacked the ball for a base hit. All in all, an impressive performance by the 6- and 7-year-old T-Ballers who are making great strides toward mastering the fundamentals of the game.
Mets & Athletics
The T-Ball Mets and Athletics met in a thrilling game Saturday. Managers and coaches for both clubs described it as the best game either team had played to date. For the Athletics, Peregrine Donaldson made a tremendous play at shortstop, stopping a hot grounder and tagging a Met sliding into third. Charlie Koder and Luke McArdle both contributed key hits to a relentless A’s attack. The Mets played just as well. Delia Costello played inspired defense up the middle, spearing a line drive and fielding several grounders, Hannah Sklover made several great defense plays while Joshua Goodman continued his fine hitting and fielding for the Mets.
Diamondbacks & Red Sox
The weather held up for what turned out to be an exciting match-up. The Red Sox had a few sluggers that kept the D-back’s outfield busy. With equal power the D-backs came back strong with power hitters Yannick DeGuchteneere, Teddy Eustice and Luca Romeo. Good fielding by Joey Vega and Liam O’Connor and Alex Hall. The middle of the lineup pounded singles all day from the likes of Ben Steinberg, T.J. Westfall, Kamron Landry and Mickey DiPeri.
Tyler Kraehling of the Red Sox opened the game with a double, batting the ball over the heads of the Diamondback outfielders. James Carney and Nina Karavasilis made solid hits. Rick Mortenson playing second forced an out after a throw from teammate Cole Hawthorne.
JUNIOR MINORS
Phillies vs. Padres
The Phillies won again, this time 11-5. The Padres jumped out to a 4-0 lead, led by the hitting of Bryan Gomez, Henry Martin and Owen O’Keefe but the Phillies stormed back. Anthony Randazzo homered and had five R.B.I. while Rachel Licata had three hits. Chynna Basso and Thomas Caruso had two hits each. The defense was led by John Barbieri and Michael DiMaria who each made several key defensive plays to keep the Padres off the board.
Mets vs. Red Sox
Shades of 1986 as the Mets defeated the Red Sox in an exciting five inning game. Mets’ slugger Sean McGowan provided one of the day’s highlights, hitting a three-run home run that drove in teammates Matthew Weldon and Jake Steinberg. Lily Seiberg and Jerry Juarbe also provided timely hits for the Mets. For the Red Sox, Laila Fadel ignited a rally with a leadoff single. Alex Hirsch had a solid day in the field and stroked a key hit that drove in a run. Alec Tullock performed well in his catching debut.
Dodgers vs. Cardinals
The mothers of the Dodgers and the Cardinals had lots to celebrate this past Mother’s Day. Both teams were strong defensively with some serious big league infield play by the Cardinals. Leading the way in both the field and the bat was Jasmin Rocha for the Cardinals. The Dodgers had flawless play in the infield with strong third base play of Xavier Russo, who had all three put outs in one inning. Though the Cards were tough, the Dodgers were not to be stopped. The Dodgers’ “Murderer’s Row” again connected with some powerful hits that even the strong defensive Cards could not combat. Leading the way were Chris Baumann, Russo, Raphael Santore, Luke Deysine and Jake Rosenberg.
MINORS
A’s vs. Rangers
In a seesaw battle where the lead shifted four times, the A’s edged the Rangers 14-13 in a Saturday game. The Rangers were led by pitcher Ethan Gooderun and slugger Brian Boyd, who pounded three hits. Nicholas Vega drove a long home run to right field, knocking in three runs and giving the Rangers a narrow lead in the final inning. But the A’s clawed back, led by catcher Eddie Owens, who scored three runs, first baseman Angad Singh, who scored two, and infielder Nico Michaels, who made a nice grab at second. Ike Lang slammed two hits, and third baseman Lee Perry snagged several grounders at the hot corner.
Tigers vs. White Sox
The Tigers and the White Sox had a very close game, with the Tigers coming out on top 8-6.
Tiger Sam Cohen had a terrific defensive game beginning with an unassisted play and then a diving snag keeping his foot on the bag at first base. Weston Loving pitched the first three innings and gave up only one run to set up the Tigers win. Both Sam and Weston scored twice in the game.
White Sox, Clayton Brandt, had a hard hit ball to left field for a game tying home run in the fourth inning. Tiger, Clay Walsh, answered with a smashing left field homer to give the Tigers the lead for good. Ricardo Smith had a strong hit to bring in an additional run.
Matthew Tuzzino pitched two good innings, and Jake Wegweiser anchored the Tigers at catcher.
Second baseman Ethan Gross grabbed a grounder and made a perfect throw to first. Ethan Skelskie, Henry Gunderson, Jason Gonzalez, Daniel Padulo and Anthony Padulo all played good defense for the Tigers.
Orioles vs. Braves
What a game! In a five inning contest that saw 33 runs, players for both the Braves and Orioles gave their all. Fighting back from a 5-run deficit, the Braves scored 8 unanswered runs to take a 3-run lead into the last inning. The Braves brought their bats this weekend, pounding out ten hits, led by Daniel Sexton, who singled and tripled, scoring twice. The Orioles were up to the challenge and scored four times in their final at bat, for a 17-16 victory over the much improving Braves. Darby Northington had a key double in the bottom of the fifth, driving in two runs to tie the score at 16 all.
The Orioles were also aided by Daniel Chin’s peg in the top of the fifth from center field to home plate that kept a Brave run off the board in this close contest. For the Orioles, they proudly left the field with their season’s first win.
Mariners vs. Angels
In what was described by coaches on both sides as one of the best Little League games they had ever witnessed, the Mariners rallied from an 11 to 5 deficit to salvage an 11-11 tie with the Angels. Charles Brillo-Sonnino pitched a shut-out in relief and also hit a two-out, game-tying, two-run double. Oren Shore had three hits and drove in four of the Mariners runs. NaShawn Kearse played a stellar shortstop, making several plays that resulted in outs as well as getting on base twice. Gregory DeSeve also had a key hit to help the team rally. For the Angels, Daniel Komanoff doubled, singled and sparkled defensively. Henry Costello walked twice, singled, tripled and scored three runs, while Wil McArdle played another fine and spirited game.
GIRLS SOFTBALL
Liberty vs. Patriots
Each player contributed on both teams to make for an extremely exciting game. Miranda Watson pitched a strong three innings for the Patriots. Top of the fifth inning saw the Patriots hitting come alive for two runs but the Liberty came roaring back with five runs to make the score Liberty 8, Patriots 7.
In the final inning with bases loaded and no outs a single by Patriots’ Kristen White drove in a run to tie the game at 8. Alexa Povlitz then hit a line drive to center field to drive in two runs.
Liberty scored again in the bottom of the inning before Chelsea Reed pitching for the Patriots could shut down Liberty and end it at Patriots 10, Liberty 9.
Powder Kegs vs. Batteries
In a nailbiter, the Powder Kegs edged the Batteries 8-7. The Batteries opened the first scoring two runs on four hits led by Emily Loewus, Caroline Rauffenbart and Jackie Benfield. The Powder Kegs came back to tie the game. Lindsay Holcomb pitched a scoreless second inning after working out of a bases-loaded one-out situation. The Batteries took a two-run lead in the top of the third on the hitting of Max Kenig and Macie Rosenthal, the Powder Kegs answered with a run on a R.B.I. single from Aimee Chico. The fourth inning saw the Batteries score three runs in the top of the inning off some misplays by the Kegs. Madeleine Steinberg hung tough pitching out of another bases loaded situation with help from strong fielding by Sarah Weldon in her first start at second base. The Kegs answered with three runs of their own on a R.B.I. single from Lindsay Holcomb scoring Willa Nathan from second and a two R.B.I. double from Sarah McGowan for her fourth R.B.I. of the game. With the Batteries up one run, Sarah McGowan’s pitching retired six in a row in the fifth and six to keep the Kegs in the game. With a leadoff hit and walk in the bottom of the sixth, Emma Dries hit the game-winning two-R.B.I. single in the bottom of the sixth. The Powder Kegs were helped by strong efforts from first-year players Katerina Michaels, Willa Rubin and Miranda Strand.
MAJORS
Blue Jays vs. Cubs
The Blue Jays were down 5-2 after the first inning, but Jay pitchers Charles Porcaro and Harrison Hattan held the Cubs to only four runs in the last five innings, and the Blue Jays defeated the Cubs 15-9. Lucas Ortega made a spectacular running catch in foul territory in the bottom of the sixth to help seal the victory. He also had three hits and drove in three runs. Kyle Maer, Curtis Seeman and Jess Coleman all had two hits each to lead the Blue Jays attack. The Blue Jays are now 3-1 and are tied for first place with the Rockies.
Cubs vs. Devil Rays
Mark LaGreca of the Cubs pitched a 1-hit shutout in a 12-0 victory over the Devil Rays. He struck out 11 and walked only 1. The only hit was a clean single to right by Justin Valenzuela. The Cubs had 15 hits including a 3-run homer by Michael Galindo, 3 hits and 3 R.B.I. by LaGreca and 2 hits by Vincent Licata. Devin Kolb scored 3 runs and stole 3 bases to help the Cubs to victory. Licata made an outstanding play cutting down a runner at home on a wild pitch.
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