Rookie Ball
Mets vs. Rangers
The Rangers hosted an action-filled game with the Mets at the Battery Park City Ballfields last Saturday. Rangers batters Ambre Thiery and Jake Katzenberg drilled the ball all game. And hitter Leith Conybeare paced the Rangers with two long drives into the outfield. Loyal Mets fans cheered the clutch hitting provided by Mets sluggers Francesca “Frankie” Konner and Theo Hornbacher. Walker Brandt patrolled the Mets outfield while Lyndsey Horowitz recorded three putouts at third base. The tight game ended with a towering home run by Rangers power hitter Joseph Torres that brought both teams’ fans to their feet.
Rockies vs. Tigers
The Rockies brought strong bats to Battery Park Saturday morning when they took on the Tigers. Carlos Ritchie started off with a big hit although the Tigers’ Zak Wegweiser and Max Matsumoto slowed him down with some nice fielding. Mahlon Sorenson followed with another big hit, but again the Tigers kept the base runners under control, including a nice throw from second base to home plate by Ava Cutler. When the Tigers came to the plate they deployed their full battery, including another big blast by the reliable Zak Wegweiser. And Timothy Leong’s speed on the bases turned a solid hit into an “inside-the-park” home run. In the Rockies’ last inning Wesley Chong cleared the bases with a long one to right field. The Tigers fought back in their half of the inning, punching solid hits around the field to close out a close game.
Phillies Vs. Braves
With the weather finally holding out, the Phillies and Braves met in an extraordinary game. The Rookie Ball Braves were short several players, so some Junior Minor players were recruited to fill in. The Philles were quite excited to play against this team. With the Phillies up first they tried to get a good lead with Indy Halpern, Morgan Witt and Alexander Burnett, all getting singles, but with great defensive plays by the Braves Noah DeGucheteneere, they were kept scoreless. The Braves were able to take the lead in their first at bat with singles from Madison Pappas, Ethan Shoulberg, and Noah DeGucheteneere. In the second inning the Phillies were able to come back with single hits from Katie Higgins, Ash Hawthorne, Julian Kaufman, and Indy Halpern. Alexander Burnett had a R.B.I. single. Then with bases loaded Morgan Witt hit a grand slam home run. The Braves were able to come back with good hits again from Noah, Madison and Ethan. The third inning saw singles from Ash Hawthorne and Katie Higgins, Indy Halpern with a R.B.I. double, Alexander Burnett with a R.B.I. single and Julian Kaufman with a R.B.I. single. Some great outs from both the Phillies and Braves kept the game close and the Braves tied it up in the third inning with Noah DeGucheteneere hitting a double. Madison Pappas had a R.B.I. single and Ethan Shoulberg hit a single. After all was done the game ended in a tie. The Philles and Braves played a great game and everyone was tired at the end.
Junior Minors
Devil Rays vs. Nationals
The Devil Rays got off to a strong start in the first inning scoring three runs on singles by Jack McGreevy and Ben Karam , a double by Randolph Higgins and a triple by Moses Rubin. Lots of well-placed singles in the second inning by Jack McGreevy, Randolph Higgins, Aden Haddad-Salah, Jim Huynh and Taylor White allowed the Devil Rays to score five more runs. In the field, Ben Karam and Aden Haddad-Salah neatly executed a 4-3 groundout. The Nationals displayed strong plays too with Alex Gottlieb, the offensive powerhouse of the team, going three for three with a R.B.I. and three runs scored. Also on offense William Goldstein was also three for three with one run scored and a R.B.I. Trevor Goldstein was also three for three with a R.B.I. The other R.B.I. was provided by Ariana Howard and Matt Epstein scored a run and had a single. On defense, Trevor Goldstein made a great play in the first inning as the pitcher with a throw to Alex Gottlieb at first base.
Padres vs. Giants
The sun was hot enough to bleach the white uniforms of both teams, but it was a welcomed break after all the rain of the past weeks. Zara Sonnino started things off for the Padres with a single, making it to second with Jackson Kaufman’s single soon after. But both players were stranded on base.
Clyde Huibregtse led off for the Giants with a single. Tyler Rohan hit a laser to left center field, bringing Clyde home with a stand-up double. Luke Dilworth and Jacob Roter also had solid hits (R.B.I. Jacob), and Sam Liberman’s line drive deep to centerfield brought both runners home. Matthew Levine’s single scored run number five for the Giants. Alexander Monticciolo hit a nice single, but was tagged out on his way to second by Luke Dilworth on Sam Davis’ grounder, ending another scoreless inning for the Padres.
Mikayla Toffler rallied for a single to start off the third inning for the Padres. The Giants’ defense was unable to stop Samantha Sewell’s double from driving Mikayla home. They came around with the next play, when Clyde fielded David Wong’s grounder and ran it to first himself, just beating David’s dramatic slide into the base to end the inning.
Elias Griffin’s single started another five-run rally for the Giants in the bottom of the third. Clyde Huibregtse, Tyler Rohan, Luke Dilworth, Jacob Roter and Sam Liberman singled to load up the bases, and Luke Marable drove in the last two runs and ended the inning. The Padres’ Greg Elefterakis hit a nice fly ball for the only hit for the Padres in the fourth.
The final score was 14-6, Giants.
Minors Division
Red Sox Vs. Angels
After battling for three innings to a standoff, the Red Sox rallied late on Saturday to overcome the Angels by a score of 8-3. The Angels jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning. Lead off hitter Adam Kester reached on an infield hit and scored. The second run came around when Alexander Garcia hit into a fielder’s choice. The Red Sox quickly responded in their half of the inning. With one out, Alex Hirsch and Louis Moreschi hit back-to-back singles. Each ultimately scored, tying the game at 2-2. It remained knotted through the third inning as both starting pitchers, Moreschi and Kester, settled down and were unhittable. William Merrill led off for the Red Sox in the bottom of the fourth inning by singling. He scored, as did Luca Lesser and Tyler Paige after walking to get on base. The Red Sox added three more runs in the fifth inning, before the Angels added a run in the final inning of play. Merrill pitched two strong innings in relief for his team, and Dylan Pryor and Hirsch each made two good plays in the Red Sox infield. For the Angels, Kester made a tremendous play while on the mound when he speared a hard smash up the middle by Moreschi.
Junior Division
Blue Jays vs. Mets
The Blue Jays successfully defended their conference title when they defeated the P.S.L.L. Mets by a score of 2-1. In a tight, well-pitched game by both sides, the Blue Jays scored the first run when Sam Daniels got a single to drive in Ray Perez in the 2nd inning. With gutsy pitching by Sam Gilberg (4 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 6 Ks, 1 B.B.) the Blue Jays managed to make the plays to keep the Mets off the board. In the 4th inning, Dylan Estrada scored the eventual winning run by stealing two bases and scoring on a wild pitch. Phillip Kay (3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 6 Ks, 2 B.B.) came in to save the game by striking out the side in the 7th inning.
The team was proud to defend their conference title and will attempt to defend their G.V.L.L. Junior Division championship. They will sorely miss three players this weekend: Sam Gilberg (5-0 record pitching), Corey Greenblatt (.385 batting average, 6 runners thrown out as catcher) and Jake Goodman (a valuable bench player willing to do whatever the team needs). Playoffs begin at 11 a.m. this Saturday at Central Park field #10.
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