Yankees vs. Devil Rays
The Yankees’ ferry ride to Governors Island, highlighted by a red, white and blue F.D.N.Y. boat, was followed by a well-played game between the Yankees and Devil Rays in a cool, breezy setting, for the first game of the season on the island Saturday. The Yankees started with singles from Ted Eustace, Tyler Rohan, Louis Dannatt, Marcus Chan, Ariana Howard, David Lampietti, Luke Marable and Alex Monticciolo, and a double from Ethan Wallis, for a five-run first inning.
The Devil Rays answered back with singles from Gabe Leitner, Theo Klein and Dante Secada-Oz for one run. In the second, the Yankees added five more runs when David Wong led off with a single, followed by singles from Advay Sriram, Eustace, Wallis, Michael Bogdanos and Dannatt, with a double from Rohan.
The Devil Rays fought back again, with singles by Noah Bootz, Eli Isikoff, Jacob Turner and Klein, a double by Leitner, and a triple by Secada-Oz. The Yankees were held to one run in the third, while the Rays kept up their hitting with singles by Felix Parker, Koko Drabla, Bootz and Isikoff, bringing the score to a tight 11 to 8.
In the fourth, the Yankees were back on the offensive, driving in five more runs, despite two excellent plays at second by the Rays’ Theo
Klein. Eva Vignola reached first, as did Eustace, Wallis, Bogdanos, Rohan, Dannatt, Chan, Howard and Lampietti. In the bottom of the inning, the Rays added three runs with singles from Klein, Parker, Drabla, Bootz and Isikoff, and another triple from Secada-Oz. The Yankees added only one run in the fifth, with a single by Marable and an R.B.I. single by Wong, but racked up five runs in the sixth, with singles from Eustace, Bogdanos, Rohan, Dannatt, Chan, Howard, Lampietti and Marable.
Only two outstanding plays by the Rays ended the Yankees’ scoring rally: Klein at pitcher ran the ball to third for a fielder’s choice and Felix Parker had a great catch in left center field. For their last licks, the Rays had singles from Drabla, Bootz, Isikoff, Leitner, Klein and Hailey Coffey, and a double by Turner. Secada-Oz made it five-for-five with his single, but when Parker stepped up to the plate and hit one to left center, almost exactly in the same spot where he had just caught the ball in the field, the game ended with a nice catch by Marcus Chan. The final score was Yankees 22, Devil Rays 16.
Yankees vs. Cardinals
Playing on familiar Battery Park City fields made a difference in the Yankees’ defense on Sunday, but their offense was the same way they played it Saturday. They started their hitting streak with singles from Ted Eustace, Ethan Wallis, Michael Bogdanos, Tyler Rohan, Louis Dannatt, Marcus Chan and David Lampietti. The Cardinals tried to make up for the five-run deficit, but were unable to score in the first. In the top of the second, Luke Marable reached second base on an overthrow, followed by singles from David Wong and Advay Sriram, and an R.B.I. ground out by Eva Vignola. Tyler Adams grabbed a fly ball to end the inning, but the Yankees had already added another two runs.
The Cardinals’ Taylor Morales and William Sisson had sharp hits in the second, but the Yanks opened the third inning with Wallis’ single and a rocket to left center field by Bogdanos. R.B.I. singles by Rohan, Dannatt and Chan followed until shortstop Lily Berman ended the threat with a throw to Morales at second. The Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the inning, with singles by Lucas Pryor, Antonio Jubela-Gordon, Elan Halpern and Adams. Adams then robbed Wong of a hit in the top of the fourth, but the Yanks’ Sriram and Eva Vignola reached first, followed by singles by Eustace and Wallis.
Bogdanos smashed a bases-loaded double, followed by singles from Rohan and Dannatt. Chan’s two-R.B.I. single ended the inning with another six runs for the “B.P.C. Bombers.” The Cardinals came alive in the fourth, with singles from Tai Manheim, Vannick De Guchteneere, Sisson, Austin Kong and Berman, resulting in another four runs. But the Yanks kept up the pressure in the fifth, with consecutive hits by most of their lineup. The Cards tried to stop them with a fine play by De Guchteneere to Sisson, but six runners scored in the inning.
The Cardinals’ Halpern, Mak Manheim and Adams each reached first in the bottom of the fifth, but Bogdanos snagged Jack Fergus’ pop fly and raced to second for an unassisted double play to end the inning. The Yankees line-up produced another barrage in the sixth, despite Elan Halpern’s heroic efforts: She came back into the game after having the wind knocked out of her moments earlier. The Cardinals added two runs in the bottom of the sixth, with a double from De Guchteneere and singles from Sisson, Kong and Pryor, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Yankees’ lead.
