Junior Minors Upper

JoJo Aboaf started a first inning rally for the Nationals with a single. Zak Wegweiser, Judah Lang and Steven Povlitz followed suit, with Povlitz bringing Aboaf home for the first run of the season. When Jarrod Dominguez came to bat, he also hit an R.B.I. single, but the Yankees’ Ariana Howard made a stellar play at second base to tag out Povlitz. Joseph Dudley smashed a triple and brought home Dominguez. Trevor Goldstein’s double brought the runs to their maximum of five, and a stunned Yankees team returned to the dugout to bat. 

After a groundout by the leadoff hitter, Howard singled for the Yankees. Solid defense by the Nats, however, kept the Yankees off the board. The Nationals added three more runs in the top of the second, bringing the score to 8-0, but the Yankees’ coaches and players remained upbeat and supportive on the bench.

The positivity paid off, with singles by Marcus Chan and David Lampietti, followed by an R.B.I. double to left field by David Wong. Singles off the bats of Advay Sriram and Louis Dannat cut the Nationals’ lead in half, 8-4.

With a string of singles, the Nationals added two more runs in the third. The Yankees responded with three runs of their own, narrowing the deficit to 10-7.

The top of the fourth inning featured stellar fielding by the Yankees. After Michael Bogdanos converted a diving catch into a double play, centerfielder Luke Marable made an unassisted tag-out at second base to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Eva Vignola came to bat with the bases loaded and ripped a two-run single. The Yankees tacked on three more runs in the inning to take their first lead of the game at 12-10.

Despite astute base-running in the final two innings, the Nationals could not put another run past pitcher Ethan Wallis and the Yankee defense. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ bats stayed hot, driving in five more runs to complete the comeback and seal a 17-10 win.