This season, the Downtown Little League’s youngest players have thrown away the tees and are facing live pitching so they have changed their division’s name from T-Ball to Rookie Ball. They along with the rest of the Downtowners enjoyed last weekend’s great weather.
Rookie Ball
Nationals vs. Braves
The Nationals hosted the Braves at the Battery Park City ballfields this Saturday, and it was quite a game. The Braves did an amazing job, with the strong batting skills of heavy hitters Madison Pappas, Matthew Gunther, and Jeremiah Wysoker. They also had a strong defense thanks to some amazing plays by Jack Wysoker, Amelia Eigerman, and Noah De G. Nicholas Fandrich rounded out the team’s amazing abilities with his lightning fast running of the bases. The Nationals had the morning cut out for them, but were able to match the awesome power of the Braves with phenomenal hitting from Sophia Marino, Olivia Sawyer and Georgia Greenleaf, the team’s secret weapons at bat. The field was covered expertly by Devin Minnihan and Jared Beh, who have mastered the art of catching and throwing.
Tigers vs. Mariners
Zak Wegweiser supplied major Tiger power with a big home run, backed up by some nice hitting by Alex Tractenberg. Fielding skills continue to sharpen, with good efforts by Ry Currier and Julia Matsumoto. On the Mariners’ side, Ava O’Mara was impressive with at least two force outs at the hot corner. Mariners’ hitting was provided by all hands, with notable shots by Alex Mimura and Sebastien Kim-Rehr.
Marlins vs. Phillies
Overall, an outstanding game that witnessed both defensive gems on the field and timely offensive hitting at the plate. Julian Kaufman and Charlie Scruton were both standouts at the plate and on the field for the Phillies. Ava Villalba, Christopher Araujo, and Patrick Constantin all produced key hits at the plate while showing true ‘’hustle’’ on the field for the Marlins.
Rangers vs. Yankees
Both teams showed enthusiasm and solid skill in the match-up between the Rangers and the Yankees this past Saturday. The Yankee batters were showing great power with Athena Karavasilis, Danielle Vazzano, Jaqueline Cotona, Gianna & Nicole La Greca leading the charge. The Ranger batters were also strong with Shane Tomaino, Leith Conybeare and Ambre Thiery each getting a couple of solid hits and Jake Katzenberg, Michael Monticciolo, Adam Lokhandwalla, Jesse Walk and Joseph Torre keeping the hitting streak alive. Both teams were also looking sharp in the field with the Yankee first baseman Arthur Perry grabbing every ball thrown at him and Ranger Shane Tomaino making great plays at third.
Tigers Vs. Rangers
There were big swings and lots of hits all around, with Timothy Leong going “yard” for the Tigers. Fielding skills were on display as well, with a neat put-out by the Tigers’ Ava Cutler and nice plays by Max Matsumoto and Sage Ranaldo. But the big play was on the Rangers’ side: a fly-ball fielded by Joseph Torres who then threw to first for an out on the runner heading back from second.
Phillies vs. Nationals
The Nationals’ Sophia Marino led off the first inning with a nice hit up the third base line. Then Georgia Greenleaf got a single to get the run in. However, the scoring was kept to a minimum by the great defensive plays by Phillies third Baseman Charlie Scruton. Later in the game, the Phillies tied it up with some great power hits by William Sisson and Alexander Burnett, The Phillies had the winning run on base, but the tag out play by the Nationals Devon Minnihan stopped the Phillies and the game ended in a tie.
Junior Minors
CUBS VS. MARLINS
The tough defensive tone of the Marlin-Cub game Sunday started in the top of the first inning as Cubs first baseman Graham Nelson made two consecutive single-handed put outs to end the frame. The game was tied 1-1 until the third when Sammy Marciano and Dante Secada-Oz each got run-scoring hits to make it a 3-1 game. The Marlins kept it close with excellent defensive plays by Thomas Burns and Michael DiPeri. The Cubs scored again with Isabella Smith, Alexander Komanoff, Sylvia Krauss-Grimm, Elan Saes and Graham Nelson contributing. Tyler Kraehling, Blas Lee, Alex Hall and Michael Diperi led a valiant batting effort by the visiting Marlins. The final inning came to a close when Graham Nelson caught a grounder and threw it to Sammy Marciano at first base. The Cubs got 5 runs on 13 hits and the Marlins, 1 run on 7 hits.
Indians vs. Braves
The surging Indians are starting to find believer’s as they dominated this week’s 8:15 am Sunday eye-opener against a young and tough Braves squad.
The Indians near-lethal attack began from the first pitch as lead-off man and base-path lightning Jake Turner beat a sharp one through the left side. Left fielder Max Ripp – three for three on the day – followed with another grass cutter and Liam Fuerst slapped his first of three on the day to load the bases. Niall Gallagher smoked a single into left. First baseman Aidan Rogers collected his third R.B.I. of the year with a seeing-eye grounder past the mound. Charlotte “Big Stick” Youklis smoked a two-strike line-drive down the third base line driving in three and legging it out for a stand-up double.
In the second the Braves’ defense stiffened with fine plays by George Kaltner and Mikio LaCapre stranding Ellis Feldman and breakout shortstop Ian O’Connor on each of their first of two singles on the day.
The fourth and fifth saw the Braves battle back, scoring one and three respectively. Douglas Stapler pounded two solid liners and Billy Kalish, George Kaltner and Mikio LaCapre also found the plate for the Braves. It was not enough as the Indians’ Ellis Feldman scored her second run of the season on pitcher Jacob’s first R.B.I. of the year. Theo Fandrich, Advay Spiram, Chase Kaltner and Steven Povlitz received coaches’ commendations for their effort and good sportsmanship.
METS vs. DODGERS
Gabe Cavanagh led the Mets off with a strong double, with Jack Steinberg, Ben Steinberg and Lilly Seibert following on with their own doubles and with a fine single by Max Wilson. The Dodgers responded with doubles by Emily Goovin and Joe Vega and a single by Olivia Wolk (3 for 3). The side was retired because of a nice play at first by Lilly on a throw by William Steere.
The Mets broke it open with a fine double by William Smith, followed by fine hits by Liam Barwick, Nicole Teck and Isaac Ilyashov, with Gabe’s triple driving the loaded bases in for a commanding lead.
The Mets answered the run with a first at bat home run by Joey Buckler. Max and William joined the Steinberg brothers in commendable hits. The Dodgers’ “AJ” van der Zwan smashed out a triple for another run supported by nice play by Luke, Liam and Izzy, narrowing the Mets’ lead.
Orioles vs. White Sox
The Orioles and White Sox showed up on Sunday in Battery Park City with their undefeated records on the line, and it turned out to be a real thriller. The Orioles scored first with hits by each of their first six batters: Zach Tractenberg (who later homered on his birthday), Bayley Arens, Henry Lilien, Jack Freedman, Jake Jiler, and Kojin Glick. The inning ended with a spectacular play by White Sox shortstop Cameron Lamser, who robbed Mathieu Bialosky of a hit and threw to 1st baseman Ben Beaumont for the final out.
The White Sox had a nice rally of their own in the 3rd with hits by Karyna Lambert, Kelly De Klerk, Roman Junceau, Ryan Porcaro, Yani Porter and Zak Weigwieser to close the gap.
But the Orioles roared back in the bottom of the 3rd with a leadoff homerun by Jake Jiler, hits by Kojin Glick, Michael Banks, Noah Kahan, and an inning ending home run by Taro Nakagawa.
In the 4th inning the White Sox 2nd baseman, Ryan Porcaro, made quite possibly the play of the game, snaring a screaming line drive to end the Oriole’s 4 run rally.
An inning later White Sox 1st baseman, Roman Junceau, made all 3 outs unassisted, but at this point it seemed for naught – the Orioles had a sizable lead.
However the White Sox did not give up. They began the top of the 6th with 9 straight hits all of whom scored. It was not until, with the bases loaded and the score precariously close, that centerfielder Jack Freedman snagged a smashed groundball off the bat of Yani Porter and alertly stepped on 2nd base to end the game.
DEVIL RAYS Vs. PIRATES
In the second and sixth innings, the Devil Rays rallied and scored runs led by a double by Ian Malcolm, followed by hits by Aiden Haddad-salah, Randolph Henry Higgins, Jack McGreevy, Lukas Burger, Dante Vega, and Moses Rubin. Excellent fielding was displayed by Moses Rubin in the first inning, who turned an unassisted double play, and Aiden Haddadd-salah in the sixth inning, both catching high fly balls, and ending those innings.
The Pirates Peregrine Donaldson, Gabriel Coon, and Tadigh Baron went on a strong offense; each player having hits, and runs were scored. The Pirates exhibited excellent defensive fielding by Kaleo Grant at third base, Jackson Mansfield at second base, and Justin Wong at first base, forcing several outs for the Devil Rays.
Majors
Cubs vs. Dodgers
The Cubs, led by the hitting of Lucas Ortega – doubling home 3 runs – and Devin Kolb’s 2 hits, nipped the Dodgers by a score of 8-7 last Thursday. Joseph Demarco, Lucas Ortega and Devin Kolb combined to pitch the Cubs to the victory. Gabe Kleiman pitched the final 3 innings for the Dodgers, striking out 4, and also led the Dodgers with a triple and 1 R.B.I. Roy Vlcek added a triple for 2 R.B.I. for the Dodgers.
Cubs vs. White Sox
The Cubs won their third game in a row sunday, beating a hard-playing White Sox team 6-0. Mark LaGreca pitched 5 innings of 2-hit ball, striking out 10 and walking only 2. The Cubs’ hitting attack was led by Brooks Borden’s 3 hits (scoring 3 runs) including a triple and 3 R.B.I. Mark LaGreca, added 2 hits, including a double. Andrew Puopolo and Yanai Feldman were the hitting stars for the White Sox.
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