The Barons (1-0-0) played the Cubans (1-0-1) on Sunday in a very exciting Downtown Little League match in the Majors division. Ryan Porcaro started things off for the Barons, against the Cubans’ Kai Glick on the mound, by cranking a double. Teammate Clyde Huibregtse took a base on balls, and Porcaro stole third. But the runners were stranded as the Cubans played a tough defense and held them scoreless in the top of the first.
Balthazar Merrin hit a nice single in the bottom of the inning, and in an exciting play, was caught stealing second.
In the bottom of the second, Porcaro struck out the first batter, but Spencer Kiehl ripped a triple. Alex Hirsch drove him in for the Cubans first run of the game, but the Barons defense kept the score 1-0.
Glick’s searing heat laid down two more Barons’ batters in the third, but Nathan Goldberg was able to get a hold of the ball for a single (stealing two bases but stranded at third when Glick caught the last batter’s pop fly).
In the bottom of the fourth, Brody Sharoff, fresh off the D.L., struck out three out of four batters and set the stage for a Barons comeback.
Tommy Caruso started things out with a single for the Barons. Tyler Rohan hung tough during his at-bat, bringing it to a full count before smoking a line drive to deep right field. Rounding third, he noticed the relay was bobbled, and tore home at the urging of his third base coach Dave Conover. The throw was high, and Rohan slid underneath for his second two-run homer in that many games.
Now ahead 2-1, the Barons tried to hold the Cubans back. But Aden Haddad-Salah doubled to start the bottom of the fifth. Tyler Kraehling took a base on balls, and another massive hit by Kiehl scored Haddad-Salah, tying the game and bringing Kraehling to third and Kiehl to second. But Sharoff kept his cool and struck out the next three batters, and the Barons went into the top of the six with the score tied at two.
Sharoff struck out the first batter as the Cubans took their last licks, but Ratigan took a base on balls, and Liam Clayton singled, advancing Ratigan to second. Uriah Frederick’s walk loaded the bases, but the last two batters went down looking. The final score was 2-2.
Later in the week, both D.L.L. Majors’ games were called in the top of the first due to rain on Wednesday. The Barons’ Ryan Porcaro and Isaac Longobardi both took a base on balls, and Tyler Rohan took one inside pitch from Crawford’s Niall Gallagher when the heavens opened up. The Cubans-Grays game will also be rescheduled later in the season. And the rainy weather came back on Sunday to drench the fields and forcing many other games to be rescheduled later in the season.
