One word that nobody likes to hear in baseball is tie. For the most part, baseball games rarely ever end in a tie, but when Mother Nature interjects, there’s not much that can be done about it.
The 16u National game between the Islip Owls and East End Aviators featured a slow pace of play. It became quite clear early on that the weather and darkness could play a major role in the outcome of this game.
The Owls jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the first when John Rivera brought home RJ Wagner with an RBI single.
In the bottom of the 2nd, it looked as if the Aviators had taken the lead but Chris Rouleau’s 2 RBI doubled was called off due to the use of an illegal bat. The batter was called out and the runners had to go back to the previous base. Wagner took advantage of the break on the mound getting out of the bases loaded jam and preserving his 1-0 lead through 2 innings.
In the top of the 3rd it seemed that this was the Owls’ day. Following a fortunate break in the field the inning prior, the Owls used the swing of momentum to bring home 3 more runs, headlined by Nick Classie’s 2 RBI single.
Just as it looked like things were done for the Aviators, they clawed their way back. The Aviators answered with a 3 spot of their own in the bottom half of the third due to RBI singles by Jayden Colon & Shane Brummerloh, and Jason Ambos coming home on a wild pitch.
In the top of the 5th, Islip tacked on an important insurance run after a throwing error from the Aviators shortstop Andrew Marx brought home Jack McDonald on Connor Elling’s infield single.
The Aviators stormed back again in the bottom of the 5th tying the game at 5 after a massive 1 out 2 RBI double by Eric Maldonado.
Entering the top of the 6th, you could see that the sun was fading fast, which meant the time left in this game was decreasing rapidly, and both teams really picked up their pace.
As the darkness started to come Rivera came through huge with an RBI single to give Islip a 6-5 lead. As the half-inning ended, the Owls coach pushed his team to pick up the pace to try to beat the darkness to the finish line.
In the bottom of the 6th, the Aviators came back again, this time tying the game at 6 after an RBI groundout by Colon brought home Marx. After Alex Goldberg walked with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Maldonado stepped into the box looking to be the hero.
Mother Nature wouldn’t give him the chance.
Owls catcher Eddie Murria expressed that he couldn’t see the ball anymore and the home umpire called the game immediately due to darkness. Rules make the game revert back to the end of the previous inning, meaning the final result of the game is a 5-5 tie through 5 innings.
It was a tough ending for the Aviators and their coach, but he wouldn’t let that deter him or his team. After expressing pride in his team for their continued resiliency throughout the course of the game, he stated “although the lights and darkness came into play for this game, it is what it is, we’re going to come back and battle in our next game.”
