Final: LI Royals 7, LI Black Diamonds 1
WP: Derek Watts (complete game)Here he is on the victory and who is favorite player in the Major Leagues is pic.twitter.com/RiXX8pccTB
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 1, 2018
It’s not often that a team uses base running as its primary offensive weapon, but executing 10 steals in one game will almost certainly always equal a victory.
The LI Royals used six steals in the third inning to open up a 6-1 lead that would ultimately be the difference in their 7-1 victory over the Black Diamonds in a 14U East Coast Labor Day Bash tournament showdown on Saturday afternoon at Eisenhower Park. Starting pitcher Derek Watts was excellent; throwing a complete game allowing just three hits and working out of a bases loaded jam in the last inning to secure the victory.
He deflected praise to his teammates, saying they made “nothing really got by them.”
They got on the board in the first inning on a bases loaded walk by Dylan Paray to score Oliver Membreno. The Black Diamonds got even in the home half of the second inning on an E6, but they quickly bounced back and open the game up with a huge third inning. Three different players (Aidan Melvin, Membreno and Jesse Doworsak) stole second and third base. The big hit came on an RBI triple off the left field fence by Matthew Olmedo.
That was all the support that Watts would need. He settled into a great rhythm after that, allowing singles in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to make the runs stand up.
They will advance to face Hitters Club Hawkeyes tomorrow at 10am as they look to make a playoff run.
