Walk-Off suicide squeeze by Tyler Schrimpf and Farmingdale wins it 2-1 in 9 innings ! pic.twitter.com/WRVLyyDZuc
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) March 23, 2019
The games were slated to be nine and seven innings, but that was not nearly enough to determine today’s winners.
These are the two premier teams in the Skyline Conference at the moment, and the matchup more than lived up to the billing with a 13-inning and a 9-inning game, with the teams splitting the DH.
Here’s how it went down:
Game 1:
This game appeared like the Rams would be in control all game. They scored two runs just three batters into the game, with RBI hits by Vinny Rice and Steven Burke, but that was all they would get for the game. USMMA starter John Kelly Jr. went into lockdown mode the rest of the game, which allowed his offense the chance to fight back against Farmingdale ace Matthew Constantine.
The Mariners got on the board in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly to left field by Vincenzo Altieri, and they tied it up in the seventh on an RBI hit by Jacob Kelly.
Both offenses went into hibernation for a few innings after that, credit to the pitcher’s for dominating.
Ryan Mallon and Joe Marino were dominant in relief for the Rams until the 13th inning when Marino clearly tired a bit. He allowed a two-run hit in the 13th to Colin Baker and an RBI single by Jesse Reinebold. Andrew Hunt recorded the win with three shutout innings and Kyle Cunningham came in from third base to record his fourth save of the season.
The Rams pitchers fanned 13 batters in the game, and they received multi-hit games from Rice, Burke and Nick Attardi but it was not enough as they dropped the first game.
Game 2:
This was a classic ballgame.
Andrew Spinnenweber vs Steven Burke proved to be a great pitching match up. Spinnenweber, a Maryland native, is coming off an All-American season and is the best pitcher in the conference. He toyed with the Farmingdale lineup bringing no-hit stuff.
The Mariners got their lone run in the third on an RBI single by Vincenzo Altieri, and that looked like it would be enough.
Spinnenweber brought a no-hitter into the seventh inning and had only 85 pitches. After retiring the first two batters, he induced a weak infield popup to third base that appeared to end it, but it was dropped which put the tying run in scoring position. The next batter, Jason Conti, ripped one through the right side for an RBI single to send his team into a frenzy. With an opportunity to walk-off, they had their rally ended to send the game into extra innings. Spinnenweber wound up pitching the eighth inning, finishing with 13 strikeouts and allowing just two hits and two walks.
In the bottom of the ninth, Steven Burke and Ryan DePalma each hit singles to put the pressure on USMMA. A sac bunt by Cam Alfano forced the Mariners to intentionally walk Conti to load the bases with one out. Tyler Schrimpf came up and laid down the perfect suicide squeeze bunt down the first base line to give the Rams the dramatic walk-off victory.
They had their backs firmly against the wall, and as we’ve seen from Keith Osik’s teams time-and-time again over the years, they did not waiver in their comeback attempt.
The Rams improved to 8-5, while USMMA fell to 8-6. These teams look like the class of the conference and it would not surprise me one bit if they are facing off on Championship Sunday in May.
