LI Thunder walk-off on a wild pitch for a 5-4 win ! pic.twitter.com/CsUBsdmh87
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 6, 2019
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, things were looking bleak for the 11U LI Thunder. The boys battled back, though, and mounted a rally which culminated in Taylor Nitsch scoring the winning run on a wild pitch.
“I’m just really excited we won,” said Nitsch. “I got a really good jump and there was a wild pitch and that’s all we wanted,” he added.
The Thunder got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Ben Cohen to score Nitsch, who singled to right.
Thunder’s starting pitcher, Charlie Nella was outstanding for the first three innings, allowing no runs on just one hit.
Dodger Nation had a huge fourth inning. It started with a dropped third strike that allowed Nick Piccoli to reach first base. Dylan Serrano moved him to second with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. Joe Colleluori drove him with an RBI single to left. JoJo Galeotafiore hit an infield single to second to keep the line moving. A strikeout + error by the catcher allowed the tying run to score and a two-run single by Matt Pilgrim gave them a 4-1 lead.
The Thunder chipped away with a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Aiden McCarthy to score Brady Henderson.
Down to their final three outs, the Thunder faced Matt Pilgrim in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff walk to Tyler Gribbin and a single by Christian Galasso moved hum to second. After a wild pitch, Nella hit an RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 4-2. A wild pitch scored Galasso to get them within one. Nootch Santivasci singled to left, which forced the Dodgers to intentionally walk both Nitsch and Cohen to bring up Luke Walsh, but he didn’t need to swing the bat either, as the wild pitch scored the winning run.
They will be back in action next Sunday against the Gators.
