On this Sunday morning, it was truly a tale of two games between the 12u Farmingdale Greendogs, and Batting 1000, who went on to split a doubleheader.
In the first game, the Greendogs jumped out to an early lead. A double off the bat of Angel Cartagena brought home Jack Molloy. However, Batting 1000 answered back, manufacturing a run without a hit. Daniel Defonte reached on an error, then proceeded to steal second and third base. Alex Bonanno brought him in, hitting a grounder to the second baseman.
Batting 1.000 Head Coach discusses today’s double header split @EcybTournaments pic.twitter.com/PGmqneeWbq
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 14, 2019
The Greendogs reclaimed their lead in the second inning. With two runners on base, Joe Nicolo hit a blooper to right field, bringing one runner in. Mike Kwas followed that up by smoking a line drive off the shortstop’s glove. As the ball trickled into center field, another run came around to score, giving them a 3-1 lead.
Things began to unravel in the third inning. The Greendogs strung together hit after hit, just passing the bat along to the next guy up. Starting pitcher, Jordan Welch, helped himself out at the plate, playing a part in his team extending their lead to 8-1.
In the fourth inning, Cartagena tacked on another run for his team, belting a triple to bring home Patrick Sebber. Through three at bats, Cartagena was just a home run away from hitting for the cycle.
Batting 1000 answered right back, with an inside the park home run by Defonte. After Bonanno and Jack Tate worked their way on base, they looked to cut their deficit further. Welch had other plans, striking out the next two batters he faced to work out of trouble.
The Greendogs’ offense erupted again in the fifrg inning, as they padded their lead further, now 14-2. Patience was a virtue, as the batters were willing to take a walk if need be. However, they too were willing to swing the bat when they got a pitch they liked.
Joe Tagliavia was in to pitch in the bottom half of the fifth, looking to lock up the win for his team, and so he did. After a quick 1-2-3 inning, the game was over due to the mercy rule, with the Greendogs having won by a final score of 14-2.
After nearly 20 minutes, the two teams were back on the field, ready for game 2. As the away team from the second game, Batting 1000 set the stage early, scoring 5 runs to give starting pitcher Alex Bonanno a comfortable lead to work with.
Some poor defense in the bottom half of the first allowed the Greendogs to score 2 runs of their own. With a runner on third and two outs, Bonanno induced a grounder to the first baseman, and escaped further trouble. The two runs put up by the Greendogs is all they would score for the entirety of the game.
B1000 showed tremendous patience in the top of the second, working walks to load the bases for cleanup hitter, Sammy Taubes. In a big spot, he delivered, clearing the bases with a double. However, an errant throw by the left fielder found its way over the backstop, which brought Taubes in to score, making it a 9-2 game.
As the Greendogs came to bat in the bottom of the second inning, they worked a runner into scoring position. Cristian Graziadei hit a single to left field, then stole second and third base. However, Bonanno settled down, and struck out the next three batters he faced to strand the runner at third.
Somewhat surprisingly, neither team scored a run in the third inning, although the Greendogs threatened again. A batter reached second on an error, then stole third. However, for the third time in three innings, Bonanno was able to strand a runner at third base, inducing two weak fly balls.
On how he was able to consistently escape trouble with runners on third, Bonanno said “I just ignore them, and focus on throwing strikes.”
The Batting 1000 offense went to work once more in the fourth inning, tacking on four more runs to extend their lead to 13-2. That score would stand, as Bonanno shut down the Greendogs in the bottom half of the inning. After setting the side down in order, the game was over due to mercy rule, as Batting 1000 led by 10 runs after 4 innings.
On how his team was able to bounce back in game two, Batting 1000 head coach Tom Leonick mentioned how he saw game 1 as somewhat of a wakeup call for the team. He went on to say “There’s tremendous talent on this team, and they don’t give up. From top to bottom, every single player on this team doesn’t give up.”
Leonick was particularly impressed by his team’s energy in the second game, further noting that “they could’ve easily rolled over after getting run ruled in game one, could’ve easily came out in game two and have the same result. But they were hungry”.
Following the doubleheader, Batting 1000’s record is now 2-2. The Farmingdale Greendogs also find themselves with a .500 winning percentage, with a record of 1-1.
