LI Indians Elite 12U Coach discusses their walk-off victory @EcybTournaments pic.twitter.com/vjmkxL62i3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 19, 2019
by Ethan Marshall
In a game that went from a slug fest to a pitchers’ duel, the Long Island Indians defeated the Long Island Thunder 5-4 on a walk-off ground out by Frankie McNally, scoring Brian Licata from third after he set the table with a ringing triple to left-center field.
“That’s what you play baseball for,” Indians Head Coach Carl Cascio said of his team’s victory. “A lot of the scoring was early in the game, but it came down to that last inning.”
The Thunder struck first in the opening inning thanks to a two-out RBI single by first baseman Tommy Desantis off starting pitcher Brian Licata. However, the Indians wasted little time in coming back, with the first three batters reaching base. After Thunder starting pitcher Connor Sanders got a big strikeout, Indians first baseman Jason Iampieri hit a weak ground ball down the third base line, leading to a rushed throw home that got away from the catcher, allowing two runs to score on the play. Brian Licata then helped his own cause with a RBI ground out to shortstop before Frankie McNally came through with a two-out RBI single, making it 4-1 Indians by the end of the first inning.
The Thunder fought back in the second inning, putting runners on the corners to start the frame. However, a great play by Licata on an attempted squeeze bunt resulted in the lead runner getting thrown out at the plate. Still, the Thunder continued to fight back, eventually plating two runs in the inning thanks to a wild pitch and RBI ground out by Jaret Sarrantonio. However, Licata was able to strand the tying run at third and end his day on the mound at a high note.
After quickly retiring the Indians in the bottom of the second, the Thunder took advantage of back-to-back one-out fielding errors by the Indians to set the table against new pitcher Nick Ritchie. A wild pitch by Ritchie allowed the tying run to score, but he managed to get out of the inning before the Thunder could do any more damage.
By the middle of the third inning, the game was tied 4-4. However, by that point, Thunder pitcher Connor Sanders had settled in. After allowing four runs in the first, he managed to keep the Indians off the board for the remainder of his outing, going four innings before giving way to Domenick Caponi.
Ritchie managed to work his way out of trouble in the fifth inning after allowing a one-out single and hitting a batter, retiring the next two hitters. Kiran Painganker worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless top of the sixth inning, setting the stage for Licata and McNally.
The Indians, who already had a base runner picked off in the fifth inning, nearly had another rally-killing base running blunder prior to the game-winning play. The Thunder tried to catch Licata napping at third base, but he just managed to beat the tag sliding back into third base.
McNally admitted to being nervous when he stepped to the plate in the sixth inning, but remained focused on attempting to get the job done. “I just wanted to get the ball in play, and that’s what I did,” McNally said.
