Through a furious rally in the final inning, the Farmingdale Greendogs successfully pulled off a comeback victory against LIB Roar.
The Greendogs struck first. After a leadoff single and stolen base by Anthony Mancuso, Mateo Morales ripped a line drive double to left-center field. However, while trying to stretch it into a triple, Morales was thrown out at third. The Greendogs worked the bases loaded, but were unable to add on to their lead.
A combination of some sloppy defense by the Greendogs, as well as patience at the plate by LIB led to them answering right back, putting up three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning.
LIB extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning without a recording a hit. A hit batsman, a stolen base, an error on a ground ball to the pitcher, and a ground out to first base was all that was needed to bring in an additional two runs, making it a 5-1 game.
The Greendogs were able to chip away at the deficit in the top of the third. Mancuso worked a walk, and once again stole second. He advanced to third on a ground out, and was driven in by Elijah Sierra.
Almost as soon as the top half of the third inning ended, it suddenly started to downpour. The game went into a brief delay, about 10 to 15 minutes in length, but a rain delay nonetheless.
As the game resumed, LIB looked to further add to their lead, and so they did. A bloop single, a hit batter, and walk loaded the bases. That would be the end of the day on the mound for Greendogs starting pitcher, Anthony Mancuso. Entering the game with bases loaded and two outs was Christopher McIntyre. He induced a routine ground ball to shortstop, but the throw sailed over the head of the first baseman, allowing another two runs to score. After 3 full frames, LIB led 7-2.
The Greendogs were down, but not out yet, as they tacked on another run in the top of the fourth inning. However, LIB again answered back with two more runs of their own, again while only recording one hit in the inning. A pair of walks and stolen bases, a wild pitch, and a single got the job done.
With the time limit quickly approaching, the fifth inning looked to be the last. If the Greendogs wanted to win, they would have to do it here. Facing a new pitcher, they went to work. James Sebber got the rally started, getting hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and later coming around to score on a passed ball to make it a 9-4 game.
With two outs and the tying run standing on third base, Sebber had a chance to cap off the rally that he started. He hit a double to bring in the tying and go-ahead runs. However, he was thrown out at third trying to stretch his hit to a triple before the last base runner was able to cross the plate. After 4 ½ innings, the Greendogs now led 10-9.
Talking about his big at bat, Sebber said “I just wanted a base hit, just to get our team back in this game.” He went on to say that it was “the best hit of my life, probably.”
James Sebber talking about his big hit. pic.twitter.com/SVvubFjcr8
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 19, 2019
Coming in to close out the game was Colin Horowitz. He set down the batters in order, and sealed the deal. The Greendogs, after rallying for 7 innings in the final inning, came away victorious.
Greendogs coach Chris Horowitz, on his team’s performance said “We rallied. We kept fighting, and I’m very proud of these boys, they worked hard today.” He went on to mention “timely hitting and good base running” as important factors for his team’s 10-9 comeback victory.
