by James Ryder
Sunday was another scorcher, but that didn’t stop the 12u Long Island Junior Ducks and Long Island Indians from going head to head at Wantagh Park. The Junior Ducks took both games of a double header. Even with the high temperatures, they didn’t miss a beat at any point during the second game, in which they went on to win 8-5.
Throughout the six innings, the Ducks dominated. The combination of starting pitcher Matthew Brienza and reliever Tommy Ford allowed the Indians to score only two runs, one run was given up each, through the first five innings. At the plate, the Ducks had at least five batters in every inning except for the fourth. Their first run came in the top of the first on a bases loaded walk by John Ferrante. The Indians would answer right back and tied the game in the bottom frame when Luca Fargnoli grounded out for and RBI. He brought home Steven Mulqueen, who led off with and infield single and then stole second and third base prior to the RBI.
In the second inning, Thomas Costarreli hit a double to left field and later stole home plate on a passed ball. This gave the Junior Ducks the lead back, 2-1. They would pick the bats back up in the third inning, where 10 of their 13 batters made a plate appearance. Leadoff hitter Aidan Deslauriers beat out the throw by the catcher to first base after the ball rolled to the backstop on a strike three call. He stole second and advanced to third when Dylan Colon grounded out to third. Anthony Altobelli ripped and opposite field triple for and RBI. A few pitches later, he crossed the plate on a single from Peter Bounogias to LF to make it 4-1. Bounogias stole second and third base and went home on a ground ball hit by Brienza that resulted in an error by the second baseman. Finally, three straight walks capped off their charge which ended with them gaining a 6-1 lead.
The Indians responded quickly, albeit barely, in the bottom of the third. However, it was done with some flair. Carl Cascio hit a leadoff triple to right field and came home two one batter later on Mulqueen’s single to RF. Both teams went scoreless in the fourth inning before the Junior Ducks scored their final two runs in the top of the fifth. Following Colon’s single down the middle of the infield, Altobelli hit a sharp line drive to RF. The right fielder was in perfect position, but he didn’t react quick enough. The ball tipped off his glove and rolled towards the fence. This error resulted in a 2-run inside the park home run made the score 8-2.
The Indians were scoreless again in the fifth, but didn’t give up in their final at bats. The Indians went on a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring six runs. Nick Ritchie led off with a walk and Fargnoli hit an infield single to shortstop. Both runners stole a base and came home on Jagger Duque’s groundout to the SS. An RBI single for Jason Iampieri scored Duque for the final run of the game.
Final Score: Junior Ducks 8, Indians 5. Despite playing in the high 90 degree weather for game 1, the Ducks didn’t miss a beat in the second game. Here’s Anthony Altobelli and his manager on how the team managed to strive: pic.twitter.com/LpDYbxzLvQ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 22, 2019
Their late spark ended on a pop out in foul territory to first base. Even as the night saw friendlier conditions, the Junior Ducks never cooled down. They managed to strive through the double header and come out victorious. Final Score: Junior Ducks 8, Indians 5.
