by James Ryder
The 9u Championship was played Saturday afternoon at Plainedge Park. The teams that made it to the big stage were the LI Rebels and the Long Island Baseball Bombers. After six incredible innings from both teams, LIB was the last team standing. They won in walk-off fashion, 9-8.
The Rebels were rolling right out of the gate, leading the entire game up until the final moments. Although they lost despite coming 1 out away from winning it all, they played inspired baseball for most of the contest, and deserved the lead they would build. The groundwork was laid out in the top of the first when the Rebels scored their first four runs. Jordan Hamilton hit a lead off infield single and came home on a throwing error. Cole Maurer later hit a 2 RBI single to center field and was followed by Robbie Mascia’s RBI single to left field to make it 4-0.
LIB only scored one run in the first, but it was a great one. Kyle Zinger hit an inside the park home run deep to LF to put his team in the scorebook. After a scoreless second inning, both teams added one run each in the third. The Rebels scored their fifth run on a passed ball that allowed Mascia to steal home. Then, Sal Ansaldi (more on him later) hit a grounder with the bases loaded that brought home Judah Garcia. The score was now 5-2.
In the top of the fourth, the Rebels took their largest lead of the game, while also scoring their final runs of the game. They went up 8-2 after JP Perlman’s RBI single, a passed ball with the bases loaded, and an error by the third baseman, respectively. The Bombers were not discouraged by this deficit and started to slowly chip away at the Rebels. They scored a few runs themselves in the fourth, one run on an RBI single by Ryan Fiscella and the other on Eddie Schiff’s RBI ground out.
Another two runs scored for the Bombers in the bottom of the fifth. Three of the first four batters walked, giving Tyler Camastro loaded bases the opportunity to hit a 2 RBI single to RF. Two batters later, Fiscella had another RBI hit, this time a ground out to 2nd, to bring the LIB within one run of tying it. They entered the sixth inning with a 8-7 score.
Despite a triple to CF from Tommy Okpych, the Rebels once again couldn’t add to their lead, setting the stage for LIB’s biggest inning of the season. Marcus Lucchi was hit by a pitch and Schiff walked. A groundout from MJ Aparcio advanced the runners, leading to Sal Ansaldi coming to the plate with the winning run on second and two outs against him. On just the second pitch, he made contact on a pitch high on the outside corner, which lined into RF and scored both runners.
This interview was brought to you by Muddy Locker Sports. Here is LIB coach Eddie and the hero Sal Ansaldi on their victory: pic.twitter.com/930bwucyat
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 10, 2019
This walk-off 2 RBI hit was the final blow to the Rebels and the final piece of the Bombers long and hard-fought comeback. Final Score: LIB 9, Rebels 8.
