By Chris Amato
Coach Keith of the LI Sharks speaks on his team’s incredible 2019 season pic.twitter.com/iF0FHAZKRx
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 26, 2019
As many travel teams around the island are wrapping up their seasons and beginning to prepare for winter, the Sharks Baseball Academy looked to go out on a high note. On a brisk October morning, the boys met at Plainledge Park where they were set to take on Team Beast for the fall league championship.
After six hard fought innings on both sides, the Sharks were able to come out on top by a score of 4-1. The team just seemed to do everything right over the course of the game. Whether it was throwing a specific pitch, getting a timely base hit, or just making the plays, the Sharks executed.
With their season on the line, Sharks Academy sent Nick Merolla to the mound. Merolla dominated through the early parts of the game, striking out 8 batters through the first 4 innings. The starting pitcher also only allowed 2 hits over his 5 innings of work.
The scoring started for the Sharks when the squad loaded the bases in the 3rd and Nick Merolla and Liam Cruz drew consecutive walks to put their team up 2-0.
Then in 5th, the Sharks loaded the bases again with Joseph Connolly stepping up to the plate, knowing that one swing could just about put this game away. Oh boy did he deliver. Connolly smoked a 2 RBI single into center field that scored Aaron Cummins and Logan Fisher. The Sharks now held a commanding 4-0 lead with time winding down fast.
However, Team Beast still showed some life in the bottom of the 5th after stringing together a few base hits and scoring one run on a Tyler D’Amico single. Although Beast threatened, Merolla got the next batter to ground out, keeping their lead in tact.
The Sharks then held their lead till the very final out, securing the East Coast Youth Fall Season 1st place trophy.
When asked about his teams 2019 season, Sharks Head Coach Keith Couch said “they battle hard, they’re one of the better teams at this age group so it’s all credit to them and their hard work.”
