by James Ryder
Cannons take early lead with 2 out rally. A 2 RBI single to CF makes it 2-0 going into the bottom of the 1st: pic.twitter.com/boyeFPFVlQ
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 8, 2020
Wednesday nights 12U game at Plainedge Park Field 2 began with a brief rain shower overhead. The East Coast Cannons not only escaped Mother Nature, they escaped a late game comeback by the Long Island Thunder-Gaghan. The game ended in thrilling fashion with the Cannons holding onto a 6-5 victory.
The Cannons, out of Syosset, took the lead in the top of the first off of Max Spector’s 2 RBI double. The line drive to center field scored leadoff hitter Luke Checkmayan and Joe Doherty, each of whom walked, to make it 2-0. In the bottom half, Spector took the mound. He began a solid start with a quick 1-2-3 inning.
East Coast started the second with back to back walks by Brendan Schoenberg and Andrew Zammit in the second inning. Schoenberg stole third and came home on Mathew Zammit’s RBI single to right field, giving them a 3-0 lead.
The Thunder scored their first fun of the game in the bottom of the second. Christian Flaim walked and stole second base. On an attempt to steal third, he reached safely, but the third baseman couldn’t glove the throw from the catcher, allowing Flaim to get to the plate.
After a scoreless third inning, the Syosset crew saw their biggest lead of the night in the fourth inning. It began with another leadoff walk from A. Zammit, who stole second and made his way to third on a wild pitch. He went home and was safe at the plate following a ground ball hit by Chris Ancona, who was also safe. Ancona stole second and advanced to third on Chechmyan’s groundout. Steinberg brought in Ancona on an RBI single to left field to give his team a 5-1 lead.
The deficit didn’t last long, however, as LI surged in the following frame. They scored 3 straight runs, the first of which came on an RBI single to LF from Brady Kelly to bring Dom Lavore in from third. Then, a pass ball allowed Ryan Colon to steal home, followed by a sacrifice lineout to CF by Michael Colon to make it 5-4. Unfortunately, the tying run was left on first base.
The Cannons responded with what wound up to be the deciding run in the top of the fifth. Jerry Metapas drew a leadoff walk and got to third on Spector’s groundout to first base. This put Matthew Mianulli in position to plate Metapas with a single to RF. They led 6-4 now heading into the last inning.
Spector (4 innings pitched, 3 strikeouts) was replaced in the bottom of the fifth by Checkmayan. Checkmayan forced a groundout and a pop out while allowing a walk to Michael Lubitz in between. He then gave up another walk to Brendan McNamara and a single to Nick Butera to load the bases. Jake Hobi worked a walk to make it 6-5. McNamara was nearly picked off at second twice on two remarkably close plays prior to the final run, which cause much tension. This suspense escalated to its peak when McNamara attempted to steal home and tie the game, but he was finally thrown out to end the game.
Spector got his team started on offense and pitched well enough to get the win having allowed only 3 runs. Coach Sean Checkmayan stated postgame that he “couldn’t have asked for a more exciting way” to start the season and also said he was “very proud” of the teams’ performance. “They executed, made some great heads up plays, and had some timely hits. We’re happy to be out here and this is a fantastic way to start the season.”
Final Score: East Coast 6, Long Island 5.
