by James Ryder
Final: LI Elite take W 6-1. Here is Mike Cucinella (3 RBI) and Nick Koustulias (complete game, 0 ER) on their teams early success at the plate and how their team felt in their first game of the day: pic.twitter.com/GHwToYN8y9
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 24, 2020
Some heavy rain nearly put a damper on the Axcess Baseball Invitational at Moriches Complex Friday morning. It caused the 9 AM matchup between 15 U Long Island Elite and Freedom Baseball to play just 6 or the usual 7 innings. The rain, however, didn’t seem to be a factor for LI Elite, whose early offensive success and strong dominant pitching led to their 6-1 victory.
The game began with LI at the plate. Leadoff hitter JD Decina drew a walk. He then stole second base before being driven in on Mike Cucinella’s first hit of the day. His single to left field put his team up 1-0. Nick Koustulias toed the rubber for Elite Baseball. He began his start with a 1-2-3 bottom of the first, which featured a ground out to third and back to back strikeouts, respectively.
In the top of the second inning, LI’s bats caught fire and gave them the lead for good. The leadoff hitter, this time it was James Strobel, once again got on to begin the frame. Strobel laced a single to centerfield and reached 2nd base on a ground ball hit by Bryce Bowers. The grounder was dropped by the second baseman, allowing both runners to be safe. Nick Pusinelli’s flyout to right field advanced Strobel, who then scored on Justin Tighe’s ground ball to third. He was safe due to the throw to first being dropped, giving LI first and third.
This was followed by two straight RBI singles, the first from Hunter Keegan and the second by Decina. This put them up 4-0. Up next was Cucinella, who once again came through by plating both runners. It was a ground ball to first in which he beat out the pitcher to the bag and gave Elite Baseball the 6-0.
For the rest of the game, Koustulias nearly completely shut down Freedom Baseball. He had another 1-2-3 inning in the second. In the third, he allowed two straight singles, but then retired the side by forcing a groundout, strikeout, and pop out.
In the bottom of the fourth, after recording the first two outs, LI allowed a runner to reach first on a ground ball. Mike Peters hit it to the third baseman, who mishandled it for an error. This led to an unearned run as the result of the next at bat. It was Ryan Shih that hit the RBI bloop single down the RF line to score Peters, giving Freedom Baseball their lone run.
Koustulias (6 K’s, complete game) stayed dominant for the remainder of the game. His effort, along with a strong showing on offense aided by Cucinella’s 3 RBI’s, helped LI snag a win in the tourney. Final Score: LI 6, Freedom Baseball 1.
