Mike Knapp throws a 3-hit shutout with 11 Ks to capture the @liboysofsummer Championship 15U National division pic.twitter.com/3ZfsGHB9lj
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) November 7, 2020
Mike Knapp was just about as dominant as you can be, in helping his team to not one – but two victories to capture the LI Boys of Summer 15u National Fall Championship. It was two distinctly different games. They won 7-6 in 9 innings over LI Elite Natale and then 2-0 over Tri-State Arsenal in the championship. Knapp threw the final inning in relief to slam the door in the semifinals and cruised to a 3-hit, 11 K shutout in the finals.
“I felt good, man, my arm felt good. I came out in the semifinal closing the game – just felt really good out there,” said Knapp, a junior at Division HS. He noted that there were some nerves in extra innings of the semifinals, but he sure did not show any of it. His team took the lead on an error in the top of the 9th and he came out and fired a scoreless inning in the home half to seal the deal.
In the finals, there was no such drama.
His team came out in the top of the first inning and wasted no time getting on the board. A one-out walk by Michael Feldman and a balk brought up Colin Favata. He ripped an RBI single to right field to open up a 1-0 lead. They threatened to add another, after a walk drawn by Connor Barry, but Adam Ohebshalom retired the next batter to keep the score close.
Knapp retired the side in order in the first inning with two punch outs. His offense got another base runner in the second inning, but failed to cross the plate.
In the second, Knapp walked Mike Tomossone with two outs, but wound up striking out the next batter which was his fifth in just two innings.
Knapp came up in the third inning with a runner on first and nobody out and he crushed one to center field that probably should’ve scored the run but they had two runners in scoring position either way. The next batter ripped a line drive that the SS made an outstanding leaping play to prevent two runs from scoring. He also had a chance to double Knapp off second base but he beat the throw barely. Colin Favata cashed in again, this time on a sac fly to left center field to make it 2-0 in the third.
The bottom of the third was another 1-2-3 inning for Knapp who was clearly in a rhythm at this point. He hadn’t allowed a hit yet, but that came in the bottom of the fourth with two outs by Tyler Young. He walked Vinny Deiosso, but ended the threat with a weak grounder to second to escape unscathed.
Things got a little interesting in the bottom of the fifth
With the score still 2-0 in favor of LI Elite, a two-out walk by Quinn Cierski and a single by pinch-hitter William Zhu put the tying run on base. Knapp then threw a wild pitch that looked like it would put both runners in scoring position, but catcher Jeremy Taggart made a perfect throw to second base to catch the trail runner. It was a pivotal moment in the game and took the winds out of a potential rally.
In the sixth, the Arsenal got a runner on a two-out single off Knapp but once again, Taggart made a perfect throw on an attempted steal to end the inning.
Knapp wasn’t going to be denied at that point. He worked around an E3 on a ground ball in the seventh to strike out the last batter for his 11th strikeout of the game.
Following the game, he cited the team’s chemistry as a major reason for their success this fall.
