Wildcats Capture TOB Special Event

by James Ryder

Sachem East goes down swinging on back to back strikeouts for outs 2 and 3. We’re approaching the bottom of the 2nd, where the Wildcats will look to expand their lead: pic.twitter.com/HXs1ZARLR1

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 17, 2021

The Wildcats competed against the Arrows Saturday night for the first 2021 Town of Brookhaven Special Event title. In what wound up being a pitching and offensive clinic, the Wildcats tore through the Seminoles on their way to a 9-1 victory.

Grodski was the Wildcats starting pitcher. He started and went 3.2 innings, and was dominant. He struck out four batters in his time on the mound. His second and third Ks came back-to-back to end the top of the second inning.

Joe Dwyer replaced Grodski in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. The lone Seminoles run was not an earned run, as it came on a pitch that got away from the catcher, allowing the man on third to steal home. Dwyer struck out the batter on the very next pitch to put away the Seminoles in the fourth.

Dwyer had 6 strikeouts in relief himself, meaning the Wildcats duo of him and Grodski combined for 10 Ks on the night. But, as mentioned, the two pitchers had plenty of help from their offense.

The Wildcats struck right away by scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning. Bacenet hit a leadoff double to left-center field that took one short hop to the fence. He later scored on an RBI sacrifice fly-ball to centerfield hit by Steele to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The team managed to score a single run in each of the first three innings. In the 2nd, Engman hit a bomb to centerfield that hit the base of the wall. It drove in Niski, who was hit by a pitch to start the inning. The hit nearly scored another run, but LoRusso, who got on base with a walk, collided ahead of the plate with the catcher, and was ruled out to end the inning.

Later, in the 3rd inning, another RBI double that hit the base of the centerfield wall was hit, this one by Bowes. That hit made it a 3-0 game.

Following the Arrows first and only run, both teams went scoreless in the bottom of the fourth and the top of the fifth, respectfully. It was in the bottom half of the fifth that the Wildcats broke the game open.

The team scored 4 runs that half inning. They began by loading the bases. One run came on a sacrifice fly hit by Steele, his second RBI on the game. It was followed up by a laser hit to the leftfield wall from Bowes to make it 5-1. Lastly, the third straight run scoring swing came from the first baseman Danny Kockenmeister. He snuck a ground ball up the middle for a 2 RBI single to elevate the Wildcats lead to 7-1.

Despite their large lead, the Wildcats put on some finishing touches in the bottom of the sixth. Padrazo also hit a 2 RBI single, which brought the game to its final score of 9-1.

Dwyer put the Arrows away in the top of the seventh inning by striking out the first batter on his way to a 1-2-3 final frame. Thanks to Dwyer and starting pitcher Grodski, along with some incredible run support, the Wildcats were able to cruise to the tournament win.