(Photo Credit: NSS Photography)
by Nick Cipolla
Interview with Game One winning pitcher Ben Sacks. pic.twitter.com/OaibzAZr7U
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021
Game 1
Ben Sacks took the mound Saturday and made a statement that he can go out there and strike anyone out.
Sacks was dominant from the moment he stepped out on the field in game 1. Striking out 6 batters in the first two innings of play. He was fired up and seemed to be extremely confident from that moment on.
He ended up finishing his day after 5 innings striking out 12 batters and only allowing two runs to score on four hits.
Offensively, Brad Sakellarides had himself a day. Sakellarides was 2-for-3 with a double, single and two RBIs. His teammate, Elian Pimentel, also hit an RBI triple later in the game and scored on a sacrifice fly one batter later. Tyler Solomon came in the last two innings and closed the game out for Long Island Strong.
For Beast Black, they got their first run of the game in the top of the fourth after Colin Shashaty made a high-risk, high-reward move and stole home plate to the surprise of everyone on the field. They got their second run on an RBI single by Connor Smalley the next inning. Louis Carvel started for Beast Black and pitched four innings, allowing only two runs on four hits.
Final: Long Island Strong 4. Beast Black: 1. Shane Gribbins came in and closed out the game in the 7th pic.twitter.com/BkqwP7w1j3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2021
Game 2
Following a scoreless first inning from both teams, Long Island Strong ended up having a big second inning where they plated 3 runs. This was the moment that decided the game, and the series, for Long Island Strong.
The first run crossed when Danny Deutsch reached on a throwing error by the shortstop. Two batters later, Griffin Bell plated the second run on a sacrifice fly to right field. The very next batter, Jimmy Calabrese knocked in the third run of the inning with an RBI single.
In the fourth inning, Elian Pimentel hit a leadoff double that one hopped the wall in left field. After a walk and a pass ball, Ben Osborne knocked in Pimentel with an RBI groundout.
Beast Black was only able to get one run in the fifth and were kept off the board the next two innings by the Long Island Strong pitching staff. Shane Gribbins came in for the seventh inning and closed out the game.
