by Nicholas Cipolla
Final: Jr Ducks: 4 EastEnd Aviators: 4
Great play by the Jr Ducks Shortstop to end the game pic.twitter.com/o2rgXEpNbp
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 5, 2021
For the first time this summer, I witnessed a great game of baseball where someone didn’t have to lose.
The LI Jr Ducks Kerman and the EastEnd Aviators 14u displayed some late game heroics in the bottom of the 6th, Top of the 7th, and the bottom of the 7th as well.
As much as tie games stink, this was a game that both teams deserved to win.
After both teams worked into and out of trouble, the Jr Ducks were able to draw first blood in the top of the 2nd. The starting pitcher for the Jr Ducks, Tyler Popko led off the inning with a double to deep left field. He was able to advance to third on a passed ball and his teammate Brendan Demonda, was able to get him in with an RBI groundout to first base.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Aviators got that run back and tied the game thanks to an RBI groundout of their own by Chase Siska.
The Aviators, however, missed their chance to take the lead as they stranded a runner on third base with two outs, thus keeping the game tied at 1-1.
Over the next few innings, there was no activity from either offense as a lot of routine ground balls were being hit by both teams, keeping the offense off the basepaths and more importantly the scoreboard.
That was until Zachary Anderson stepped up in the top of the 5th. He showed great situational hitting as he stepped up with a man on third with one out and he hit a ground ball up the middle that was corralled by the shortstop. However, it was too deep to prevent a run, so the Jr Ducks traded a run for out number two, but were able to reclaim the lead making it a 2-1 game.
Fast forward to the bottom of the 6th inning, Jake Cummings steps up to the plate with runners on first and third. He hit a slow roller to short that was booted by the shortstop for an infield hit, but more importantly, allowed the tying run to score.
The very next batter, Joseph Caprece, hit the very next pitch into right field where it dropped right inside the foul line for a double that would clear the bases and give the Aviators a 4-2 lead.
The Jr Ducks did not quit after this late game meltdown. They put runners on second and third with one out and Nicholas Colon grounded out to short, scoring a run to cut the lead to one. In the process, he also moved the tying run up 90 feet with two outs and a chance to tie the game.
During the next at bat, Derek Delarosa took advantage of a passed ball and made a dash for the plate. He made it home without a play and tied the score at 4-4.
In the bottom of the 7th, the Aviators threatened to win the game with runners on first and second with two outs. Cole Wood made a great play in the hole at short to get the runner heading for second to keep the Aviators off the board and secure the tie game as the 2 hour time limit was reached.
It was a shame that we didn’t get to see extra innings in this contest but this was still a great game that both teams arguably deserved to win.
