by Matthew Cataruzolo
Massapequa, NY — The Sharks squared off against Freedom Baseball at Plainedge Park in an 11u matinee showdown.
What began as a pitcher’s duel, developed into a nail biter that saw neither team emerge victorious.
Andrew Campon took the mound for the Sharks against the visiting Freedom. Campon avoided trouble after surrendering two singles to Nico Hendrickson and Jack McAllister.
Hendrickson was on the bump for the Freedom and dealt a quick one-two-three inning.
Joe Lentini opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with an inside-the-park home run to put the Freedom up 1-0. In an early hole, the Sharks came to bat looking to answer back. Hendrickson kept the Sharks scoreless through two and a half innings, while the Freedom piled on two more runs courtesy of an RBI double by Christian Schwan, followed by Vinny Trotta stealing home.
Ayush Dharia put the Sharks on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning, bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of the Freedom.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the sharks narrowed the deficit. New Freedom pitcher Ben Stamoulis came on in relief to try and maintain the Freedom’s lead.
After Logan Fisher lined out to the second baseman, Joe Connolly came to the plate and ripped an inside-the-park home run.
With the score now 3-2 in favor of the Freedom, the two relievers dueled to try and secure a win for their team. Joe Connolly threw two scoreless innings, striking out four and putting his team in a position to take advantage.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Stamoulis left the game after loading the bases. Freedom reliever Jack McAllister came in to try and control the damage. McAllister issued a bases loaded walk to Logan Fisher and the score was tied 3-3.
Heading to extra innings, each team had one more chance to walk it off. Connolly issued a one-two-three top of the seventh, and McAllister stranded a man on first to end the game resulting in a 3-3 draw.
