by Andrew Connors
Here’s Coach Craig Ross after the Championship win. pic.twitter.com/TCioDJ5N9n
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 11, 2021
Columbus Day and baseball tournaments are as good of a mix as anything you can think of. That was no different this year, as there was a great showdown between the 15u Batting 1.000 Seminoles-Ross and the LI Red Dogs. The two teams have had their fair share of battles in the past, so this championship game was bound to be an entertaining one for all in attendance.
Jake Settanni was the starting pitcher for the Seminoles, while Tommy Rizzuto was the starter for the Red Dogs. Both pitchers poured everything they had into their performances today as they both put on strong showings. Rizzuto pitched 5 complete innings, allowing three runs on 6 hits while also tallying four strikeouts. Ryan Lau would come on in to relieve Rizzuto in the 6th inning. Lau continued the trend of strong pitching performances, as he did not allow any runs or hits for the remainder of the game.
As for Settanni, his performance was nothing short of dominant. While he didn’t rack up the strikeouts as you would think when you hear the word dominant, Settanni recognized the umpire’s zone early on in the game and took advantage of it, peppering the outside corner from the first pitch of the game to the last. Settanni pitched a complete game, going all 7 innings while allowing two runs on 8 hits.
While this game was definitely more of a pitching and defensive type of game, there were still some key performers on the offensive side of things. Despite only scoring 5 combined runs, there were plenty of times where either pitcher had to work their way out of a jam.
For the Red Dogs, Tyler Giordano and Peter Coschignano swung hot bats but it wasn’t enough to get them the win. However, their performances were both impressive in their own right. Giordano went 2-for-3 with two hard-hit singles, one of which led to him scoring the Red Dogs’ opening run. As for Coschignano, he came off the bench in the third inning as a pinch runner and stayed in the game for the rest of the way. He finished his day going 2-for-2 with two singles and a stolen base.
Courtney Jordan and Alex Bonanno both had strong performances at the plate in the Seminoles victory. Jordan went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, and his first one brought in the first run for the Seminoles in the first inning, setting the tone early. Bonanno, the runner who scored on Jordan’s single in the first, went 1-for-2 but reached base three times. He was hit by a pitch in the first, singled and walked later on in the game and would eventually score for a second time.
Courtney Jordan gets the Seminoles out to a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single. pic.twitter.com/yWenlFlxnm
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 11, 2021
While both teams fought and clawed as much as they could to take home the trophy, the Seminoles were able to scrape together their decisive run in the 6th inning and they bunkered down to stop the Red Dogs from tying it up again. It truly seemed like the game could have gone either way from the first pitch of the game up until the very last one. Both teams deserve credit for how they played in this championship game, but ultimately it was the Seminoles who came out victorious.
The Red Dogs get one runner on but he gets doubled up on a lineout to short to end the game! The B1000 Seminoles-Ross are your 15u @EcybTournaments Champions! pic.twitter.com/rXwm5jaNDy
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 11, 2021
