by Nick Cipolla
Postgame interview with Doug Davies after LIB Select swept tonight’s doubleheader over LI Storm pic.twitter.com/1Y7wRynKz3
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 24, 2022
Game 1:
In the first game of a doubleheader between LIB Select and LI Storm, we were treated to some exciting baseball as a pair of late inning rallies helped LIB Select claim victory in game 1.
The action started early as Doug Davies came up in the top of the first with a man on third and two outs. Davies stayed back on an outside fastball and drove it the other way into right field for a 2 out RBI Single to make it a 1-0 LIB Select lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, Davies worked a 1-2-3 inning on the mound and remained perfect through his first two innings of work.
LI Storm would have a big third inning at the bat. Stephen Coffey led off the bottom half of the inning with a double and later scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly to center by Tyler Gorman. Patrick Carew broke the tie with a 2-run bloop single to right to make it a 3-1 game in favor of LI Storm.
After the Carew Single, both pitchers settled in and traded zeros over the next couple of innings. Doug Davies would not allow another run until the 7th inning and his opposition, Xander Palmer, went 5 innings of efficient baseball where he was getting a healthy amount of weak contact and managing LIB Selects contact.
In the 6th inning, Doug Davies struck again with the stick as he crushed a triple to deep center field to make it a 3-2 game. Later in the inning, the bases were loaded with two outs and up came Michael Duda. Duda was able to work the count full and worked a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 3.
LIB Select would take the lead in the 7th inning. After a leadoff double by Brian Sanchez, Dylan Cantwell hits an RBI Single down the third base line to give Select a 4-3 lead, their first lead since the third inning. LIB Select tacked on two more runs via bases-loaded walks by Vincent McCartney and Michael Duda to make it 6-3.
In the bottom of the 7th, LI Storm was able to rally a little bit and get one more run in on a sac fly by Patrick Flanagan to make it 6-4. On the play James Kass made an incredible diving catch in centerfield to save possibly another run or two crossing the plate, and helping LIB and Doug Davies close out this game.
Final: LI Storm: 2 LIB Select: 9
Here is the final out of tonight’s doubleheader pic.twitter.com/XMePSq1Iai
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) July 24, 2022
Game 2:
Game 2 was all LIB Select and they only trailed when they came to bat for the first time in the bottom of the first in this one.
The reason they were behind early on was because of a solo home run by Joshua Cohen that landed way over the left field fence giving LI Storm a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
LIB Select got four runs across in their first two times to bat in game 2. Doug Davies drew a bases loaded walk in the first to tie the game at 1 and Cian Cantwell gave LIB Select the lead on a bases loaded RBI fielder’s choice where the third baseman stepped on third and was unable to get the runner trying to score from third. The other two runs came in the second inning on Doug Davies second triple of the double header, this time a two run triple to make it 4-1.
LI Storm would get a run back on an RBI Single by Patrick Carew in the third inning but that would be all the scoring LI Storm would have in this one.
In the third inning, LIB Select made it 5-2 on a throwing error by the pitcher on a sac bunt attempt by Michael Duda. Dylan Cantwell made it 7-2 with a two run double to left field.
LIB was able to get two more runs in the 4th inning. Cian Cantwell scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2 and a throwing error on the catcher allowed another run to score to make it 9-2, which ended up being the final score of game two as LIB Select shut down LI Storm in the top of the 5th and the game ended due to the 1 hour 50 minute time limit.
