by Brian Honka
Post game interview with Jr.Ducks South coach’s Cammeran Lopez and Joe Ortiz pic.twitter.com/h8rAWFrwn7
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 23, 2022
The LI Storm took on the Jr. Ducks South in a 13U Boys of Summer Fall League DH.
Game one saw Lucas Chatterton pitch for the Storm and Brandon McLanghlin pitch for the Ducks.
The Ducks would get runners in scoring position in the first, but Lucas Chatterton would calm down and strike out the next 3 batters with good pitch execution.
The Storm would take the lead after a Zach Fabus walk to lead off the inning who took second base on the next pitch. Kieran Bunnanno would hit a ground ball back to the pitcher who rushed the throw to the first baseman and threw it out of play allowing the run to score.
Lucas Chatterton would continue to hit his sports and paint the corners adding 2 more strikeouts in the 2nd inning.
The Storm would have bases loaded in the second but a strikeout and a ball that deflected off the pitcher and recovered by the shortstop for an out at first would hold the score at 1-0.
The Ducks would once again get runners in scoring position but fail to get them in, in the top of the third inning thanks to a nice play from the right fielder who throws a bullet to first to get the final out of the inning.
The Storm would add to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Kieran Bunnanno would hit a single up the middle and the ball would roll up the center fielder’s arm and go past him allowing 2 runs to come into score making the score 3-0. Drake Donaldson would have a great bases-loaded at-bat which ended in a HBP. Gavin Rosenzweig would hit a single to right center which scored 2 more runs for the storm making the score 6-0 at the end of 3 innings.
Brendon Mahoney would work a walk in the 4th inning for the Storm and would use his speed to take second base and third base on back-to-back pitches and would later score on a passed ball to give the storm a 7-0 lead.
Lucas Chatterton would get 2 more strikeouts in the 5th inning giving him a total of 8 for the game.
Kieran Bunnanno would get hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the 5th inning and would steal second on a ball in the dirt. Thomas Hoy would move him to 3rd with a groundball fielder’s choice. Bunnanno would score on a passed ball to end the game via run rule for the Storm.
Game 2 saw Brendan Mahoney of the Storm take on Max Gambuto of the Ducks.
The Storm would jump out to a 4-0 lead with patient at-bat after patient at-bat as they worked 5 walks in the inning and scored 2 runs on passed balls and 2 more on wild pitches.
Coming off the field the Ducks coaches talked to the players and said the right things it woke the kids up. They would get 2 runs back in the bottom of the first inning thanks to the Storm playing with the infield back with a runner on third with a 4-0 lead allowing a run to score on a groundball and a fly ball that got lost in the gray skies by the first baseman allowed another run to cross making it a 4-2 game at the end of the first inning.
The Storm would get bases loaded in the second but failed to score thanks to a strikeout and a flyout to the first baseman.
The Ducks would get another run in the second to cut the deficit to 4-3 thanks to a Nate Krakaur using his speed to beat out a throw from the second baseman with a runner on third.
The Storm would get the run right back thanks to an error making the score 5-3.
The Storm would make a pitching change and bring in Zach Fabus. The Ducks would take pitch after pitch as each pitch was outside of the zone. The Ducks would work 5 consecutive walks which would tie the game at 5. The Storm would make another pitching change and the Ducks would continue to be relaxed and selective at the plate as a wild pitch would give them a 6-5 lead. The Ducks would extend their lead on a Tyler single up the middle that scored 2 runs making it 8-5. The Ducks would add another run in the inning on a passed ball giving them a 9-5 lead at the end of 3 innings.
With time running out the Storm would go 1-2-3 to end the game and the teams would split the 2 games.
