by Gabe Zoda
Talked with Coach Dave and Charlie Logalbo after their win over Team Beast. pic.twitter.com/lVMToaID0B
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 15, 2023
Blue Collar Bulldogs’ 8-run second inning fueled a win in their first game of a double header against Team Beast early Saturday afternoon. This game was jam packed with action right from the first pitch with constant pressure from both sides and a reluctance to give in at any point from both sides.
This action started in the bottom of the first inning with the Bulldogs getting on the board first. Thomas Ondocin hit a leadoff single, then stole second and third to get himself in prime scoring position with no outs in the inning. After Ondocin, Leo Niland followed it up with a walk to give the Bulldogs a 1st and 3rd situation. They would perfectly execute a 1st and 3rd baserunning play to score the game’s first run.
Team Beast came right back at the Bulldogs with 2 runs of their own in the top of the second inning. Starting with Ollie Oring, who led off the inning with a walk. 3 more walks would come through in this inning from Jack Pieper, James Laggatola and Zach Sillman. Oring and Pieper would both come in to score on 2 wild pitches to give Beast a 2-1 lead after 1 and a half innings.
It was at this point in the game that the Bulldogs would decide to take the game into their own hands and really be extra determined at the plate to have good at bats every time. This mindset led to an 8-run explosion to make it a 9-2 game after two innings of play. This rally began with Nicholas Karstonis, who led off the inning with a single. The bases would then become loaded after walks by Gabriel Seabrooks and Frederick Cochran. It was at this point that Charlie Logalbo would plate the first run of the inning with an RBI single that scored Karstonis and the rest of the runners went station-to-station. Ondocin walked with the bases loaded to plate the second run and Jack Goldschmitt would do the same to score the third run of the inning. The big blow of this inning came off the bat of Lukas Kull. Kull smashed a ball to center field for a base clearing double to make it 7-2. A couple more runs came in on a couple errors. This 8-run inning was all the momentum and insurance that the Bulldogs needed to carry them through this game but Team Beast wasn’t going to make it easy for them.
Final /4
Blue Collar Bulldogs: 9
Team Beast: 7 pic.twitter.com/VyYO5uCFKT
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 15, 2023
In the top of the third, Team Beast was determined to make up as much ground as possible to give themselves a fighting chance. The approach was to not try and get all the runs back at once but to chip away and try and get there eventually. The top of the third showed step one of that multi-stepped process.
Team Beast would score 4 runs in this innings and it all started with 4 free passes. Micheal Arera, Bob McDonald, and Ronnie Ortega loaded up the bases which allowed Ethan Thomas’ free pass to work as an RBI. Bob McDonald then scored on a passed ball to make it 9-4 but they weren’t done just yet. That’s when Jack Pieper came to bat with two outs in the inning. Pieper ripped a single through the right side to score Ortega and Thomas to make it a 9-6 game.
Unfortunately for Team Beast, the time restriction came to play as the extra factor giving them only one more chance in the top of the fourth inning. They were able to plate one on a bases loaded walk to Ethan Thomas, but Charlie Logalbo for the Blue Collar Bulldogs took it one pitch at a time and was able to lock up the Beast offense and sealed the win for the Bulldogs with a final score of 9-7.
