by Gabe Zoda
Spoke with Coach Matt after the Titans Win pic.twitter.com/MuwgRs9N54
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 6, 2023
The 9u Titans took on the Nassau/ Queens Lions on Saturday afternoon. The Titans would end up victorious using timely and well placed hits, as well as solid defense in to lift themselves over the Lions 8-6.
It wasn’t easy for the Titans though as the Lions would get on the scoreboard first in the top of the first. AJ Greene led off the game by walking. Brandon Leung and Lucas Appelbaum followed up Greene with two singles to load up the bases for Nicky Pergola. Pergola would work a walk to score the game’s first run.
Titans would answer immediately with a run of their own in the bottom half of the first. This would be the start of an amazing day at the park for Dylan Mcfazden. In his first at bat in the game, he lifted one to right field, the ball went right off the glove of the right fielder and continued to roll all the way too the fence. Mcfazden rounded the bases to drive himself in and score the first run for the Titans.
Final:
Titans: 8
Lions: 6 pic.twitter.com/bO1L0vUyWg— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 6, 2023
After a defensive inning in which Jonathan Yang struck out the side, the Titans were ready to put another run on the board. They would do it in grand fashion in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Leadoff batter Jimmy Carileo scorched a ball right by the LF. He hit the jets and the Lions defense had no chance of catching him. Carileo put the Titans ahead by a score of 2-1 after the second inning.
The Lions were not going to back down easily though and they responded immediately in the top of the 3rd. Nick George would get the offense started on a one-out walk. George would steal both 2nd and 3rd, putting him in prime scoring position for Brandon Leung with 2 outs. Leung drove one to left field for an RBI single that tied up the ballgame.
The bottom of the 3rd is when the Titans took control of this ballgame. They were tired of the back and forth nature of the game and wanted to put their foot down on offense. They would do exactly that in the bottom of the fourth scoring 6 runs. The barrage started with the leadoff batter, Evan Robinson who hit a triple to get things going in the inning. Robinson would be knocked in by Gabe Lettieri who singled to the right side. Next was Nash Walkley who singled to put two on base for Landon Borak.
Borak drove in the second and third runs of the inning with a 2B to right center field. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Dylan Mcfazden once again. This time he ripped a ball perfectly in between the center and left fielders and once it got passed them, there was no stopping Mcfazden from going around the bases for his 2nd home run of the day. That homer would make the score 7-2, but they weren’t done just yet.
After the HR, Jonathan Yang would help himself in the offensive side of things with a walk and a couple of stolen bases. Ryan Bird would drive him in with two outs in the inning to complete the fury of runs.
With the score at 8-2, the Lions would have to make a big comeback. But they were prepared for it and we’re going to try their hardest to make it happen.
This comeback attempt would get started in the top of the 5th. Oil Marcic reached base on a fielder’s choice, but stole two bases and scored the 3rd run for the Lions. Nick George drove in Marcic on a single to the right side.
Then in the 6th inning, the Lions really made it interesting by scoring 3 runs but weren’t able to make the comeback before the Titans closed it out by the final score of 8-6.
