by Andrew Barbieri
Postgame interview with Aidan McCarthy who fired a no hitter today in game 1. @liboysofsummer pic.twitter.com/ZpiOjYIirm
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2023
LIB Prime Lodato picked up a pair of wins on Sunday morning at East Islip High School over Owls Baseball Club Welsh, winning 8-0 in Game 1 and 9-1 in Game 2 and improving their record to 4-0 in Boys of Summer 16u American Division play.
To start game 1, Prime got to work early in the top of the 1st. Kyle Schevrer led off the game with a walk on Owls starter Armani Smith and quickly swiped 2nd and 3rd on the first 2 pitches to Rob Valdez to get himself into scoring position. Valdez would groundout but it would allow Schevrer to score. With 2 outs, Prime generated another run after Dylan Tripi walked which was followed by a Matty Hayes double into Rightfield that would allow Tripi to score all the way from first.
With a lead before even going out to the mound, Aidan McCarthy from the moment he took the ball on the hill, pitched with a rhythm that kept Owls’ hitters off balance. McCarthy faced the minimum amount of batters through the first 3 innings of play while also striking out 5 in a row.
During the time of McCarthy’s great work pitching the ball, he also helped himself at the plate as well. He began the 2nd with a base hit up the middle and eventually scored on a single from Taylor Nitsch later in the inning to make it 3-0 Prime.
In the 3rd with 1 out, Ben Cohen walked and stole 2nd base, Tripi struck out but Hayes would reach on an error setting up 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. While Smith executed a 3rd to 1st pick off move that froze Hayes at 1st, it allowed Cohen to score. Hayes also found himself safe at 2nd to keep the inning alive. Ryan Buckhardt singled but Hayes would be held at 3rd, setting up 2 on for McCarthy who already was leaving his mark on the game. McCarthy would strike a ball down the left field line to the wall and drive in Hayes and Buckhardt which capped off a 3 run 3rd to make it 6-0 Prime.
Prime would add 2 more runs in the 4th via RBIs from Schevrer and Cohen and widen their lead to 8, but Owls Baseball would threaten in the bottom half of the 4th. A walk by Stewart Jamieson with 1 out would ruin McCarthy’s perfect game, then he would surrender free passes to Shane Mikos, and Sean Welsh to load the bases. But McCarthy would bounce back however to get the next 2 batters as he got Jose Duran to flyout and got his pitching counterpart Smith to strikeout to work his way out of trouble.
In the 5th, Prime was held scoreless at the plate for the first time in game 1. But with the 8 after 5 run rule in place, McCarthy completed an abbreviated no hitter by striking out Ronan Sepe to end the game. At the plate he went 2-2 with a walk and 2 RBIs and on the mound he went 5 innings, fanning 8, and only allowing 4 Owls batters to reach base all on walks.
Game 2
Final game 2: LIB Prime 9, Owls Baseball 1
Prime takes both games behind great pitching and plenty of offensive output. @liboysofsummer pic.twitter.com/aaSpwNMrI0— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2023
Owls Baseball looked to score early on Prime starter Andrew Dillon, as Prime did with 2 runs in the 1st in game 1. With an infield single from Mikos, he would get Owls Baseball on the board early taking 2nd on a steal and coming around later from a single to left by Smith who was hitting in the cleanup spot.
Prime countered against Mikos who got the ball in the 2nd game by hanging up 3 when the got to the plate. A liner from Hayes, off the glove of Duran at short plated 2 and from that point, Prime would never look back. Buckhardt followed with a single to score Hayes and make it 3-1.
RBI single from Kyle Schevrer is apart of a 4 run 2nd inning for Prime. 7-1 Prime after 2. pic.twitter.com/CjgTm6Lord
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 11, 2023
The lead would only grow in the 2nd this time it came from the bottom of the lineup. Dominic Santivasci reached on an error, Ryan Tullo walked and gave Prime another opportunity to get on the board. Dillon went down looking however the lineup got back to the top still with 2 on. Schevrer drove home Santivasci with a single, then Tullo scored on the 2nd error of the inning stemming from a Valdez at bat, Cohen found a hole that allowed Schevrer to score, and lastly Valdez crossed on a fielder’s choice from Tripi to make it 7-1.
Santivasci would pick up an RBI in the 3rd and Tripi would get his 2nd of the game in the 4th on another fielder’s choice to make it 9-1.
Dillon would settle in after conceding 1 run in the 1st to go 4 innings while racking up 3 punchouts. He was pulled in the 5th and Santivasci would conclude game 2. With only needing to get 3 outs to end the ballgame, Santivasci would hit 2 batters and walk another, but ultimately struck out 3 in his only inning of work, to finalize a 9-1 win.
LIB Prime Lodato has outscored its opponents now 31-2 while going 4-0 in league play as coach Chuck Lodato and his group look to continue their early success as the season progresses.
