by Andrew Barbieri
FINAL: LI Mustangs 4, LI Bolts 3.
Ethan Meinkeil walks it off on a suspenseful pinch hit RBI Fielder’s Choice. @liboysofsummer pic.twitter.com/qy3XY7obg7— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 21, 2023
When these 2 teams faced off on June 14th, the Bolts won that meeting at East Islip High School, 8-6, over the Mustangs. Six Days later at PAL Stadium, the Mustangs got their revenge by winning in dramatic fashion 4-3.
With there being 7 combined runs, it can be assumed that this game was not necessarily a pitcher’s duel, but Mustangs starter Owen Killeen and Bolts starter Ezekiel Hernandez combined for 20 strikeouts and only gave up runs in 4 of the 14 combined innings they pitched.
To start, both pitchers were dominant on the mound. Eight of their combined 20 strikeouts came in the first 2 innings. Both had 4 to their name at that point but the Bolts, during their 2nd time around the Bolts order would get to Killeen.
End of 2 still scoreless. Bolts Pitcher Ezekiel Hernandez and Mustangs Pitcher Owen Killeen both have 4 strikeouts through 2 innings of work. pic.twitter.com/IO7kgK2uHH
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 20, 2023
In the 3rd inning, a 2 out rally would break the scoreless tie as Chase Filipe singled up the middle, Hernandez found a hole through the left side, and Aidan Holley lined a ball into center that allowed Filipe and Hernandez to score. Luke Granese kept the line moving with an RBI double to left center field to make it 3-0 Bolts. The Mustangs didn’t wait long to chip away. Connor Cavaliere walked, Caden Valinotti poked a single, and Justin Gomez loaded the bases after a long battle that resulted in a walk, which put the Mustangs in business. Hernandez then got a little wild and with a long backstop behind Granese, 2 runs scored without a ball being put in play. Hernandez preserved the lead nonetheless at the end of 3 by getting Killeen swinging.
The key to the Mustangs getting back into the game was their running on the basepaths, and Killeen’s ability to forget about his shaky 3rd inning. He got through the 4th easily. Eddie Michel led off the bottom half of the inning and reached on a walk, stole second, got to third on a balk, then scored on a pitch that went in and out of the glove of Granese to tie the game.
Hernandez would find his groove that he had earlier to keep the game at a stalemate. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate while batting cleanup. In the 5th he plugged the gap in left center with 1 out and would advance to third with 2 outs. Granese would walk to get 2 men on, or so it was thought. While leading off third, Hernandez extended his lead a little too far for Mike Bender behind the plate and he threw down to third, picking off Hernandez and concluding the inning.
Both lineups went in order in the 6th. With the game starting at around 6:00 PM, the game reached the 2-hour mark. Unexpectedly, the sprinklers on the warning track by the backstop at PAL Stadium turned on at 8:00 to add another element into a close, tense game. Play continued and once again with 2 outs as the Bolts threatened with Filipe at third. Hernandez at that point was 3-for-3, however he was outmatched by Killeen for the 1st time that evening and Killeen collected his 9th strikeout with none being bigger than the last as it meant at least a 3-3 draw against a team they lost to not even a week ago.
The Mustangs would take the momentum of the scoreless top of the 7th and seize the moment in the bottom of the 7th.
Mike Labitz walked which was followed by small ball from the next 2 batters. Bender would place a bunt perfectly on the grass to the left of the mound to reach base, and Vinny Girinionti would move the runners over on a sacrifice bunt. With the winning run 90 feet away, Ethan Meinkeil would get a pinch-hit opportunity. He would be the hero for the Mustangs as he grounded a ball hard to short. With the infield in, Brandon Rutlely came up firing to try and cut down Labriz who was running on contact. The play at the plate gave tons of suspense as Granese looked to have the ball with Labriz looking like he was beat to the plate. With them tangled up, it was hard for the home plate umpire to locate the ball which added more and more buildup to a pivotal call during the climax of the game. After a few seconds, which at the time felt like an eternity, the ball at some point fell out of the glove of Granese, giving Labriz and the Mustangs a 4-3 victory. Killeen, through a gutsy performance, earned a hard-fought victory on the mound by going the distance and having all 3 of his earned runs come in one inning.
“You just have to have a short-term memory.” He said after the game, something his teammates also put on display as they had to score 4 unanswered to overcome a 3-0 deficit to improve their record to 2-2 in Boys of Summer league play.
