by Andy Smith
Final score 5-5. Tie Game pic.twitter.com/2zIHNPLscs
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 1, 2023
This was a hard-fought game that finished in a stalemate.
The Bayside Yankees could not muster much in the opening frame. Right fielder Anthony Verde tallied their first hit with a two-out single, followed by a base-on-balls by first baseman Nick Grigonis, but they were unable to score.
In the bottom half of the frame, Phenom got on the board first thanks to great base running by Dexter Muether who reached via a single, stole second, and then made it to home on a passed ball.
Muether started the game for Phenom and delivered five innings of three-run ball. Along the way, he would strike out three batters with one caught looking.
Jesse Baldassare would spark the Bayside bats with a lead-off walk in the second. Bayside eventually evened the score in the second thanks to an RBI groundout by second baseman Kyle Peponakis, and starting pitcher Kinkela would give them their first lead of the day with an RBI single.
Phenom would respond right away by evening the score in the second half of the frame courtesy of shortstop Nick Tartamella who scored on a defensive error.
The tug of war would continue as Bayside grabbed the lead in the third inning. Shortstop Hirschfield got things started with a lead-off base-on-balls. With Cruz batting, Hirschfield stole second and scored off a Cruz single, giving Bayside the lead at 3-2.
Anthony Verde would take the mound for Bayside in the third and throw a shutout inning to keep Bayside in front.
Both teams held scores during the fourth and fifth innings. Dexter Muether would find his stride during this stretch by not allowing a baserunner and registering his three strikeouts. The Phenom offense would get on base but could not make much of it.
In the sixth, Bayside would increase their lead to three thanks to two RBIs, one each by Verde and Arvello. Hirschfield would score his second run of the day as well.
Tie game! Phenom fights hard in the 6th to tie it at 5 thanks to an inside the park homerun by # 12 Luke S pic.twitter.com/Y3T5eBMjAd
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 1, 2023
Down 5-2, Phenom was unafraid and rose to the challenge in their final inning. Center fielder Cooper Scheriff kickstarted the offense with a lead-off single. With Alex Brand batting, Sheriff would steal second and eventually score on a ball put in play by Brand to lower the Bayside lead to two runs. Nick Tartamella would follow that up with a single to bring Luke Scala to the plate as the tying run. Scala would hit an inside-the-park homerun to tie the game at five a piece.
However, Bayside was able to stop the bleeding and ended it in a stalemate
