by Tucker Terranova
Tyler Wright discusses what worked for him at the plate in a 10-4 win for the Lightning. pic.twitter.com/7cAcrosS1n
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2024
The EYCB Memorial Day Clash opened up on Friday at Eisenhower Park kicked off with action in the 14u division. B1000 Ghost Iadevaio faced off against LI Lightning, both teams eager to start their weekends off right with a win.
Looking to take advantage of the nice weather and begin the tournament with a win, the Lightning came out swinging and took care of business, largely in thanks to a five-run 4th inning, en route to a 10-4 victory.
Ghost set the tone early in the top of the first inning. Consecutive singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases with one out. They took advantage of this opportunity, scoring the first run on a balk and adding another on a grounder to second base, jumping to an early 2-0 lead.
The Lightning seemed poised to score in the bottom of the second inning when Palladino singled and stole second, putting himself in scoring position with one out.
However, they were denied as Katawoisky induced consecutive groundouts, one to the shortstop and one to the catcher, preserving the 2-0 lead through two innings of play.
The bottom of the third provided another opportunity for the Lightning to get on the board, and this time they capitalized.
Tyler Wright opened the inning with a single and then stole both second and third. After Ghost walked the next batter, they suddenly faced runners on the corners with no outs.
After a throwing error on a back-pick attempt by the Ghost catcher, Wright advanced to score, putting the Lightning on the board.
They weren’t done yet, as Gioni crushed an RBI triple to tie the game at 2 apiece, then came around to score on an RBI groundout, giving the Lightning a 3-2 lead through three innings.
Looking to respond in the top of the fourth, Sisto capitalized on a leadoff walk to Byalick by ripping an RBI triple off the left-center field wall to even the score at 3. They added another run on a wild pitch, reclaiming a 4-3 lead.
RBI double makes it 10-4 Lightning pic.twitter.com/3NA54RdUKP
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 24, 2024
The bottom half of the fourth provided the difference for the Lightning. They added five to their total with two coming on the heels of Wright, who ripped a 2 RBI single down the line for his second hit of the day.
The Lightning added one in the fifth, which would be enough to wrap up a victory.
