by John Sullivan
Post game interview with Sean Lay of the NBNM Rebels pic.twitter.com/xuY8gumCan
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
The matchup between the Long Island Bandits vs the North Bellmore North Merrick Rebels was a highly anticipated one, as both teams came into the game with a record of 1-0.
Sean Lay set the tone on the mound for the Rebels in the top of first by retiring the side in order, with help from his catcher, Collin Jewels, who threw out a runner at second to end the inning.
End of 1: Rebels explode for 13 runs in the bottom of the first, with RBI hits from Grayson Radigan, Evan Ettinger, and Nate Williamson pic.twitter.com/nrpupNI0OL
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 25, 2024
The bottom of the first was a long and eventful one because the Rebels offense completely exploded for a huge first inning. Logan Kute got the inning started with a first pitch double and after a strikeout to the second batter, the Rebels offense responded with an RBI single from Sean Lay, a single from Collin Jewels, and a 2 RBI single from Grayson Radigan. But, the Rebels weren’t close to done yet. After Evan Ettinger smoked an RBI single up the middle, the next batter, Nate Williamson jumped on a fastball for a bases clearing three RBI triple. Still not satisfied, the Rebels continued to hit with two RBI singles from both Kute and Andrew Mulvey. The cherry on top for the inning was a 2-run inside the park homer hit into right field by Sean Lay. The inning saw a total of 13 runs across the board and 16 plate appearances for the Rebels!
Sean Lay took the mound with a ton of confidence in the second, knowing he had a massive 13-run lead to work with. Lay used the confidence to put up a scoreless inning where he induced a lazy pop up to third, and two strikeouts via the swing.
Despite a massive lead, the Rebels offense didn’t seem complacent in the bottom half of the second. After Gio Ciancarrelli and Evan Ettinger singled to start the inning, Nate Williamson worked a walk to make it bases loaded and no outs for the Rebels. Ryan Medici took advantage of the situation for the Rebels by lacing a 2 RBI double in the gap to extend the lead to 15-0. The next batter, Zach Balnis, hit a hard grounder to shortstop for an RBI.
The Rebels went into the third inning with a very comfortable 16-0 lead and Nate Williamson coming in relief to try and secure the Mercy rule victory. Williamson did his best Mariano Rivera impression and had a dominant 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts to secure the 16-0 win for the Rebels, who moved to 2-0 and now have a run differential of 27-2 in the tournament.
After the game, we spoke with starting pitcher Sean Lay, who discussed how the Rebels big first inning helped his confidence on the mound.
