by Jacob Infald
On the afternoon of June 22nd, the Smithtown Bulls took on the Sharks Baseball Academy in a highly-anticipated doubleheader in the East Coast 10u Summer Showdown National division. In two games, that seemingly were the polar opposites of one another, the Bulls won them both, 18-11 and 3-2 as they extend their winning streak to six wins to start the season, and the Sharks suffer their first two defeats of the summer.
Game 1
Coach Tom Viggiani and the player of the game Hunter Falcone. Coach Viggiani speaks on Hunter’s great all around performance and his teams fierce offensive output. pic.twitter.com/0M4paasVlj
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 22, 2024
Game one started out looking like it was going to end in a blowout win in favor of the Sharks. They scored a whopping nine runs in the top half of the first inning. This barrage of runs was highlighted by a two RBI double by MIchael Aguilo, an inside-the-park grand slam by Joe Murray, and a two RBI double by Nicky Pergola.
Max Insana got the start on the mound for the Sharks. In the bottom of the first inning, he was able to carry over the team’s early offensive success and he retired the side, throwing a scoreless first inning.
Luke Potucek got the start for the Bulls. Despite allowing nine runs in the first inning he settled in nicely, showing great composure for a young pitcher. Potucek was able to shut down the Sharks in the second and third innings, and allowed his team a chance to win the game.
The Bulls certainly capitalized on Potucek’s bounce back on the mound. In the bottom of the second their bats began to catch fire. After a couple errors and walks, the Bulls were set up with the bases loaded, in a now 9-1 game. This is when the team began to string some hits together.
Liam Swinson hit an RBI single up the middle to make it a 9-2 game. This was followed by two more RBIs from Hunter Falcone, as he hit a ball up the middle that would net two more runs. After the following hitter, Matt Viggiani worked a walk to reload the bases for the Bulls, Dom Ciminiello put another ball right back up the middle, and Swinson and Falcone scored to make it a 9-6 game in favor of the Sharks.
Insana was able to settle in after this and only allowed one more run courtesy of an error, but the Bulls had now cut the deficit to two runs, and after two innings of play the Sharks led 9-7.
Bulls manager Tom Viggiani said that the coaches told the players that they still had a chance to win and needed to play hard despite the lopsided first inning. The fight in his squad was certainly evident in this second inning rally.
“We told them, basically hang in there, game’s not over, there’s a lot of baseball to play and we just chipped away every inning,” Viggiani said.
And the Bulls battle all the way back and take the lead. Ciminiello hits a blast to left that gets past the left fielder and turns in to a two-run inside the park home run! The Bulls now lead 10-9. pic.twitter.com/nwZdjzLUXc
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 22, 2024
After Potucek retired the side in the third with the help of some great defense in center field by Falcone, the Bulls took the lead in the bottom half of the inning. A sacrifice fly from Viggiani plated Grayson Dick. Next, Ciminiello hit a blast to left that got by the left fielder. Ciminiello touched them all, and his two-run, inside-the-park home run gave the Bulls a 10-9 lead.
In the fourth, Falcone relieved Potucek and continued to play great defense this time on the mound. With a runner on first and one out, Evan Chow hit what looked to be trouble, however, Falcone picked the ball on one hop, and turned a rare 1-3-6 double play to get out of the inning.
Coach Viggiani said that Falcone played great today, but that these types of performances should not be a surprise from the Bulls’ star player.
“I’m super proud of him,” Viggiani said. “He’s one of the fastest outfielders I’ve ever seen out there and he came in to relieve us and put the game away for us.”
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulls put the game on ice with another offensive onslaught. A great bunt from Rory Hyne, followed by a single from Zach Chaimowitz set the Bulls offense up for a big inning. Swinson singled in Hyne, followed by a double from Falcone which plated Chaimowitz and Swinson gave the Bulls a 13-9 lead.
Falcone scored on a Viggiani single. Nick Gentile hit a triple to right field, scoring Viggiani and Ciminiello who had reached on a double. The following two runs came courtesy of a Bryce Lieberman RBI double and an RBI single from Hyne who had led the inning off.
Despite allowing a two-run double by Aguilo, Falcone was able to retire the side in the fifth to secure the 18-11 win for the Bulls in game one of the doubleheader.
Game 2
Bryce Lieberman is the player of the game for the second game. Here he is with Coach Viggiani. Coach discussed Lieberman’s great game on the mound and another great win for his squad. pic.twitter.com/tFZZzQc7nL
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 22, 2024
The second game of the afternoon began quite differently from the first. Through the first half of the contest, zero runs had been scored by either side. Both starting pitchers were on their games early on and it showed.
For the Sharks, Matt Manukian was dominant. He struck out six batters through three innings In the third inning he was helped by Rob Pflanz who made two great plays in center field.
On the other side, Lieberman was on the mound for the Bulls. He allowed only two unearned runs over five innings.
Coach Viggiani said that Lieberman’s ability to throw strikes and hit his spots allowed him to be successful out on the mound today.
“He was solid out there,” Viggiani said. “He was throwing strikes, he was hitting the spots that we needed him to hit…”
The action began in the top of the fourth inning. After hitting a bloop single over the second baseman, Ciminiello displayed tremendous hustle as he legged out a leadoff double. Two batters later, with Ciminiello now on third Liebermen hit a ground out to third that was able to score Ciminiello and the Bulls were on the board. After a single by Potucek and a walk from Hyne, Aguilo relieved Manukian, and was able to get out of the inning without allowing anymore runs.
The Sharks were able to bounce back in the bottom of the frame. An error and walk led to an RBI single from Kyle Lee. The following batter Avery Filacchione hit a ground out that scored Aguilo and the Sharks were now in front 2-1.
However, this lead was short lived as the Bulls responded right away. A beautiful bunt down the third base line from Dick got the Bulls started. A Falcone single and Viggiani walk would load the bases up for Ciminiello who once again came through, hitting a single up the middle to score Dick.
The go ahead run came courtesy of an RBI fielder’s choice from Gentile and the Bulls were back in front by a score of 3-2.
This is what the score would remain for the rest of the game. Lieberman threw a scoreless fifth and Cimminiello came on for the save in the sixth and retired the side and the Bulls won game two.
Coach Viggiani said that these two wins against a great Sharks team is just another stepping stone for his young ball club as they continue to work together the rest of the summer.
“We’re just going to keep working, practicing a couple times a week, doubleheaders on the weekends, just getting our work in,” Viggiani said.
The Bulls next two contests will be a doubleheader against the Long Island Storm on Sunday, June 30th, while the Sharks look to bounce back on Wednesday, June 26th against the B1 Ghost-Richards.
