by Jacob Infald
We spoke with Coach Pee and starting pitcher Dom Fiorello. Coach spoke about his team’s performance in the semis, and how they look to continue that en route to the chip. pic.twitter.com/gylJ97yYjD
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 10, 2024
It was certainly a great day to be a Bomber, as the Bombers Baseball club from Queens, dominated today’s postseason play in the East Coast Youth Baseball 9U American Summer Showdown Division, winning both games via run-rule. The first contest was a semifinal affair against a talented RVC Tigers squad that simply had no answer for the Bombers, as the Bombers won 10-0 in only four innings.
The Bombers were led by their starting pitcher Dom Fiorello. He did not allow a hit over four innings, as he struck out four and walked five en route to his complete game shutout.
Fiorello’s assistant coach, Coach Pee, had high praise for the young right-hander.
“We trust him everytime we put the ball in his hand,” Pee said. “He listens, always knows how to bounce back and trusts his teammates.”
Fiorello was able to get some run support early on, even contributing at the plate himself, proving that he is a two-way threat.
Tigers’ starter Owen St. John did not have it today. He struggled with command, walking the first three batters of the inning. Later in the inning, with Fiorello at the dish, St. John had already surrendered one run and the bases were currently loaded.
Fiorello would deliver, lifting a ball that would drop in shallow right field. Miles Dua and Cash Morales would score on the play, giving the Bombers an early 3-0 lead after one inning of play.
St. John continued to struggle with command in the second, walking the first two batters. However, this time he would settle down, retiring the following three batters to escape the inning. However, a groundout to the second baseman from Bombers’ first baseman Harvey Chen would plate another run and they led 4-0 after two innings of play.
In the top of the third, the Tigers looked to get a two-out rally going. Oliver Preston, Theo Ladd and Finley Palitz worked three consecutive walks, bringing St. John to the plate in a pivotal at-bat. Fiorello would bear down, forcing St. John to hit a ground ball to the right side, where Morales would gobble it up, and step on second base for the force out to escape the threat.
The Bombers were leading at this point, but it felt as if they were allowing the Tigers to stay in the game, as St. John was able to limit the damage over two rough innings. This would not be the case in the bottom of the third.
St. John walked the first four batters of the inning, allowing another run to score. The Tigers’ coaches had no choice but to go to the bullpen as they called on Ryan Arrante to get them out of trouble.
Arrante would strike out the first batter he faced. Unfortunately, an E6 off the bat of EJ Espinal would prove to be the blow that would suck the life out of the Tigers.
The Bombers now led 7-0, when Eytan Gall stepped to the plate, where he hit the ball to right field, that would plate two more runs for the Bombers. Gall would get to third on the play, advancing on throws. This would prove to be significant, as Gall was able to read a passed ball perfectly, coming in to score the 10th run, putting the Bombers in mercy-rule position.
Fiorello needed to fire a scoreless fourth to secure the victory for his squad. After a one-out hit batsmen and an E6, it looked like the Tigers may have one more rally in them.
Ultimately, they would not, as a popout followed by a ground ball to Gall at third would secure the victory for the Bombers.
And that’s the game. Nice play at third by Gall to secure the victory. Onto the championship now which will begin in approximately 30 minutes.
Bombers 10 – Tigers 0 pic.twitter.com/ud99p6pvGC— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 10, 2024
In a game with a lot of walks, and a seemingly tight strike zone for both teams, the Bombers were the ones who were able to win those close counts.
“…they know the counts, they know the situations…they know to be patient at the plate, just try to stay hunting,” Pee said.
This victory set the Bombers up for a matchup with Team Francisco Notorious 9 in the championship game 30 minutes later.
