by Trevor Dugan
Middle Country Park played host to a 14u Boys of Summer fall league doubleheader Sunday morning between New York Longhorns Brown-Eriring and B1 Ghost Diaz Black.
The 14u NY Longhorns Brown-Eiring spoke to Axcess after their doubleheader @liboysofsummer pic.twitter.com/1IXdIwkKih
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 20, 2024
GAME ONE
The doubleheader began bright and early at 9:00 A.M.
RHP Liam Byrne took the ball to start for the Longhorns, while B1 went with RHP Will Lordi. Each starter got off to a solid start, pitching two scoreless innings apiece to begin the game. Both pitchers seemed to be pitching to contact and trusting the fielders behind them.
Neither offense could break through until the bottom of the third, when Longhorns catcher Vincenzo Abbatielo strode to the plate with two runners on and two out. After a patient at-bat, Abbatiello laced a line drive down the left field line to plate two runners and give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead.
Following the offensive outburst by the Longhorns, Byrne continued his impressive work on the mound. He fired a 1-2-3 shutdown inning in the top of the fourth, getting his team’s bats right back to work.
The bottom of the fourth saw three more runs come across for the Longhorns. A single by Tommy Scocca and two walks loaded the bases for Michael Frangus. He came through in a big way, clearing the bases with a double to left field to extend the Longhorn lead to 5-0. His three RBI were a team high in game one of the doubleheader.
Following the big hit by Frangus, Maddox Garcia entered to pitch in relief for B1. He would pitch the remainder of the game, allowing no runs and striking out four.
Facing a five run deficit in the seventh and final inning, B1 staged a rally, scoring two runs to avoid being shutout by Byrne and the Longhorns. Their rally came up short however as Byrne finished the job, needing less than 100 pitches for an efficient complete game victory.
The Longhorns won game one by a final score of 5-2.
GAME TWO
Andrew Maisano records the save for the Longhorns as they sweep their doubleheader over B1
FINAL: Longhorns 2 – B1 0 pic.twitter.com/qjKvbo8r4T
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 20, 2024
In game two of this Boys of Summer doubleheader, runs were hard to come by as both starting pitchers had everything working from the first pitch onwards. B1 started Brandon Eisenstein, and James Slavin took the mound for the Longhorns.
After a scoreless first inning, the Longhorns went ahead on another RBI by Vincenzo Abbatiello in the top of the second. This accounted for half the offense in the entire game, as just one more run would score after Abbatiello’s third RBI of the doubleheader.
The Longhorns came close to scoring again in the second inning, when Matt Munoz hit a flyout to center field with a runner on third. As B1 OF Maddox Garcia caught the fly ball, Abbatiello attempted to tag up and score, but he was easily caught by an excellent throw by Garcia. A fantastic play by the B1 outfielder, but the Longhorns still led 1-0 by the end of the inning.
Both starters were flawless for the remainder of their respective appearances. Slavin pitched five scoreless innings for the Longhorns, allowing just two hits and striking out two batters. Eisenstein pitched a solid five innings as well, yielding only one run and recording three strikeouts.
Paul Winter relieved Eisenstein for B1 after the fifth inning. Slavin was relieved by Andrew Maisano. Both relievers pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
The Longhorns were able to scratch across an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Jack Goldfeder scored on a throwing error as he tried to steal third base. Maisano fired a scoreless bottom of the seventh for the Longhorns, finishing off the shutout and earning a six out save to sweep the doubleheader over B1.
The NY Longhorns Brown-Eriring improve to 5-3 on the Fall season.
