Michael’s Comes Back from Hiatus with a W.
Michael’s took the field against Coccia on Saturday in the 3 game of the season series. Michael’s has been productive against Coccia so far this year, but was concerned what 2 weeks off of baseball would do to their bats and arms.
The bats were not a problem for Michael’s early, as they batted first. Kaiden Guzman started things off with a 2-0 line drive single into left field. Ethan Hung got Guzman over with his single to the 3rd baseman. Ryan Ross singled to the pitcher and got the scoring started as Kaiden Guzman scored from second. Hung and Ross both got an extra base on the errant throw. Liam Joubert was up next, and hit one into the gap between short and 3rd to get the ball to the left fielder for a 2 RBI double. Hunter Aiello was next and walked his way to first base, putting runners at first and second for Carmelo Aguirre. Melo delivered in a big way, lining the third pitch he saw past the right fielder down the line for a double. Joubert and Aiello both scored, but because of the 4 run inning limit, only Joubert would count on the score board and for Aguirre’s RBI total.
Nick was up first for Coccia and took a page out of Guzman’s book with his lead off single. Dimitrios Vlachos was next, he hit a rocket grounder to the hot corner, Ryan Ross didn’t field it cleanly but made up for the bobble with a strong throw to Kaiden Guzman who was covering the bag at second for the fielders choice first out. With 2 outs, the clean up hitter was to the plate, he poked a ball over the shoulder of Ross at third base, but as the ball was falling fading into foul territory, Ross flipped his head from over his left shoulder to his right, snagging the ball in a Willie Mays-esque over the should grab, sliding down to help secure it. It was one of the nicest plays you will see at any level of baseball, and both teams and sets of fans were in awe.
The second inning looked like the first for Michael’s, with one out, Luke Lundholm singled to get the rally going and got to second base on botched throw. James Copell moved Luke to third with his infield single. Jaxon Tanelli singled hard to score Lundholm. Copell ran the bases hard as did Tanelli who found themselves on second and third when all was said and done. Pat Auteri got his first RBI of the season grounding the ball to the first baseman. He was out, but Copell scored, so it was a nice sacrifice for Auteri. That put Michael’s at the top of their order with 2 outs and two runs having crossed the plate with a runner (Tanelli). Guzman showed Tanelli the way home with his ground ball single to short. Ethan Hung got his second hit of the day. It would be scored a single but Hung and Guzman went two bases each on the throw. Ryan Ross called inning when he singled into left to score Guzman and end the second inning on runs. The score was now 8-0 with the kids taking the mound.
RJ DeMauro started things off in the second with a single. He scored when Josediah put the ball in play and got himself to 2nd base. After a quick out, Christian Thom moved Josediah to third with his single. An 0-2 single from Tommy McDonough cut the lead to 6 before the inning ended with a 8-2 deficit
Dylan Chavez was on the hill for Coccia to be the first kid to pitch in the game, to say Chavez cooled off the bats for Michael’s would be an understatement. The Michael’s hitters made him labor a little bit, but it was 3 up and 3 down for Chavez who struck out the side, getting 2 of the three batters looking.
Ryan Ross took the mound for Michael’s and had 6 runs of breathing room. He needed all 6 but had flashes of brilliance. Things started great for Ross, he struck out the first batter on 3 pitches looking. Meech turned on the first pitch he saw and hit it hard to Aiello who was playing 3rd for the inning. Aiello’s throw was late and Meech beat it out. The opposing pitcher, Chavez helped his cause with his single, that scored Meech and got himself to 2nd thanks to a rough fielding decision by Michael’s. Dylan Chavez stole 3rd on the next pitch before Ross hit Vinny DiToto to get him to first base. With runners at the corners and now a 5 run lead, Ross was able to strike out the next two kids he faced. The score was now 8-3
Chavez was almost as effective for his second inning of work. He did face one extra batter than he had to. He did that because he hit Luke Lundholm with the pitch. Luke stole his way to third, but Chavez finished the frame with 3 more strike outs, bringing his total to 6 on the day. All three of these strike outs had the batters looking.
The 2 weeks off started to show for Michael’s as Ross lost the zone a bit in the 4th. Matthew walked, and stole second. Christian Thom walked as Matthew stole 3rd. Thom stole 2nd while McDonough was issued the free pass to load the bases. Trent walked in a run as did Jayce, making the score 8-5. Kaiden Guzman came on in relief with the bases loaded. Guzman was throwing strikes, and Nick singled in 2 runs to end the inning with a 1 run ball game.
The managers hoped to extend the kids pitching by allowing them to start the 5th inning. They decided the kids could continue to pitch as long as they don’t walk 3 straight batters. Chavez said no problem there striking out the first batter he faced. Kaiden Guzman grounded the ball into left for a single. Guzman stole his way over to third, but that brought up Ryan Ross with the runner on 3rd and 2 outs. Ross worked a 5 pitch walk to extend the inning. Liam Joubert singled to score Guzman and Ross and Joubert advanced a base on the throw putting 2 men in scoring position. Hunter Aiello walked to extend the inning to load the bases back up. Melo Aguirre was hit by a pitch to get a run in the hard way. Luca Stisi got another run to cross the plate with his walk. Luke Lundholm ended the inning on runs with his bases loaded RBI single. Those RBIs by Stisi and Lundholm would prove to be crucial insurance runs for Michael’s.
Guzman started things off for Michael’s but because of the previously mentioned rules, was pulled to return things to coach pitch when Meech, Dylan and Vinny loaded the bases on walks. RJ delivered big for Coccia with a 2 RBI single to center field that cut the score down to 12-9. Josediah got the 10th run in for Coccia with his single, making it 12-10. However, Michael’s gloves in the field settled some. There were 2 straight ground outs to Ryan Ross who took the two fielder’s choice 5Us before the side and the game was ended on strikes.
In two of the three games between Michael’s and Coccia were decided by a combined 3 runs.
Michael’s will be taking on MDPC down at the Rec Center on Tuesday Nigh, while Coccia takes on Frank’s GMC the same night.
#lyndhurst #lyndhurstnj #lyndhurstlittleleague #lyndhurstbaseball #lyndhurstlittleleagueminors2022