The unexpected ruled the early evening air at Gatchell’s Park on June 20th as the #2 seeded Cubs upset the undefeated Pirates with an 8-1 win before the crowd gathered to watch the finals on Majors Field. Up and down the Cubs line-up, players delivered keys hits against power pitching, and in the field, the Cubs made the critical plays to quiet the Pirates otherwise high-scoring offense. Defensively, catcher Cam Janock impressed the fans with a heart-stopping basket catch at the backstop in the 6th while Dylan Chardon, using a different borrowed glove each inning, snagged a snowcone pop-up at third to make the improbable play. Dahlia Galante played a wicked first base and had a critical hit to the outfield, Henry ‘Gee-Zee” Segee vacuumed up ground balls at 2nd base, Brendan ’Willie’ Willett continued his assault in the lead-off role and caught a clean 2 innings to start the game. Dylan Leveroni smashed anything near or above the plate and James Maniaci brought his big bat to a big game with a hard hit to left while the ever steady Reid Tully provided masterful defense and offense in his leadership role. Just-in-time AA call-up Sami Loughlin contributed big time with a key hit in the first inning coupled with a defensive gem in center field in the bottom of the 6th. The Cubs quickly scored 3 runs in the first and a 5 in the 5th en route to the Victory. In his start, Cam Janock delivered a much-needed commanding 2 innings on the mound and turned the game over to the smooth and steady Cole Riskin who pitched four shutout innings, and supported his own efforts with two big hits and his third out catch in the bottom of the sixth to seal the win. The Cubs 2013 roster, which shrunk to just 9 in the last week of the season, consisted of Dylan Chardon, Dahlia Galante, Trevor Gilligan, Cam Janock, Dylan Leveroni, James Maniaci, Cole Riskin, Will Savage, Henry Segee, Reid Tully, Brendan Willett and coaches Gregg Riskin and Harry Janock.
