Sudbury Little League Majors Roundup

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following was submitted by Paula Mackenzi.)

Cardinals 9, Royals 6 (5 innings)

The Cardinals held off a late Royals rally for the victory. The Royals’ offensive attack was led by Sam Winneg (3-3, RBI, RS), James Ensley (1B, RBI, RS), Ryan Cusick (SAC RBI). Braden O’Connell banged out a run-scoring double and Jake Mackenzi had the other Royals extra base hit with a double. Ethan Beatty, Jake Maillet and Drew Teitelbaum (RBI) all had solid base hits. Defensively, Maillet made a diving catch in left field, Drew Teitelbaum stopped a hard-hit ball from getting past him at second base, and a perfect heads-up play by starting pitcher Ryan Cusick and catcher Seamus Fagan tagged a sliding runner at home for an out. The Cardinals received an outstanding start from Jacob Pullen (3 IP, 6 Ks, 0 runs),  good middle relief from Jack Fletcher (1 1/3 IP, 2 Ks) and a great closing performance from Ben Hankey (2/3 IP, K) to end the Royals’ rally. Offensively, nine of the ten Cardinal starters reached base led by William Fletcher (3-run triple), Ben Hankey (2 1Bs, RS, RBI), Jacob Pullen (1B, BB, SB, RS), Kyle Smith (1B, 2 BB, SB, RS), Ivan Orup (1B, RBI) and Connor Lachman (1B, RBI, 2RS). Defensively the Cardinals were led by Jack Fletcher (2 POs, 2 assists), Ethan Wiesman (assist) and Conor Lee who made a great sliding catch in right field in the fifth for a key out.

Orioles 5, Giants 4

The Orioles edged the Giants in a well-played game. Giants’ pitchers Matt Cunningham, Andrew Guerra and Keith Schmelter held the Orioles to just one run on seven hits, recorded seven strikeouts and allowed only two walks in six innings. A perfectly executed defensive play by leftfielder Abram Wine, cutoff man Lucas Lisman and third baseman Sam Scribner who applied the tag to an Orioles runner at third who tried to stretch a double into a triple. Micheal Rodgrigues, Scribner, Guerra, Jack Carlson, Paul Forester and Schmelter each had a base hit and Owen Kinney had a double. The Orioles timely hitting was led by Harrison Reiter whose two-run single in the first scored Archie Stewart and Nate Nickerson.  Nickerson and Stewart both reached base safely three times. Adam Thomas (1B, 2B, RS) had two strikeouts and Haydn Herrema, Stewart and Alex Gullotti were solid on mound giving up only four runs in six innings.

Marlins 9, Rays 8

The Marlins gained the victory in a hard fought game against the Rays. Drew Dorsi and Kenneth Ho each reached base twice and scored two runs while Kevin Ewing played outstanding defense behind the plate. On the mound, Max Solomon struck out five batters, and Jonathan Vellom struck out three to close out the victory for the Marlins.  

The Rays received solid pitching from Stephen Brackett (3 IPs, 2 ERs, 3 Ks) and Tyler George (2 IPs, 5 ERs, K).  Great catches by Xan Ottenberg and Jake Titus helped end several Marlins’ rallies. Ottenberg and Brackett also combined to catch a Marlins runner attempting to steal home. Offensively, George (2 1Bs, SAC, 3 RBIs), Chris Reilly (3B, 2 RS, 2 SBs, RBI), Brackett (2B, 2 BBs, 2 RS, 2 SBs) and Brett Parker (2B, 1B, RS, RBI, 2 SBs)  led the charge.  

Athletics 16, Pirates 8 The A’s defeated the Pirates on strong pitching and solid offense. For the A's, Kunaal Verma (5Ks) gave up just one run in three innings, and helped his team offensively with a single, a double, and a triple. Jake Madden and Brendan Roche each reached base three times. Roche and William Stone each pitched great innings and combined for four strikeouts. The Pirates’ offense was powered by a home run from Jack Sorbo (HR, 1B, 3 RBIs), multiple hits from Brett Flanagan (2B, 1B), and Jack Reading (2 1Bs). Jake Erman, Matt Perricone, Andrew Sanderson, Nicholas Mitchell, and Joey Palmerino each contributed a base hit. Defensively, Sanderson picked off an A’s runner at first with a perfect throw to Perricone after a strikeout to complete an inning-ending double play. Shortstop Flanagan made a nice throw home to catcher Sanderson to cut down a runner trying to score.

Phillies 9, Rangers 3

The Phillies prevailed in a hard-fought game with the Rangers. The first three innings were dominated by the pitching performances of Rangers’ Tristan Wolf (3 IP, 1 hit and 1 ER) and Phillies’ Peter Rizzotti (3 IP, 1 ER and 6 Ks).  Back to back doubles by Rangers’ Chandler Katz and Michael Kossuth pushed across the team’s first run. The Phillies finally opened it up in the fourth inning with key hits by Alex Cannon and James Dillon.   Phillies’ pitchers Dominic Garzone, Dillon and Jack McKeon allowed only two earned runs in the final three innings to close out the victory. Aidan Rogers doubled and scored two runs for the Phillies.  The Rangers also got big defensive plays from Wolf, Kossuth, Katz, Alec Zaccardo and JB Clarance and key hits from Colin Garvin and David Lifson.

SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2012

Royals 11, Pirates 6

The Royals grabbed an early 5-0 lead and held off the Pirates for the victory. Eight of the Royals 10 players reached base safely at least once during the game and banged out 16 hits. Offensive contributors were James Ensley (4-4, 4 1Bs, RBI, 3 RS), Sam Winneg (3-4, 3 1Bs, 2 RS, RBI); Abby Volo (3-3, 2 1Bs, RBI, RS); Ryan Cusick (3-3, 2 1Bs, 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 RS); Seamus Fagan (1-3, 1B, RBI); and Jake Mackenzi (2-3, 2 1Bs, 2 RBIs). Eight of the Royals 10 players reached base safely including the first five batters of the game who all scored. The Pirates scored twice in the third on back to back hits by Brett Flanagan (1B, RBI, RS) and Jack Sorbo (1B, RS), and added four more runs in fourth on key hits by Henry Warzecha (1B, RS) and Jack Reading (1B, RS). Jake Erman (RBI), Tate Ciccolo (RS) and Matt Perricone (RBI) also contributed to the offense. The Pirates’ defense combined for 12 solid plays in the field including a great attempt at a foul ball by Pirates catcher Andrew Sanderson in the first inning and a superb stretch by Erman manning first base for an out. For the Royals, starting pitcher Volo knocked down a line drive by Erman and recovered to make a great throw to Winneg at first for the out; Ensley made a great running shoestring catch in left field; Cusick dirt dived at shortstop to snag a hard-hit line drive; and Drew Teitelbaum made a great pop fly catch at third base. Winneg relieved Volo in the second with a two-out, bases-loaded situation and threw three straight strikes to end the Pirates’ threat. Ethan Beatty effectively shut down the Pirates in the final two innings facing nine batters, allowed only three base runners and striking out four.

Rays 9, Cardinals 2

The Rays broke open a close game with five runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Cardinals. The Rays featured great pitching from Xan Ottenberg (3 IPs, 0 ERs, 4Ks), Jake Titus (2 IPs, 2 ERs, 5 Ks) and Ryan Barrera (1 IP, 0 ERs, K) and great defense. Chris Reilly made key plays at catcher throwing out a Cardinals’ runner at third on an attempted steal and an identical play to nail another runner at third to end the game. Rory Bordiuk made a key play at shortstop to squash a Cardinals’ scoring threat. On offense, Reilly (1B, 2B, 2 RS) got the Rays offense going along with switch hitting Tim Quirk (3 1Bs, SAC, RBI) and Tyler George (1B, 3B, 2 RBIs). The Cardinals got good pitching from William Fletcher (2 IP, 5Ks), Kyle Smith (3 IP, 6Ks) and Greer Fried.  At the plate, Jacob Pullen (2-3, 2 1Bs), Connor Lachman (1B, 2 SBs, 2 BB, RS) and Greer Fried (2B, 2 RBIs, 2 RS) lead the way for the Cardinals.

Giants 15, Rangers 6

The Giants offense scored a team hit 15 runs and banged out 15 hits to defeat the Rangers. Offensive leaders were Jack Carlson (2-3, 2 RBIs) who hit his first home run of the season, Lucas Lisman (3-3, 2 RBIs 3 runs scored) Andrew Guerra (3-4, 5 RBIs, 2 runs scored) and Keith Schmelter (2-3, 2B, 3 runs scored). Sam Scribner, Matt Cunningham, and Paul Forester each had a double. Michael Rodrigues contributed with a RBI single. Abram Wine (1-2, RS), delivered a solid performance at catcher, throwing a perfect strike to third basemen Paul Forester to nab a Rangers’ runner on an attempted steal, then teamed up with pitcher Lucas Lisman covering home to nail a runner at the plate to end a Rangers’ rally. The biggest highlight for the Rangers was a bases-clearing triple by Andrew Gigliotti on a line shot out to the left field fence. Joey Caloiero pitched two solid innings, had two hits and scored a run. JB Clarance and Alex Zaccardo provided solid pitching in relief.

Athletics 23, Phillies 15

The Athletics and Phillies scored 38 runs in an offensive slugfest but the A’s prevailed after taking the lead in the fourth inning and never looked back.Both teams played a close game for three innings, but the Phillies could not overcome the A’s seven-run fourth. Phillies’ offensive leaders were Liam Huston (3-4, 2 RBIs), Jack McKeon (2-4, 2 2Bs, 4 RS), James Dillon (4-5, 2B, 4 RS) and Ethan Benton (3-4, 4 RS). Jack Ginand also contributed at the plate for the Phillies with a rocket shot single to right and scored a run. For the A’s, Max Durante (4Ks), Jake Madden (1K), Ben Fasciano (5Ks) and Peter Lindblom (2Ks) pitched well. Victor Figueroa had a deep drive to center for a double, William Stone had four hits, and  Joseph Sziabowski, Brendan Roche, and Ben Fasciano each reached base five times. Sziabowski finished the game with a diving catch in foul territory.

FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2012

Athletics 11, Marlins 3

The A's defeated the Marlins on the strength of solid pitching and timely offense.  William Stone (6 Ks) and David Andrysiak (3 Ks) each pitched three strong innings for the A's, and each added two hits. Ben Fasciano drew five walks, Brendan Roche reached base safely four times and Joseph Sziabowksi (2 hits, 2 BB) and Peter Lindblom (3 hits) paced the A's offense. For the Marlins, Will Fraser had three hits, including a triple, and Thomas Palmer had a single and a double.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012

Rays 9, Giants 4

(no game summary available)

TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2012

Rangers 6, Cardinals 5

The Rangers rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth for a come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals. Sparking the late inning rally were key hits from Joey Caloiero who drove in two runs to tie the game, and Charlie Cavanaugh’s clutch game-winning base hit that drove in the go-ahead run for the Rangers’ walk-off victory. Chandler Katz pitched three outstanding innings allowing just one run and struck out seven batters. Cavanaugh and Tristan Wolf provided solid relief. For the Cardinals, Jacob Pullen (2 2/3 IP, 6 Ks, 2 runs), William Fletcher (1 1/3 P, 4 Ks) and Kyle Smith, who struck out the side in the fifth kept the Cardinals locked in a great pitching matchup. Greer Fried and Ethan Weisman lead the Cardinals fifth-inning rally with back-to-back doubles with two outs and Ben Hankey singled and scored in the sixth that gave the Cardinals a 5-2 lead.

MONDAY, May 7, 2012

Pirates 22, Orioles 11

In a battle of offenses, the Pirates prevailed in a victory over the Orioles. Leading the offensive attack for the Pirates was Jack Sorbo (1B, HR, 4 RBIs), whose home run blast ended up on Morse Road, outside of Upper Featherland Park. Adding multiple hits for the Pirates were Jake Erman, Jack Reading, and George Curry, while Matt Perricone, Brett Flanagan, Andrew Sanderson, and Joey Palmerino each contributed one hit. Henry Warzecha, Nicholas Mitchell and Tate Ciccolo all had multiple RBIs. On the mound, Perricone, Sorbo and Flanagan each allowed a scattering of Orioles’ runs. A key defensive play was made by Pirates’ first baseman Flanagan who dove to snag an infield pop fly for a key out and stave off another Orioles’ rally. The Orioles first five batters all reached base safely in the first inning. A.J. Cataldo hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot over the right center field fence. The Orioles also received multiple hits from Brendan Frain (2B, 3B, 4 RBIs), Adam Thomas (2 1Bs, 2 RS, SB), Archie Stewart (1B, 2 2B, 2 RBIs) and Harrison Reiter (1B, 2B, RS, SB).