Sports
Braves Comeback to Take Little League World Series
Frank Pusateri scores winning run on wild pitch as Braves down Mariners, 8-7.
The Braves sure do have a flair for the dramatic.
After winning game one of the Merrick Little League World Series thanks to a walk-off home run by Frank Pusateri, the Braves found themselves in another walk-off opportunity yesterday, as they trailed by one run to the Mariners heading into the bottom of the sixth in a decisive game three at Lakeside School.
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Ryan Laclaustra drove in the tying run with a double, and then Pusateri scored the game winning run on a wild pitch to win the game 8-7 and give the Braves the boys majors World Series title.
"It was an exciting game," Braves coach Joe Pusateri said. "The Mariners are a very good team. It's tough to see them lose but obviously it's nice that our team won. These are a great group of kids and it's been a great year. It was a nice win."
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Fresh off a 10-0 game two victory to even the series at one, the Mariners continued their offensive prowess in their first at bat.
After Jake Gargiulo and Anthony Karp reached base with singles, Chris Hagerman drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly. The Mariners added two more runs off of RBI singles by Tom Block and Mickey Cianfrone to jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
The Mariners loaded the bases in the second, but Pusateri inserted William Weber in to pitch, and he got out of the jam with a strikeout.
"I was a little nervous," Weber said. "Some of those kids can hit really well. It was definitely a challenge to get through them."
The Braves broke through in the bottom of the second, as Evan Rothchild drove in their first run with a single, and Chris Nethaway scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 3-2.
In the top of third, the Mariners added three more. After Hagerman led off with a single, Bill Saloman drew a walk. Both runners eventually came around to score on wild pitches. The last run came on a RBI bloop single off the bat of David Aiello to make it 6-2.
"The boys played great all year," Mariners coach Ray Cianfrone said. "We really took it to the next level and improved all throughout the year. They played a great series and either team could have won this game. We played our hardest and I'm proud of all the boys."
The Braves wasted no time making a comeback, as they scored four runs in the bottom of third. Steven Molinaro and Ben Vitale began the inning with singles, and Ed Krzemski hit a single to drive them both in. Pusateri hit a double to score another, and Evan Biancardi drove in Pusateri with a single.
Through three innings, the teams found themselves knotted at six runs apiece.
The Mariners broke the tie in the top of the fifth, when Saloman hit a groundball fielder's choice that scored Karp to make it 7-6.
Saloman then came in to pitch in the bottom half of the fifth, and proceeded to strike out the side.
After the Mariners failed to score in the top of the sixth, the Braves came to bat needing one run to tie and two to win.
A leadoff walk by Krzemski got things rolling, and Pusateri followed with a single. Lacuastra then hit a double to score Krzemski and put the winning run on third base with no outs.
After Biancardi struck out for the first out of the inning, The Mariners intentionally walked Nethaway. This brought Rothchild to the plate with the opportunity to win it. With the count 0-2, the next pitch was in the dirt and eluded the catcher, and Pusateri scored on the wild pitch to win the game.
"It feels amazing to win," Rothchild said. "It was scary coming up at the end. I had a 1-2 count but then Frank bailed me out by scoring on the wild pitch to win the game."
It was a wonderful effort put forth by both teams, and the Mariners players were still holding their heads up high after the game.
"They played a better game than us when it comes down to it," Jack Beicher said. "We had a great season with some ups and some downs. We were hot in the playoffs and we did great, but today we didn't play our best and they're the winners."
But the Braves came away as the champions, which means not only receiving a first place trophy, but bragging rights as well.
"It feels really good to win because I've lost three in a row," Max Vitale said. "And now I've finally won one for once. It feels great because now I get to gloat."
The next stop for the champion Braves?
Milos Pizzeria for a celebratory dinner. It may not be Disney World, but it's hard to argue with free pizza.
