NCLL Yankees Conclude Great Softball Season in Close First-Round Loss

The New City Little League Yankees lost to the Nanuet Marlins, 2-3, in an exciting first round softball game of  the Tournament of Champions.

The Yankees played hard and well against a tough opponent in a game that went scoreless until the top of the fourth.  Yankees starting pitcher #3 Sarah Brauer pitched a great game, walking in one run in the bottom of the fifth for her only run allowed in five innings pitched.  #15 Reese Guevarra closed the game for the Yankees in the bottom of the sixth.  She pitched well as usual, though the Marlins were able to score the tying and winning runs off a hard-hit walk-off two RBI double from #2 Jackie Vormittag.

#14 Caitlin Flynn hit the ball well and hard when it mattered to come up with the only two RBIs of the game for the Yankees.  She put her team on the board in the top of the fourth and brought home their second run of the game in the top of the sixth for dual RBI singles.  In what turned out to be a largely defensive game, both teams supported the excellent effort from their pitchers with heads-up fielding and few errors.

By the bottom of the third, the count was still 0-0.  With runners on second and third, the Yankees got their final out of the inning by throwing out #13 Carley Davin as she nearly stole home on a brilliant play at the plate.  This brought them up to bat in the top of the fourth.  With bases loaded, Flynn came up to bat for the Yankees.  She was safe at first after the first baseman failed to make the catch, which allowed Brauer to take home.  Marlins pitcher #10 Rebecca Ferro then struck out the next batter to close the inning.

The Marlins kept their composure and recovered from this to put themselves in a position to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.  After allowing one hit and walking two to load the bases, Brauer walked home the tying run of the game.  She then buckled down to strike out the final batter of the inning.  This brought the Yankees up to bat.  With one out and a runner in scoring position, Flynn connected to hit an infield fly that landed just in front of the short stop to put the Yankees back in the lead.  Ferro was then able to get the next two batters out to close the inning.

In a high-pressure situation like this, the Yankees were confident in relying on the excellent relief pitching of #15 Reese Guevarra to secure their win.  She got the first batter out, fielding a grounder to throw her out at first.  She then struck out the next batter swinging to bring up Davin, who got on base with a single to left.  Davin stole two bases to put herself in scoring position as Guevarra walked the next batter.  This brought up Vormittag, who hit a soaring shot over the right fielder's head.  This landed for a walk-off two RBI double as the Marlins won the game, 2-3.

Though the Yankees do not continue on in the Tournament of Champions, they played a great game against a talented opponent that was as exciting and close as it gets.  Both teams showed that they really wanted the win as they played to such a high level worthy of a championship game. 

As they return home, the Yankees one and all can be proud of a great season that left them with the top record in the NCLL Majors, a NCLL Championship title, and a great effort that led to a near win in the Tournament of Champions.