Yankees Sweep NCLL Softball Majors Championship Finals

The Yankees completed their sweep of the series against the White Sox with an excellent performance to win the New City Little League Softball Majors Championship Finals and move on to the Tournament of Champions.

Both teams put up a great performance as they competed to win game two of the finals.  Unfortunately for the White Sox, the Yankees pulled ahead early 6-0 and defended their lead well throughout the game.   The White Sox never gave up though and scored a couple of runs later on, however, they were unable to recover from the early deficit at Strawtown Field in New City.

Despite the loss, White Sox head coach Bill Amatuzzo was proud of his team's performance in what they had accomplished this season and this game.  "We played well and lost to a better team," he said. "No one expected us to be here, but they played well and their best."

Starting pitchers for the White Sox and Yankees were #13 Anna Hennelly and #3 Sarah Brauer, respectively.  The Yankees swung with confidence to put themselves in a position to win it from the top of the first with four runs.  Contributing to this first inning offensive with singles were Guevarra, Brauer, Lauer, Majansky, Flynn, and Herskowitz with a triple.

The Yankees continued to build their lead in the second thanks in a large part to the heads-up base-running of #2 Arielle Salmon, who stole two bases on one at bat to put herself in scoring position.  #9 Sophia Giglio then brought her home with an RBI single.

By striking out the side in the bottom of the second, the Yankees got up to bat again with a 5-0 lead.  Keeping the momentum going, they brought home their final run of the game off a hit from #32 Sara Herskowitz.

Excellent pitching and fielding prevailed over difficult lineups for both teams as neither could score a run until the bottom fourth.  After walking three and allowing one hit, Brauer found herself in some trouble with only one more out to go.  After walking one run in, Brauer threw a bit of wild pitch which the catcher was unable to stop.  #10 Carly Amatuzzo hopped on the opportunity and hustled to make the score 6-2 with a sliding finish to get her there in the nick of time.

#1 Caroline Koch for the White Sox and #15 Reese Guevarra for the Yankees came in to relieve Hennelly and Bauer in the fifth.  With some excellent fielding from their teammates, both pitchers closed out the game without another run being scored.

For the Yankees, it was a true team effort that won them the game.  Brauer pitched an excellent game as she struck out six and allowed only two runs in four innings.  Guevarra completed the effort with three strikes, one hit, and a double play in two innings.  The Yankees excellent defense was supported by an exceptional lineup where each member is relied upon to contribute to the win.

"We had the right kids in the right slots and the game went steady as she goes," said Yankees head coach Mike Salmon. "It's the same lineup for every game, same story all season.  Everybody contributes so we've been able to manufacture walks out of players that really mattered and made them work to get the outs.  The White Sox played very good defense, hats off to them.  Most importantly, both teams played with the utmost sportsmanship and respect for each other to finish the series."

Though the White Sox had trouble hitting the Yankees pitching, they played hard and showed great fortitude as they never gave up despite the early deficit.  Their focus and determination allowed them to play a great defensive game worthy of a championship team.  They won as underdogs to get themselves into the finals and put up a great fight against a really tough opponent.  Though they do not go on to play in the Tournament of Champions, they can go home with memories of a truly inspiring season and the knowledge that they gave it their all to achieve outstanding results.

Congratulations to the Yankees, who go on to play Monday at 5:45 p.m. in the Tournament of Champions.