Central Amherst
'AA Sr.' Yankees defeat Cubs, 16-9

The Central Amherst "AA Sr." Yankees jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning and defeated the Cubs, 16-9, on Thursday, May 24.

Marcellus Cooper led the offense with an RBI single and Tommy Gioia pitched a terrific first inning, facing four batters and striking out three.

In the second, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Featherstone, Jonathan Zarzecki, Jonathan Spina, and Sam Lobuzzetta all scored for the Yankees to give them a 10-run lead.

The Cubs came back to score three runs in the bottom of the second. Cole Gleichenhaus and Aubrey Rockoff walked to lead off the inning and Zeb Hare loaded the bases with a short single. Matthew Boccio and Reed Bihary added RBI singles to make the score 10-3.

Spina pitched strong for the Yankees, striking out two to keep the Cubs from adding to their total. The Yankees added four more runs, sparked by hits from Rodriguez and Gioia.

The Cubs kept battling, doubling their run total to six in the third inning. Lobuzzetta made a nice stop of a bouncer hit back to the pitcher's mound. He stabbed the ball and tossed it over to Gioia on first for the first out of the inning. Lobuzzetta struck out two of the last three batters to keep the Cubs from closing the gap further.

The Yankees tacked on two more insurance runs in the final inning, highlighted by Zarzecki's RBI single which knocked in Alex Kracker to give the Yankees their 16th run. Hare and Boccio singled in the Cubs' final inning, adding three more runs to make the final score 16-9.

Zarzecki pitched well for the Yankees, getting back-to-back strikeouts to stem the Cubs' comeback.

'Major' Baseball

Orioles 9, Dodgers 4

With some timely hitting and strong pitching performances by George Zimmermann, Andrew Pierino and Eric Ruh, the Orioles won 9-4.

Colin Gibson's leadoff single in the fourth helped spark a four-run outburst by the Orioles in the top stanza.

A perfect throw from Zimmermann in center field to cut down a runner at the plate stopped a Dodger rally in the bottom of the fourth.

The Orioles' CJ Westcott scorched a ball in the fifth for a stand-up double. Nick Hillebrand was spectacular behind the plate for the Orioles, throwing out two base stealers at second and tagging three runners out at home. Matthew Connolly pitched two strong innings, striking out four and Luke White contributed two nice base hits along with some nice glove work in the field for the Dodgers.

Orioles 15, Tigers 7

George Zimmermann's three hits helped power the Orioles to victory.

Also turning in multiple hit performances for the Orioles were John Barden, Eric Ruh, CJ Westcott, and Nick Hillebrand. Ruh, Westcott and Zimmermann reached base in all four plate appearances.

Westcott and Hillebrand turned in strong pitching outings for the Orioles. Airic Thornton made a nice play at shortstop in the first inning, taking away what looked like a sure Tiger hit up the middle.

The Tigers were led by Joey Insalaco and Stephen Ciocca, who had two hits each in trying to rally their team.