Mel Ott Racers speed past Riptide

The Mel Ott Racers defeated the Riptide, 9-3, in a recent "Minor" softball division game.

The Racers scored first when Melanie Izard crossed home plate. The Riptide came back with two runs of their own when Kelsey Gangi and Melanie Kindron came in. Izard scored again along with Marisa Cieri and Alana Zendano to take a 4-2 lead.

Some great defense by both teams in the third inning, including some great throws to home for the out, resulted with no scoring for either team.

In the top of the fourth, Izard scored again along with sluggers Alexa Archambault and Sarah Raimondi.

The Riptide came back strong in the fifth, loading the bases and scoring Meagan Reger, but were stopped by two great throws from Izard to Archambault.

To finish off the fifth, Cieri and Zendano both scored their second runs of the game. Racers Brianna Spence and Emma Burke continued their hitting streaks and Taylor Sinclair got on base twice. Katie Fortman, Analiese Piccillo, and Genny Boucher got on base once. On defense, Izard pitched three innings and struck out eight. Boucher pitched two innings and struck out five.

Archambault made two outs at first and Brianna Spence made two outs at catcher. Cieri made two great throws in a row from shortstop to second and shortstop to third. The Riptide's Gangi, Reger, and Kindron all went 2 for 3.

Katie Gengo and Makenna Weissenburg got on base once. Hidy Merrill, Emily Sacco, Hannah Feldman, and Kaliegh Abbarno all had great hits. Marie Padini got on base three times but was stranded at second twice and third once. Madeline Aronica had some great swings of the bat.

Force 13, Riptide 9

Strong starting pitching from Michelle Dachs sparked the Force to victory in the season opening game for both teams. Dachs did not allow a run and had four strikeouts in two innings.

The Riptide answered with strong pitching as well. Kelsey Gangi held the Force scoreless in the first.

The Force were ahead, 5-4, going into the fifth inning when Force sluggers Hannah Sheridan and Maddy Butler broke the game open with RBI base hits, knocking in three runs. Lauren Neudorf and Emma Hubert added base hits in the sixth, leading to a big five-run inning.

The Riptide staged a last inning rally with Melanie Kindron and Gangi scoring to make it close, but Force stopper Nicole Merrifield struck out the final batter with the bases loaded to close out the win.

Heat 11, Riptide 1

Jessica Strauss, Jenna Patterson, and Victoria Rigler combined for excellent pitching and defense as the Heat held the Riptide at bay.

Facing runners on in many innings, the girls were outstanding in keeping runners from scoring and had several strikeouts.

The Heat scored a season-high 11 runs for their third victory.

Force 12, Riptide 9

The Force, led by Hannah Sheridan's big bat, outslugged the Riptides.

The game was close early on as the Riptides' Meagan Reger tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the third inning with a bases loaded single that brought home Melanie Kindron.

The Force broke the game open in the bottom of the third when Sheridan hit a blast to left field, scoring Sandra Notaro and Beth Moran.

The Force continued the pressure in the fourth when consecutive hits by Sheridan and Madeline Butler resulted in three more Force runs.

The Riptide did their best to recover and rally in the sixth when runs by Kaliegh Abbarno and Hannah Feldman brought them within three.

Stellar fielding from Force pitcher Michelle Dachs resulted in a couple of groundouts to end the game.

'Major' baseball

Reds 8, Cardinals 4 PJ Blanch threw a two-hitter through five innings (73 pitches total) in the Reds' 8-4 win.

Nathan Andriatch had a sliding catch in left field to secure the two-hitter. Blanch had great support from his teammates throughout the night.

'AAA' baseball

Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 2

The Red Sox kept their perfect season going, recording their ninth win by beating the Blue Jays.

Cal Jackson was the starting and winning pitcher, throwing four shutout innings. Jackson also went 2 for 3 at the plate and scored three runs.

Dominick Cavaretta was 3 for 3 with a double and two runs scored. Mitch Daddario was one of the hitting stars as well, going 3 for 4 with a triple and three runs scored.

Jeff Becker closed out the game and provided solid plat at shortstop as well.

Cardinals 14, Yankees 10

The Mel Ott Cardinals banged out 15 hits to defeat the Yankees on Wednesday night.

The Yankees took an early 4-0 lead as the result of some walks and some sloppy defense but the Cardinals came charging back as they put eight runs on the board in the third to take the lead. They added four more runs in the fourth as they hammered out six straight hits in the inning.

The Yankees were led on defense by Justin Okun, who made some clutch plays at second base. Brad Thomas had three hits, including a home run, and Matt Pantera also chipped in with three hits. Brandon Pistner struck out four in two innings on the mound.

For the Cardinals, Brock Prizel and Andrew White both had three hits and drove in three runs. Trevor Wilson also added three RBIs while McQuaid Smythe and Taylor Sutherland both added a pair of hit for the Cardinals. Sam Cimato struck out four over two innings.

Cardinals 17, A's 4

In Mel Ott action on Saturday, the Cardinals kept their bats alive as they pounded out 17 hits in a win over the A's.

Noah DiPasquale took the mound in his first start of the season and he pitched well, giving up only four hits over three innings. McQuaid Smythe closed things out for the Cardinals with a perfect final inning that saw him make a highlight reel type diving play to go along with a pair of strikeouts.

The A's were led by Jeremy Schwab, who had a pair of hits including a home run. James Abbarno scored twice and James Janeczko had three strike outs in one inning of work.

The Cardinals' Evan Wysocki turned an unassisted double play in the second inning.

The Cardinals saw Trevor Wilson bang out a season-high four hits while

Taylor Sutherland added three hits and knocked in four runs. Ryan Burns and Smythe both scored three runs to lead the offense.

'AA' baseball

Reds 10, Dodgers 8

The Reds were led by A.J. Marinelli with two singles and two scoreless innings pitched. Brendan Irr also had a single and a double for the winners. The Dodgers were led by Bryan Giammichele with a single and double and Brian Wiktorowski also had a single and double.

'A' baseball

Yankees 9, Dodgers 1

The Yankees finally got their bats going as they improved to 4-2 on the season.

The game was highlighted by two triples by Michael Mazzara. Leslie Murphy had her first two hits of the season. Others with base hits were Roman Denz, Copper Heck, Joe Ciliento, CJ Falk, Corey Landel, and Devin Stecher.

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 2

Sam Schultz (hit, walk), Bam Ruggiero (hit, walk), and McKenzie Austin (two walks) provided the offense. Andre Torrico pitched two scoreless innings to keep the Blue Jays in check.

Red Sox 5, Mets 0

Leading the way for the Red Sox were Abel Tefera, Jacob Simmons, and Andre Torrico with two hits each and Joseph Torrillo and Dylan Kowalik with one base hit each. Giovanni Gilchrist pitched the last inning to complete the shutout for the Red Sox.