Central Amherst 'AAA' Cardinals win close games

The Central Amherst "AAA" Cardinals played two games in two days, narrowly defeating each opponent by one run. The games were played on May 25 and May 26.

Cardinals 9, Red Sox 8

Down 8-2, the Red Sox rallied for six runs in the last inning on timely hits by Jacob Zarzecki, Christopher Multerer, and Austin Martin. Devon Florczak and Joshua Menegaux each scored two runs for the Red Sox in the contest.

Tied at 8-8, the Cardinals' Adam Merkle led off the inning with a walk. Free passes for Tony Regan, Andrew Boccio, and Austin Ballard sealed the victory for the Cardinals. Merkle's run proved to be the game winner.

Dante Merrill recorded his first multiple hit game, going 2 for 3 with a single and a double good for four RBIs. Boccio had a double and triple good for two RBIs. Jack Quinlivan and Peter Byrne combined for two hits and three runs scored.

Cardinals 13, Phillies 12

The Cardinals faced the Phillies for the first time this season.

The Phillies jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning, sparked by a double from Christopher Monin. The Cardinals rallied for six runs in the second off doubles by Peter Byrne and MJ Morris.

The Phillies countered with six runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Dathan Lee singled and Emilee Foster, Joseph Suk, Joe Foster and Monin walked.

With the score 13-12 and the Phillies up for last at-bat, Cardinals pitcher Jack Quinlivan struck out the side, giving the Cardinals their fourth win of the season.

The Cardinals' August Howell and Peter Byrne each scored two runs and Joe Montalbano drove in a run and scored a run.

'AA Sr.' baseball

Yankees 16, Tigers 10

The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, led by a two-RBI smash by Ryan Staggs. Sam Lobuzzetta pitched a strong inning for the Yankees, collecting two strikeouts.

The Yankees stormed right back to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the inning. Jonathan Zarzecki, Jonathan Spina, and Lobuzzetta hit back-to-back-to-back singles and all went on to score. Marcellus Cooper added an RBI single to give the Yankees the lead. Staggs made a nice catch of Tommy Gioia's pop fly to keep the Yankees from adding to their lead.

Joe Miller started out the second inning strong, pitching for the Yankees and retiring the first two batters he faced. He had some help from a fine play by Cooper, who fielded a grounder to second and threw the ball to Alyssa Helak for the force at first.

The Tigers wouldn't quit as Kyle Blenman, Noah Reinhart, and Staggs had consecutive base hits to add three more runs to their total.

The Yankees added three runs of their own to maintain their one-run lead. Miller led off with a single, Jimmy Featherstone walked, and Zarzecki added another single to load the bases. Spina then hit a hard grounder to Tigers pitcher Cameron Ciesielski, who scooped it up and tossed it to Blenman at the plate to force the runner coming from third. Gioia added an RBI single to make the score 7-6 after two.

Spina pitched a strong third inning for the Yankees, getting three strikeouts, but the Tigers still managed to score two runs on a single by Blenman and a double by Staggs.

The Yankees added five runs in the bottom of the third to make the score 12-8. The Tigers were limited to two runs in the bottom of the fourth due in part to Gioia's terrific pitching, adding three more strikeouts to his total.

The Yankees added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Cooper's leadoff single.

Tigers 11, Red Sox 0

Behind the pitching of Cam Ciesielski (six strikeouts), Ian Snyder (five strikeouts), and Kyle Blenman (three strikeouts), the Tigers shut out the Red Sox.

The Tigers capitalized on walks to Ciesielski, Jake Maley, Noeh Reinhart, and Ryan Staggs with singles by Snyder and Tyler Probst to build up a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Walks to Derek Alford, Dakota Davis, and Blenman loaded the bases in the third and a Ciesielski single drove in another run. Three more runs came in making the score 9-0 at the end of three.

In the fifth, a triple by Reinhart drove in two more runs. Pitching then took over in holding the Red Sox scoreless. Bo Stroud, with a stellar game behind the plate, led the Red Sox with three hits.

'AAA' baseball

Cardinals 10, Red Sox 7

The Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning off singles by Peter Byrne, Tony Regan, Andrew Boccio, Jack Quinlivan, Joe Montalbano, Austin Ballard, and M.J. Morris.

Cardinals starting pitcher Tony Regan only needed four pitches to retire the Red Sox for their first at-bat. Jacob Zarcecki hit a hard grounder to Boccio at shortstop who fired to Quinlivan at first base for the first out. Regan helped his own cause on a grounder from Amanda Helak, making the throw to first base himself for the second out. The inning ended on a line drive off Christopher Multerer's bat when Cardinals third baseman Dante Merrill snared the shot for the third out.

The Red Sox got on the scoreboard in the second with a leadoff double by Nicholas Gioia followed by a walk from Joshua Meneguax and a single by Jackson Coe.

The Cardinals added two more in the third. Boccio led off with a double on a scorching shot deep to right center. A free pass for Quinlivan and singles by Ballard and Morris gave the Cardinals a 6-2 lead after three innings. Quinlivan foiled the Red Sox in the third and fourth innings, facing only eight batters and striking out four.

The Cardinals' Byrne and Boccio each doubled and scored in the fourth. Ballard led off the Cardinals' fifth with a towering hit to deep straightaway center that was ruled a double after it bounced over the fence. Morris and Merrill followed with singles, earning the Cardinals two more insurance runs after the fifth.

With the Cardinals leading 10-2, the Red Sox threatened to tie in the bottom of the sixth, scoring five runs sparked by a double from Christopher Moulterer, a triple by Nicholas Gioia, and singles by Joshua Menegaux and Rocky Canna, but the Cardinals' defense held on to preserve the win in a well-played contest.

'Major' baseball

Orioles 15, Cubs 5

A balance hitting attack enabled the Orioles to overcome a tough Cubs team in a game much closer than the final score.

Airic Thornton led the Orioles with a 3 for 3 day that included two singles and a double. Eric Ruh, CJ Westcott, Andrew Pierino and John Barden all contributed two hits each. George Zimmermann forced a runner at second with a strong throw from center field.

Pierino pitched two scoreless innings and picked a runner off third to end the fourth inning. Nick Hillebrand, Tom Springer, Michael Spina and Colin Gibson were solid in the field.

For the Cubs, Madison Maley flashed the leather in the field and picked a runner off first base while behind the plate. Lucas Fromen led the Cubs offense with two solid hits in two plate appearances.