Central Amherst
'AA Sr.' Yankees' pitching backs win over Orioles

The Central Amherst "AA Sr." Yankees beat the Orioles, 7-1, on June 2 backed by strong pitching.

Sam Lobuzzetta got things started for the Yankees in the first inning with a single. Tommy Gioia added another single and Marcellus Cooper blasted a double to score Lobuzzetta.

In the bottom of the inning, Gabby Lasher hit a double off of pitcher Jonathan Spina, but that was all the offense the Orioles could muster. Spina went on to strike out back-to-back batters and end the inning by catching a pop fly hit to the mound.

The Orioles got some strong pitching from Brian Zapfel, striking out the side in the top of the second, giving him six strikeouts for the game.

The strong pitching continued in the bottom of the inning with Lobuzzetta striking out three of the five batters he faced to keep the score at 1-0.

In the top of the third, Spina and Gioia both contributed singles, but both runners were stranded as the Orioles maintained their strong pitching. Alyssa Helak kept the Orioles scoreless, facing five batters and striking out three.

The Yankees added three runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by an RBI single by Spina. Gioia then shut down the Orioles in the bottom half of the inning, striking out three consecutive Oriole batters.

The Yankees added three more insurance runs in the last inning with Gioia and Cooper providing the spark with back-to-back singles.

The Orioles added a run in the bottom of the inning to make the score 7-1, and Yankees pitcher Joe Miller then shut them down, striking out the last two batters.

Yankees 11, Cardinals 5

The Yankees started the game strong with Tommy Gioia striking out the first three Cardinal batters he faced.

The Yankees added four runs to give them a 4-0 lead after one. Marcellus Cooper provided the offensive spark with an RBI single.

The Cardinals got one run back in the second on singles from William OConnor and Clare Lyons. Alyssa Helak pitched a strong inning for the Yankees, striking out three Cardinals.

The Yankees added to their lead in the second with a single by Jonathan Spina and two walks to Jonathan Zarzecki and Jimmy Featherstone. With the bases loaded, Gioia sent a hit up the middle for a single, knocking in two runs. Cooper then followed with another RBI single to make the score 7-1 after two innings.

Joe Miller hit a hard grounder between the pitcher and first base but a nice defensive play by Michael Walsh, who fielded it and fired it over to Adam Stasiewicz, beat the runner just in time.

The Cardinals added another run in the top of the third. Alex Rodriguez made a nice defensive play for the Yankees, tracking down a grounder at third and stepping on the base for the first out of the inning.

Spina finished the inning strong, striking out the (((penultimate))) batter and catching a pop-up at the mound for the final out.

The Cardinals held the Yankees scoreless in the bottom of the inning to keep the score at 7-2. Sam Ouzel pitched a strong inning for the Yankees, keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard and striking out two of the five batters he faced. He received some help from another nice defensive play from Rodriguez who fielded a grounder hit to shallow left field and fired it over to Spina on second for a force out.

The Yankees added one run in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by Lobuzzetta, who blasted a double up the middle, and Gioia, who followed up with an RBI single.

Clark Mazzio provided a spark for the Cardinals in the final inning, starting off a rally with a single. The Cardinals added three runs to their total.

The Yankees matched those three runs in the bottom of the inning highlighted by a single by Rodriguez, and two RBI base hits by Spina and Lobuzzetta.

The Cardinals finished the inning on a nice defensive play when Walsh grabbed a grounder at the mound and tossed it over to Connor Larson at first base for the final out of the inning.

Yankees 7, Cubs 6

The Yankees jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning.

The two defensive highlights of the inning both came off the glove of Yankee Jonathan Spina. He fielded a short grounder and raced home, beating the runner coming from third to get the first out of the inning. Later in the inning, Spina fielded a hot grounder at the pitcher's mound and tossed it over to Sam Lobuzzetta at first base to end the inning.

The Yankees added one run in the second inning but it would've been more if not for a nice defensive play by the Cubs' Max Marko, who grabbed a grounder at the mound and fired it over to Liam Sullivan for the third out of the inning.

The Cubs tightened up the game in the third inning, striking out three straight batters. They added five runs to tie the score at 6-6. Offensive highlights for the Cubs included a single by Marko and an RBI base hit from Jeb Hare.

The last inning began with Alex Kracker getting to first base via walk. Jimmy Featherstone and Jonathan Zarzecki also walked to load the bases. Lobuzzetta then hit an RBI single to drive in the go-ahead run.

The Cubs threatened to tie it up in the bottom of the inning but Tommy Gioia struck out three of the final four batters to preserve the Yankee win.

Cubs 13, Tigers 5

The Cubs beat the Tigers, 13-5.

Cubs pitcher Sammy Pieri started on the mound and after walking the first three batters, she settled in and struck out the next two.

The Tigers scored two runs on the next two walks. Cubs' first baseman Liam Sullivan ended the inning after knocking down a hard ground ball by Kyle Blehman and beating him to first base.

The Cubs scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning after eight walks.

They held a 5-2 lead after the Tigers' second because of a spectacular defensive play by shortstop Matt Boccio. He caught a high fly ball then converted a double play by beating the runner back to second. The Cubs added another five runs in the bottom of the second after RBI hits by Stevie Vukelic and Reed Bihary.

In the top of the third, Tiger Noah Reinhart hit a towering shot to left field, which was fielded by Pieri. She threw the ball in to Bihary who relayed it to Vukelic, who tagged out the runner before reaching second. Tiger Tyler Probst followed with a single but could not advance after Boccio struck out the next two batters.

The Cubs' Pieri, Alex Cacciotti, and Zach Adams scored in the third to give the Cubs a 13-2 lead. Aubrey Rockoff took the mound for her first pitching debut in the fourth. The Tigers scored three runs until Rockoff found the strike zone and struck out two batters to end the game.

Zeb Hare and Max Marko also played well for the Cubs.

'AA Jr.'

Cardinals 24, Tigers 20 The Cardinals and Tigers came out slugging on a baseball-filled Saturday afternoon but it was the Cardinals' defense that came up huge in this first playoff win.

The Tiger bats were led by Michael O'Neill, who led off the game with a big blast to the outfield for a ground rule double. Zachary Clor and Christopher White both went 4 for 4 at the plate. Charlie Niesciur and Gina Fahey also had big doubles for the Tigers.

The Cardinals' great defensive plays started in the second inning when Eddie Anders made a stop on a hard ground ball and made the throw to Indigo Hare for an out at second base. Emma Rose Pyrak made a great catch on a fly ball to end the inning and hold the Tigers scoreless for the inning. Marissa Polino had a great stop on a ground ball to first for an out in the fourth to keep the defensive plays coming.

In the third, the Cardinals' defensive play of the year so far came in the form of an unbelievable triple play. With runners on first and second, Anders made a super catch on a hard hit line drive to start the play. Anders threw the ball to Jack Vanderhorst at second base to get the second out who tagged the runner coming from first for the third out to quickly put an end to a scoreless Tigers inning.

The Cardinals were really crushing the ball which helped them put the most runs on the board in one game. Jacob Weinstein went long with two doubles and finished 4 for 4. Doubles to the outfield were also hit by Connor Vincent (4 for 4, game-winning RBI) and Chris Wittmann (4 for 4, three RBIs). Lauren Reinhardt slugged 4 for 4 at the plate, producing three RBIs. Cameron Kiefer also batted home three RBIs, going 3 for 4 to help put the Cardinals on top and clinch a playoff victory for the Cardinals.

'Major' baseball

Orioles 16, Yankees 10

The Yankees jumped to a quick 3-1 lead in the first inning on consecutive hits by Evan Thielman, Jake Alessandra, Ben Morina, and Robert Rummings.

Alex Pizzuto made some fine plays on the defensive side for the Yankees. The Orioles exploded with seven runs in the top of the second to take a 8-3 lead on hits by Andrew Pierino, Michael Soina, Colin Gibson, Eric Ruh, CJ Westcott, Nick Hillebrand, and George Zimmermann.

The Yankees answered with two in the home half on a nice double to right by Morgan Nagy. The Orioles' Tom Springer answered by crushing a ball to the wall for a stand-up double.

The Orioles added five more in the fourth and held off a late Yankee rally for a 16-10 victory. Ruh and Zimmermann had three hits apiece while Pierino and Westcott added four each.

Airic Thornton was steady with the glove in the field. Robert Rummings led the Yankees offense, going 3 for 3. Morina and Alessandra (triple/double) also had multi-hits in trying to rally their team.