Minor 'A' Cubs defeat Angels, Red Sox, White Sox

ALL-STARS - A collection of Lou Gehrig Minor "A" all-stars from the A's, Cubs, Nationals, Pirates and Yankees dodged Fourth of July rain drops to edge their fellow all-star competitors, 15-14, to win the Minor "A" all-star game. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: first row - Colin Peterson; second row - Dylan Kelly, Danny Wagner, Adam Pohrte, Michael Floccare, Bryan Sokolowski, Parker Melnyk; third row - Griffin Green, Luke Terry, Ryan Johnston, Nicholas Signore, Justin Konotopskyj, Adin Hilfstein, Noah Hutchins; fourth row - coaches Mark Terry, Roman Konotopskyj and Jerry Sokolowski.

The Lou Gehrig Minor Softball "A" Cubs recently picked up three victories.

Cubs 11, Angels 10

In what was the closest and most exciting game so far this season, the Cubs and Angels battled it out on Lou Gehrig Field No. 4 on June 11.

Lexi Skibitsky was a heavy hitter that day, sliding into third and home in her quest to score for her team. Samantha Mendelsohn and Olivia Rutkowski both pounded the ball into the outfield, and Kendyl Kratzer and Julianna Burkard both earned doubles.

Defensively, the Cubs were hot as well. In the bottom of the first, Mendelsohn, pitching, and Marissa Birzon, at shortstop, both made outs by firing throws to Skibitsky at first base.

In the second inning, shortstop Lisa Cicatello stopped the ball and threw it to Rutkowski, who was catching, for the out at home. In the third, Cicatello charged the ball at the pitcher and threw it to first base, where Kratzer made the out.

Other great defensive plays by the Cubs were made by Mendelsohn (solo out at first), Julianna Burkard (caught pop fly at third) and shortstop Jessica Searles to Skibitsky at second for an out.

The Angels had an awesome day at the plate. Ellie Garrity went 4 for 4 and Lexi Mulone hit 3 for 4 and scored three runs. In addition, Garrity and Mulone hit back-to-back doubles in the third inning.

Other heavy hitters were Megan Fish, who went 4 for 4 and scored three runs, and Jamie Zwink, who went 3 for 4 and scored one run.

Defensively, Morgan Simon, Margaret Niederpruem, Olivia Faracca, Garrity, Mulone and Fish all made great plays in the field to record outs. Garrity and Mulone teamed up to make a great out in the third when Garrity fielded the grounder at short and made the throw to Mulone at first to beat the runner.

Ultimately, the game came down to the bottom of the sixth. Birzon made all three outs, two by herself at first, and one by catching the toss from Mulone, who was pitching.

Cubs 21, Red Sox 4

The Cubs and Red Sox met for the second time on June 2, with the Cubs coming out on top, 21-4.

The Cubs' offensive charge was led by Lexi Skibitsky, who doubled in the top of the third inning, Gabby Miranda, who had a solid hit in the fourth, and Lisa Cicatello, who slammed the ball into the outfield in the fifth.

For the game, Skibitsky hit 4 for 5, Kendyl Kratzer went 3 for 4 and Samantha Mendelsohn and Marissa Birzon were 4 for 4 each.

Defensively, Cicatello at third, and Melanie Basile at second, made a great out in the first inning. Birzon made a great catch at shortstop in the third, followed by Skibitsky at third while catching a pop fly for the out. Skibitsky then made a nice stop in the bottom of the fourth while playing left center, and fired the ball to third baseman Samantha Mendelsohn, who leapt into the air to make the catch and the out. Mendelsohn followed the play with a thrilling solo out at third later that inning.

Another defensive duo made a great play in the bottom of the fifth when shortstop Julianna Burkard charged the ball and threw to teammate Skibitsky at second for an in-time out.

The Red Sox also played a great game with strong hitting and tremendous hustle in the field.

Cubs 11, White Sox 2

The Cubs and White Sox met on field No. 4 with the Cubs winning 11-2.

The Cubs' bats were hot. Kendyl Kratzer hit a solid double, earning two RBIs in the bottom of the third. Gabby Miranda, Lisa Cicatello, Julianna Burkard and Olivia Rutkowski also had a great day at the plate.

Marissa Birzon was unstoppable in the field as no hit balls got past her. She made several diving catches, including a foul pop-up at the catcher and caught several pop flies before throwing the runner out before she got back to her base.

In the third inning, Birzon, at shortstop, fired the ball to Kasey Vangelov, who caught it for a spectacular out at second.

Kendyl Kratzer also had a great day in the field, teaming up with Rutkowski twice to make the out between pitcher and first base.

In the top of the sixth, Samantha Mendelsohn made a great out at pitcher. Gabby Miranda and Jessica Searles were also on their games in the field. Kratzer and Birzon earned MVP honors.

For the White Sox, heavy hitter Rachel Kieffer went 3 for 3 and Clare Ahern and Elena Kotrides each scored in the sixth inning.

White Sox 16, Mets 12

In a hotly contested playoff game that featured grand slam home runs by both teams, the White Sox prevailed over the Mets.

In the home half of the first inning, the Mets loaded the bases when Jessica Wager lined a shot to right center that cleared the bases and gave the Mets a 4-0 lead. Amanda Greenwald then retired the side when she caught a pop fly down the third base line.

The White Sox responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. Abby Welch and Elena Kotrides scored on a two-run triple by Greenwald, and Clare Ahern and Kendal Rehak were knocked in on consecutive singles by Rachel Kieffer and Heather Hurley.

The Mets got four more runs in the second, with Erin Shea hitting a two-run double down the third base line.

The White Sox answered with three runs of their own with Rehak and Shannon McNulty collecting RBIs.

After the Mets were held scoreless in the third, the White Sox loaded the bases with one out and Welch blasted the second pitch to the center field fence for a grand slam home run.

The White Sox did surrender three runs in the fourth inning with Wager, Alyssa Whittaker, and Shannon Gestwick scoring for the Mets, but Greenwald's second triple of the game knocked in three more runs for the White Sox.

Kotrides, McNulty, and Kieffer turned in some outstanding defensive plays in the last two innings to preserve the White Sox victory.

'AAA' baseball

Orioles 16, A's 5

The Orioles put together their best game of the season with six different pitchers holding the A's to five runs. Andrew Spitznogle, Benjamin Wald, Brendan Quagliana and Mike Shanahan each held the A's scoreless during their inning pitched.

Stephen Frost had four hits and scored three runs and Michael Paolini had three hits and scored three runs to lead the Orioles offense.

Nicholas Pilon and Alex Dimitroff had two hits each for the A's and Steve Bunce scored twice to lead the A's. Both teams have advanced to the playoffs.

Orioles 13, Cubs 9

With the Orioles leading 10-9 going into the last inning, Matt Schwallie smashed a two-run single, scoring Brendan Quagliana and Andrew Spitznogle to lead the Orioles to victory.

Benjamin Wald pitched the last two innings, holding the Cubs scoreless, retiring six straight batters, three by strikeout.

Orioles 3, Red Sox 1

The Orioles rallied in the top of the sixth inning to come from behind to beat the Red Sox.

In a well-played game which only two walks and 12 strikeouts were allowed by each team, the Orioles scored three runs in the top of the sixth.

A leadoff home run by Mike Shanahan tied the score at 1-1. Hits by Brendan Quagliana and Alex Tzetzo, who also scored, gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.

Mike Shanahan's two strikeouts and a huge catch by Matt Slick in deep left field on a ball hit by Tyler Eldridge with Jason Lee on second base, held the Red Sox off the board.