Red Sox beat Yankees for Central Amherst 'AA Sr.' crown

Tenney, Grey Grohman, Will Sanderson, Will Nowak, Kate Scaduto, P.J. Wing, Zach Wing; third row - Bruce Sanderson, coach Dave Hill, Scott Schafer; missing from photo - Bo Stoud.

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees, 12-10, to win the Central Amherst "AA Sr." championship.

Both teams came in evenly matched as each won a game and tied the other.

Red Sox Bo Stroud led off the game with a single to first base. Andrew Hill followed with a single, and Will Sanderson doubled to knock Stroud home for the first run of the game. Jonathan Spina struck out the next three batters.

The Red Sox came back with some superb pitching when Stroud, with the help of catcher Zach Wing, struck out the first three Yankee batters.

Eric Schafer started off the second inning for the Red Sox, followed by Natalie Blatz, who was walked to first base. Will Nowak hit a line drive to get on first base with a heads-up play by Blatz that saw her take two bases, stopping at third. Kate Scaduto took a hit for the team as she was accidentally hit by Spina.

Grey Grohman gave a great effort at the plate, but Spina managed to strike him out, which brought Stroud up to bat. Stroud singled, which helped Blatz score. Hill was walked to allow Nowak to advance home. Sanderson then smashed the ball to get Scaduto and Stroud home.

The Yankees, down 5-0 after 1.5 innings, scored four runs in the second inning. Stroud walked several Yankees, and Tommy Gioia, Alex Rodriguez, Marcellus Cooper and Alyssa Helak scored.

Sammy Lobuzetta took over pitching duties from Spina in the third and pitched a magnificent inning, striking out Red Sox batters and only allowing Mike Tenney to score.

The third inning took the Red Sox a little off guard when Alexander Kracker, Lobuzetta and Rodriguez scored to make the game 7-6 Yankees.

In the fourth inning, Lobuzetta allowed Hill and P.J. Wing to get on base but were stranded when three other Red Sox players struck out.

The bottom of the fourth had Hill pitching again as Zach Wing remained catcher. Jimmy Featherstone singled and was followed on base by Kracker and Lobuzetta. After a Yankee had already been struck out by Hill, Sanderson made a great defensive play when he made an out at third base. With two outs, the Yankees had hoped to increase their lead. Runs would be denied to the Yankees when Hill struck out the next batter.

In the top of the fifth, Gioia took the mound for the Yankees and was able to strike out the first batter. Blatz was walked to first and Nowak singled. Scaduto was also walked to first, which advanced Red Sox runners. Hill was then able to help score Blatz with a blast into the outfield. Sanderson helped his teammates advance when he was hit and took first base. Nowak advanced home on the play. With the bases loaded, P.J. Wing crushed the ball way into the outfield for a double, which helped score Scaduto and Hill.

During the bottom of the fifth, Spina blasted the ball for a double and Rodriguez singled. Helak walked, but three of her teammates struck out to end the inning with the Red Sox ahead, 10-7.

The sixth inning was crucial. Gioia continued pitching for the Yankees. After Tenney was walked, Zach Wing smashed the ball for a line drive double to advance Tenney to third base. Schafer also walked to load the bases. The next batter to make it on first was Nowak, who singled, and advanced Tenney and Wing home. The next two batters struck out because of Gioia's superb pitching.

The Yankees were down by five runs going into the bottom of the inning. Tenney again continued pitching for the Red Sox. Jonathan Zarzecki was accidentally hit by a wild pitch, which sent him to the bench, having Helak fill in for him at first base. Kracker singled and while Lobuzetta struck out, Gioia singled, which advanced Helak home but not before Sanderson snagged the ball and threw it to third baseman P.J. Wing for the second out. Spina loaded the bases when he cruised one into the outfield. Rodriguez then smashed the ball for a double, and Gioia and Spina raced home for two more runs.

With the Yankees down 12-10, Cooper made a solid hit, only to have his pop-up caught by Sanderson.

Red Sox 7, Cubs 6

The Red Sox's Bo Stroud started out the game with a double.

Andrew Hill, Will Sanderson and P.J. Wing each walked and gave the team the lead.

The Cubs had some great pitching as they struck out the next two batters. With the bases loaded, Eric Schaffer walked, which led to another run for the Red Sox. Natalie Blatz joined Mike Tenney and Zach Wing also struck out, which ended the top of the first.

In the bottom of the first, the Cubs tried to tie the score but were denied by the fantastic pitching of Stroud. Stroud struck out the first two batters before allowing a player on base. The next set of pitches would find the fourth batter striking out to end the inning.

The Red Sox went into the second inning with a two-run lead. They attempted to continue their string of hits as in the first but were denied by the Cubs' pitcher. All three Red Sox batters struck out in order to end the inning.

The Cubs hoped to capitalize on the mistakes of the Red Sox. Stroud was once again on the mound and had another fantastic inning. After walking Max Marko, Zach Wing played catch with his pitcher as Cole Gleichenhaus and Zeb Hare were struck out. The next batter, Samantha Pieri, was also out to end the inning.

The score was still 2-0 Red Sox as the game went into the third inning. The Red Sox continued to have difficulty finding the ball as the first two batters for the Red Sox were struck out. Sanderson gave the team some hope as he singled to the outfield to get on base. Due to the great defensive playing by the Cubs' pitcher, the fourth Red Sox batter also struck out.

It seemed as though the Cubs had changed the momentum of the game as they scored three runs in the third. Zachary Adams and Gleichenhaus were struck out, but due to great hits by Liam Sullivan and teammates, the Cubs ended the inning leading by one run.

The Red Sox were unable to have an inning as good as their first when they also failed to score any runs in the fourth. Tenney was struck out again. Zach Wing tried to give the team some spark when he slammed the ball, only to have it caught by the Cubs' third baseman.

The Cubs would strike out the next batter to end the inning for the Red Sox. Hill relieved Stroud as pitcher in the fourth. Hill walked the first two batters before striking out Matthew Boccio. Hill walked the fourth batter, which loaded the bases. Hill maintained his composure as he cleverly struck out Steve Yukelic and Sullivan to leave the Cubs stranded on base and the score still 3-2 in favor of the Cubs.

As the Red Sox entered into the fifth inning, they knew P.J. Wing was the only player out of the last 10 to not get an out.

After Blatz walked, Kate Scaduto scooted the ball far enough to get on first base. Grey Grohman hit, which he hoped to be a single, but the first baseman managed to get him out before he reached the bag. Stroud singled to the outfield to advance runners.

Hill cruised one out over the Cub players to also make it to first base. Before the inning was over, the Red Sox had fought hard to gain a run to tie the game at 3-3. Hill continued as pitcher for the fifth inning. Marko was struck out, but the next two players made it on base. After walking Pieri and Adams, Hill came up big again. Boccio was out at first and the next batter also managed to get out but not before two more runners crossed the plate, making the score 5-3 Cubs.

Going into the sixth inning, the Red Sox knew they needed two runs in order for the bottom of the sixth to be played. Sanderson slammed the ball to get on first base. P.J. Wing, the tying run, walked, which advanced Sanderson to second base. Tenney continued to move runners when he also advanced to first base.

With the bases loaded, Zach Wing ripped a double into the outfield to score three base runners and made the score 6-5. Blatz batted next and slammed a line drive to knock Wing home.

With the score 7-5, the Cubs struck out Will Nowak and Scaduto. The end of the inning found Blatz stranded at first.

Hill led off the Red Sox pitching in the sixth. The first two batters singled and the third batter was walked. With the bases loaded, Marko struck out. Tenney replaced Hill as pitcher for the remainder of the inning. Gleichenhaus was also struck out and the bases remained loaded. Hare singled to knock Bihary home to close the gap to one run. Tenney remained calm as he continued to throw accurate pitches to Pieri. Tenney struck out Pieri to win the game.