Lou Gehrig Minor 'A' Cubs post playoff victories

The Lou Gehrig Minor "A" Cubs won their second playoff game on Sunday, July 8, defeating the Marlins, 25-8.

The Cubs' heavy-hitting offense led the charge. Samantha Mendelsohn, Lexi Skibitsky, Marissa Birzon and Olivia Rutkowski each went 4 for 4. Julianna Burkard hit 4 for 5 and Melanie Basile, Lisa Cicatello, Kendyl Kratzer and Jessica Searles were 4 for 4. Mendelsohn and Searles earned doubles.

Defensively, the Cubs definitely showed playoff pizzazz.

In the first inning, Basile, at pitcher, and Rutkowski, at first base, made a nice out at first. Birzon, at shortstop, then caught a pop fly and fired it across the field to Rutkowski at first, who tagged the runner on her way back to the base.

Mendelsohn had an awesome day playing at first base. He caught a fantastic throw made by Cicatello at shortstop in the second inning and then teamed up with Skibitsky at pitcher twice in the top of the third.

Kratzer made an exciting solo out at first in the fourth. Birzon was all over the field while playing pitcher in the fifth, first by scooping the ball up and tossing to Searles for the out at first base, then by firing it home, where Cicatello, playing catcher, made an out at home plate.

The Marlins played an awesome game offensively and defensively with both teams ultimately advancing into the semifinal round.

Cubs 29, Angels 4

The teams had played two very good regular season games, so the outcome of the playoff game was definitely up for grabs.

Unfortunately for the Angels, the Cubs' bats were on fire, with eight players going 5 for 5. Julianna Burkard, Jessica Searles, Kendyl Kratzer and Lexi Skibitsky all hit doubles, and team slugger Olivia Rutkowski slammed a triple. Lisa Cicatello, Gabby Miranda and Melanie Basile were also heavy hitters.

In the field, the Cubs demonstrated what teamwork is all about. Right off the bat, Rutkowski made two solo outs at first base in the first inning. In the second, Cicatello, at shortstop, charged the ball and fired it to first baseman Samantha Mendelsohn for an out.

Mendelsohn played first again in the third, making two more outs, first by catching the toss from Skibitsky, who was pitching, and from shortstop Marissa Birzon. Skibitsky and Birzon, playing pitcher and first base, respectively, made an awesome out in the bottom of the fourth and also did it at shortstop and first in the bottom of the fifth.

Searles also made an awesome out at third in the fifth, backed up by outfielder Kasey Vangelov.

The Angels' Ellie Garrity, Lexi Mulone and Megan Fish all went 3 for 3 and Margaret Niederpruem hit 2 for 3. Garrity recorded a double.

Defensively, Garrity, at pitcher, and Mulone, at first base, teamed up to make two outs in the second inning. Mulone, playing shortstop, teamed up with Morgan Simon at third to make two outs in the third.

Cubs 15, White Sox 7

For the second time this season, the Lou Gehrig White Sox and Cubs met at Field No. 4 on June 30. Thanks to some heavy hitting, the Cubs won 15-7.

Leading the charge for the Cubs were Lexi Skibitsky, Marissa Birzon, Samantha Mendelsohn and Olivia Rutkowski, who all went 4 for 4.

The second inning was especially exciting as Jessica Searles smacked a double and Rutkowski smashed a triple. Birzon doubled in the first and fourth innings. Melanie Basile and Kasey Vangelov also enjoyed a good day in the batter's box.

In the field, the Cubs were definitely on. First baseman Lisa Cicatello made two outs in the first inning, catching on-target balls thrown from Birzon, at shortstop, and Searles, at pitcher, respectively.

In the second inning, Rutkowski made a solo out at second, then later fired the ball to first baseman Gabby Miranda for the in-time out at first.

In the bottom of the third, Skibitsky made a phenomenal throw from the outfield to Birzon at second, then Mendelsohn, at pitcher, tossed to Kendyl Kratzer at first for the remaining two outs of that inning.

In the fourth, Kratzer caught a pop fly at second, and Miranda made another solo out, this time playing first.

The fifth inning brought tremendous teamwork between Skibitsky, at pitcher, and Basile at first two times. In the sixth, Birzon made a diving catch at pitcher for the final out of the game.

With the win, the Cubs finished the regular season holding a 12-3-1 record.

The White Sox played a very strong game as well. Shannon McNulty and Abby Welch were both 3 for 4 with two runs scored.

Amanda Greenwald had a great day at the plate, including slamming a two-run double.

Cubs 10, Angels 4

The Angels and Cubs met for the second time on June 29, with the Cubs finishing on top.

Batting for the Cubs, Lisa Cicatello and Olivia Rutkowski both went 4 for 4 and Gabby Miranda and Jessica Searles were both 3 for 4. Kasey Vangelov had two great hits and earned two RBIs.

Offensively, Melanie Basile and Kendyl Kratzer both made solo outs at first base in the first and second innings respectively, and Cicatello made two outs playing first in the third.

Rutkowski had a great day in the field, making several exciting outs, and Vangelov made an awesome catch at second. Searles caught a pop fly in the sixth and the tag team of Cicatello, pitching, to Samantha Mendelsohn, at first, got the final out of the game.

Offensively, the Angels' Lexi Mulone went 3 for 3 and Miranda Fish, Jamie Zwink, Ashley Sliwa, Margaret Niederpruem and Olivia Faracca were all 2 for 3.

In the field, Niederpruem, at shortstop, and Morgan Simon, at third, teamed up to record an out in the third inning, and Zwink made a solo out at third in the fourth.

White Sox 12, Phillies 11

The White Sox came to the ballpark last Monday knowing that a loss would end their season, and a win would give them an opportunity to advance to the semifinals. Their opponent, the Phillies, had defeated them, 19-11, during the regular season.

The Phillies got off to a fast start when Julia Krafft, Kristen Koral, Lauren Curtis, and Caila Wagar all scored after hitting consecutive singles. But the White Sox responded with four runs of their own with singles by Abby Welch and Elena Kotrides, an RBI double by Amanda Greenwald, and a two-run triple by Clare Ahern. Ahern then scored on a single by Shannon McNulty.

Danila Casseri regained the lead for the Phillies in the second when she scored on an RBI double by Krafft. The Phillies then held the White Sox scoreless in the bottom of the second to maintain a 5-4 lead.

The Phillies added to their lead in the third when Curtis scored her second run of the game on an RBI single by Sarah Mietus. The White Sox got a run back in the bottom of the inning when a Julia Meyer single knocked in Ahern, who had hit a leadoff double. This kept the White Sox within one at 6-5.

The Phillies added a run in the top of the fourth when Casseri scored on an RBI single by Wagar.

The White Sox then exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth. Welch, Kotrides, Greenwald, and Ahern led off with consecutive singles and scored on singles by McNulty, Rachel Kieffer, Brooke McKinnon, and call-up Katie Quagliana. This gave the White Sox their first lead, 10-7, after four innings.

After holding the Phillies scoreless in the top half of the fifth, the White Sox added two runs to their lead when Kotrides hit a leadoff triple and scored when Ahern lined the first pitch to deep right field for an inside the-park home run to give the White Sox a 12-7 lead. Ahern became the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle in one game this season.

The Phillies rallied in the sixth with a Krafft single followed by a Koral double. Curtis was retired on a ground ball for the first out. Wagar then hit an RBI single and Mietus followed with an RBI double. Rachel August hit another RBI single to draw the Phillies to within two. Abby Welch robbed Riley Crage of a hit down the first base line for the second out, but the resulting RBI left the Phillies trailing by one with the tying run on third. However, Clare Ahern was able to get under a Lucia Laux infield fly for the catch to end the game.

The White Sox will play the Cubs at 11:00 a.m. on July 21 in the Minor "A" semifinals at Lou Gehrig. They are hoping to get an emotional boost from the return of Julia Gaglio, who has been on injured reserve.

Major "A" baseball

Yankees 11, A's 0

Jake Honsberger, Zack Thomas, Andrew Weinberg, Carl Reardon and Kyle Fabian threw no-hit ball through five and ended up with the shutout when Steve Bailey of the A's hit a liner into left field in the sixth inning.

To end up the defensive gem, the Yankees turned a home-to-first double play to end the game with bases loaded.

Andrew Weinberg (3 for 4) hit a towering home run in the second inning to spark the Yankee bats.

The Major "A" championship will be played on July 21 along with all the other levels of baseball and softball.