Game Recap April 16, 2016

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Game: Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer vs Padres of Quitanca

The Pirates only win on the season came against the Padres and they were looking to close out the regular season with another one. However they did not get off to a great start. Although Martin Timoco hit a 2 run homerun in the top of the first for the Pirates, Alexis Espinoza would answer for the Padres in the bottom half with a 3 run shot of his own. The Padres would add 2 more in the first and kept things going with another 5 run inning in the second as they led 10-2. Alexis Espinoza would hit his second homerun on the day in the third to give the Padres a 12-2 lead. The Pirates would put through 5 in the top of the fourth to halve the lead thanks to homeruns by Esling Lacayo and Marvin Timoco. The Padres again answered the Pirates with 4 runs in the fourth, and although the Pirates put together a nice 6 run rally in their final at bat it was not good enough to top the Padres as they lost 16-13.

Game: Tigers of Santa Matilde vs Indians of Candelaria

Everybody wanted to see if the Indians could complete their perfect season as they faced off against the ever-improving Tigers. The Indians got on the board first with a 2 run first inning. The Tigers would put up 2 of their own thanks to a homerun by Jose Aranda and that seemed to had been the spark for the Tigers. In the following inning Elio and Eliseo Rodriguez hit back-to-back homeruns that capped a 4 run inning for the Tigers who took their first lead of the game 6-2. The Indians would only score 1 run in the third. In the fourth inning the Indians defense began to unravel as their errors gifted the Tigers 4 more runs and they trailed 10-3.  Martin Gonzales hit a 2 run homerun to give the Indians hope trailing by 5 going into the fifth and final inning. Yet, the hope was quickly squashed by the Tigers as Eliseo Rodriguez and Justin Somarriba hit back-to-back and gave the Tigers a 15-5 lead. The Indians would score 5 in the bottom half but it was not enough to continue their perfect season as they lost for the first time 15-10.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Indians (11-1), Tigers (8-4), Padres (4-8), Pirates (1-11). In two weeks we will begin the playoffs and it will see the Indians face the Pirates and the Tigers play the Padres. 

The Padres and the Pirates fought it out!

The Tigers were happy to finally knock off the Indians!

 

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Game: Braves of Candelaria vs Cardinals of Santa Matilde

The Braves were looking to win second place outright and the Cardinals were looking for some confidence heading into the playoffs. The Cardinals came out strong as they scored 3 runs thanks to a 2 run double by Adolfo Cordoba. The Braves as they seem to always do came out sluggish as they struck out 5 times in their first seven at bats, but good pitching and solid defense kept the game 3-0 going into the bottom half of the third. The pitcher for the Cardinals started to lose control and the Braves took advantage of walks and shaky defense to score 4 runs and take a 4-3 lead into the fourth. The score stayed the same until the end. The Braves almost added to the lead but the Cardinals made a great play at the plate to give themselves a chance. Yet, Alexander Martinez emphatically closed out the game with six strikeouts in two innings to give the Braves second place for the year.

Game: Athletics of Quitanca vs Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer

The Athletics looked to try not to lose their perfect season as the Indians had earlier in the day and they took care of business as they have done all year. They once again used their outstanding hitting, good pitching and great defense to easily beat the Rangers 11-0. Juber Guivera hit another homerun for the Athletics and Evert Somarilla almost pitched a no hitter as he only gave up one hit, 2 walks and struck out 6 in four innings of work.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Athletics (12-0), Braves (6-6), Rangers (4-8), and Cardinals (2-10). The Athletics get the Cardinals and the Braves and the Rangers will play in the other semifinal matchup.

Milton was feeling good after the big win to clinch second place!

The cool kinds

 

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Game: Red Sox of Quitanca vs Yankees of Santa Matilde

This very well could have been a preview of the Championship and if it was we will be in for a treat. The Yankees are the only team to have beaten the Red Sox this year and they looked poised to do it again as they started off the game with a good first inning where they registered three hits but were only able to score one run. From there the game turned into a pitching/defensive battle as the two teams struggled to get base runners much less hits.  Through five innings the score was 1-0 and the pitcher for the Yankees, Josue Dolmos, had a no hitter going. Unfortunately for him, the Yankees had four straight innings of only having three batters come to the plate. The Yankees got a hit to start the sixth by Julio Flores who went 2-2 in the game, but the next three batters did nothing and the score stayed 1-0. After getting the first out in the bottom of the sixth, Ivan Zeledon finally broke the no hitter with a single. He would get to third by stealing, and eventually brought home by a misplayed ball in the outfield and the Red Sox tied the game 1-1 going into the final inning. The Yankees went three up three down in the top half and the Red Sox had a chance to win it with their final at bat. Josue Dolmos got the first batter out but then was looking at the two of the top three batters in the league in Jean Carlos and Jose Reyes. Jean Carlos was up first and hit a triple. Then, Jose Reyes hit a deep fly ball that was caught but was deep enough that it easily scored Jean Carlos without much of a play at the plate, and the Red Sox ended the season with a walk off victory 2-1.

Game: Giants of Nuevo Amanacer vs Reds of Candelaria

The Reds controlled their own destiny. All they had to win and they would win third place outright. But with the Giants knowing that fourth place has to play the Red Sox in the playoffs, they came out swinging. They scored 6 runs over the first two innings of play and would add five more over the final four innings. The Reds, who have mightily struggled at the plate the past couple of weeks, only managed 1 run and they fell to the Giants 11-1. With the Giants winning they are completely tied with the Reds as they both sport a 4-8 record and have beaten each other twice. Next Saturday they will play to see who gets the displeasure of having to face the Red Sox.

Next Week:

The final standings are: Red Sox (11-1), Yankees (5-7), Giants (4-8), Reds (4-8). Again the playoffs will not start until another 2 weeks but the Red Sox will get the loser of the Giants and Reds as the Yankees will play the winner.

Nice game action shot!

David vs Goliath