Lewisboro 11u Holds on for 11-8 Victory

Click for Photos

After building an 11-4 lead at the end of five, the 11u Lewisboro Lightning team were just three easy outs from victory. Unfortunately, Beekman wasn’t so obliging on Tuesday July 8. They put seven straight batters on base, and that left Jack Sandford dreading the prospect of closing the door on the mound.

Not quite, said the closer, “I like relief pitching - a lot,” and after giving up a single, he registered two strikeouts and a ground out to secure an 11-8 win.

He was also in on the start of the game. After Adeesha Bhat easily retired the side in the first, the big first baseman moved his starter to second on a bloop single to left, and a hit batsman and a pair of wild pitches gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

A pitch finally coming over the plate, Gus Bubaris didn’t miss a beat. He stroked a single and gave his team a 3-0 first inning lead.

Both teams went quietly in the second, but the calmness did not last. Tyler Gabari's lead off with an infield hit, Brett Amodio snuck a single between second and third, and Brayden Gabari’s bloop behind second got Beekman on the board.

Sal Coelho then went deep with a double to left, and Beekman took a 4-3 lead when Owen Weaver’s grounder to short wasn’t handled.

Still Bhat kept his perspective. “A lot of bloop hits,” the pitcher wasn’t worried.

Neither were the bats, and Luke Schneider fully embraced a 3-0 count to lead off the inning. His double smoked to left had the green light of his coaches, and there was no hesitation. “I got what I wanted,” the centerfielder assured.

Sebastian Ferrandi was pretty happy with the pitch he got too. An opposite field double to right tied the game, and the Lightning didn’t stop striking.

Bubaris scorched a one hopper past the shortstop, Frankie Magd

its reached on an infield single, and then Levi Ferentz broke his own protocol. A second ball hitter, he said,” because I want to see the first pitch.”

No need for a look on this occasion, the shortstop singled the first pitch to center for a 6-4 lead. “I just saw it,” Ferentz said.

A lead again for Bhat, Abreu led off with a single, and Carter Martucci’s hard shot to Oliver Kelly at second had potential. Instead, the second baseman fielded the ball cleanly, calmly pivoted to second and got the force. A ground ball and a pop out later, Beekman did not answer Lewisboro’s third inning momentum shift.

The Beekman fifth could have been another matter, though. Amodio and Brayden Gabari singled, and with runners on second and third with one out, Drnek lifted a fly to center.

The runners tagging, Schneider had more on his mind than just catching the ball. “It was just in the moment,” said the outfielder. “I knew what to do.”

Frankie Magdits waiting for the throw, the catcher had his doubts. “I thought he was going to throw it 15 feet over my head,” he joked.

Magdits was happily disappointed by the on-target throw. “I just dropped my glove,” he credited his centerfielder.

A close play with grumbling from the other side, Magd

its was neutral on whether the call was correct. “I hope so,” the catcher quipped.

The execution, on the other hand, didn’t surprise. “We practice plays at the plate a lot,” said Coach Ryan Sandford. “Then kids put the stuff they work on in practice into our games.”

Onto the bottom of the fifth, defense was turned into offense. Seth Tubbs reached on an infield hit, Magiots singled his teammate in, and two wild pitches later, Ferentz’s infield hit added another.

8-4 now, Kelly was a one man offense after his walk. An overthrown pickoff play at first turned into two more errors, and the Lightning led by five.

Not done, the Lightning put on two more runners, and Sandford also closed for the offense. He doubled to left, and 11-4 seemed pretty safe.

The pitch count sending Bhat to the bench, the starter chalked up his success to one factor. “Locate the ball,” he asserted.

Unfortunately, his exit had the Beekman bats coming roaring back. Six straight on base, which included a three run double by Martucci, and Sandford entered to make it seven.

A base hit by Johnny Silletta, the reliever might have overcompensated on the next batter. “I didn’t want to give up two hits in a row,” he said, but a 3-0 count was good either.

The Beekman bench, on the other hand, didn’t like what came next. “It was up and controversial,” said Sandford. “The ump called it a strike, and then I threw two more.”

A second straight strikeout coming next, Sandford didn’t leave the final out to anyone but himself. A comebacker he stopped, the ball did briefly elude. “I just found the ball behind me and threw it,” he said.

In the books, his Dad credited adjusting from taking a lot of called strike threes in the previous game. “We talked a lot about not being afraid to fail, and they did a good job of that,” Coach Sandford concluded.