With two on and 1 out, Jason Capidinca needed to put the ball in play. The Mid-Atlantic and New England team
had held each other in check for 5 innings as both teams got outstanding pitching and great defense to keep the game scoreless. Jayden hit a hard grounder to the 2nd baseman who looked Sal Garcia III back before throwing to 1st for the 4-3 putout. As soon as the throw was made, Sal took off for the plate for the game's first run. The Rhode Island 1st baseman's throw home was too high for the catcher to handle and an alert JR Rosada come home to score the 2nd run on an error. EYLL had a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
JR Rosado took the mound in the bottom of the sixth to face the heart of the New England defense. He retired
the 1st two batters on strikeouts but gave up the only hit when a infield grounder to short. With 22 pitches delivered, JR was pulled in favor of Jayden Capidinca who has two strikes on New England's Anderson when the slugger hit a shot down the 3rd base line. Derek Escobar snagged the ball and delivered a throw to 1st baseman Yadi Mateo for the final out. Derek and Yadi earned ESPN top 2 play of the day for the defensive gem.
Yadi Madeo's bat was held in check on the day but his defense at 1st was outstanding as he made several plays at first. Many of them saving his teammates as he long body was able to stretch and field the ball for put outs. He tallied 8 on the day. Yamil Soto had an outstanding day at 2nd base as he had 4 assists and 1 putout.
The key to the Elmora win was their pitching as 4 Troopers combined to allow only one hit. Sal Garcia
pitched 2 2/3 innings with 2 Ks allowing no hits with 2 walks. Derek Escobar relived Sal and pitched 1 1/3 allowing only 2 walks. JR Rosado pitched 1 2/3 with 4 Ks and 1 hit.
Jayden Capidinca finished the game for the final out on the Derek to Yadi putout.
The New England team mounted threats in the 2nd and 5th innings. In the 2nd, they put runners on 1st and 2nd but Garcia retired the side on a strikeout and a liner to Yamil at second. In the 5th,
Derek gave up two walks and was relieved by JR who struck out the next two batters and got a grounder to Yadi to the threat.
Offensively, the Elmora team was held in check for 5 innings. Justin Labrador picked up a two out single in
the 2nd. Josiah Sharpe got a single in the 3rd. Derek Escobar hit a double to deep right field in the 4th. All of the Troopers were stranded as
the New England defense rallied to stop any threats.
New England pitcher Fontaine pitched 5 2/3 innings allowing only 5 hits with no walks. He recorded 6
strikeouts to go with the outstanding defense by the Barrington LL team of Rhode Island.
Elmora will now face SE Louisiana in a win or go home game at 11 AM on Wednesday.
|