Saturday’s Falls Church Kiwanis Little League’s regular-season championship game was as close as it gets.
Cubs Earn Regular-Season Majors Championship
Saturday’s Falls Church Kiwanis Little League’s regular-season championship game was as close as it gets. The game was full of fantastic plays on both sides, including solid pitching performances by the Nationals’ Daniel Donovan (five strikeouts) and Cubs’ Ryan Leonard and Daniel Schlitt. The Nationals struck early, using singles by Nate Jones (one hit, one run), Daniel Butler (two hits, one run), Nate Thatcher (two hits) and a double by Casey Lauer to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The Cubs tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the second inning, as Wesley Coupard scored on Ned Quill’s double down the left field line. Quill came around to score on a hit by Johnny Peterson. After Butler singled and scored, giving the Nationals a 3-2 lead in the top of the third, the Cubs quickly took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning, 4-3, on a triple by Leonard (three hits), a double by Will Iacobucci and a clutch two-out base hit by Gray Adcock. The Nationals threatened in the fifth with runners in scoring position but second baseman Peterson made a leaping back handed catch of a sure line drive base hit by Noah Anderson to end the rally. In the fifth inning, the Cubs went up 5-3 after Schlitt singled and scored. The Nationals rallied in the sixth, as Donovan singled and Justin Trainor scored, but Schlitt was able to get several ground ball outs, including the last one to second baseman Chris Loyd to end the game.
Cubs vs. A’s – On June 1, the battle for the Majors’ second-half championship and a birth in the regular season championship ended in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Will Iacobucci crushed a three-run, walk-off homer to deep left center field, giving the Cubs a 9-6 victory. The Cubs jumped to an early 4-0 lead, on a double by Johnny Peterson that scored Matty Livingston and Daniel Schlitt’s first career home run – a blast off the left field scoreboard. The Cubs’ Ryan Leonard pitched effectively through four innings, striking out seven. The A’s rallied in the fourth and fifth innings, capitalizing on hits by Patrick Evans, Logan Nesson, George DeMars, Joey Kammerer and Aidan Fitzpatrick to score five runs, tying the score at 6-6. However, prior to the Iacobucci’s heroics, pitcher Wesley Coupard came to the Cubs’ rescue striking out four of the five batters he faced to shut down the A’s powerful bats.
Red Sox vs. A’s – In the first round of the Majors postseason tournament, the Red Sox held on to beat a determined A’s squad in a nail-biter, 9-7 game. The Red Sox got on the board in the first inning with singles by Brandt Cole, Ted Terwilliger, Jackson DuBro and Sean Brown, with DuBro and Brown each getting an RBI. Although the A’s put up four runs in the bottom of the first, the Red Sox’s hitting was unstoppable in the second inning, with a line drive RBI by Cole and two RBIs by catcher Austin Clark. With two runners on base, Davis Hagigh blasted a long double just short of the fence, increasing the Red Sox lead to three runs.
Logan Nesson delivered strong pitching for the A’s, with five strikeouts over the fourth and fifth innings. Patrick Evans hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the A’s, reducing the Red Sox lead to one run. The Red Sox’s fielding matched its hitting with great plays by Zach Lang at second base, Nathaniel Scheinman and left-fielder Hagigh, who made a spectacular diving catch deep in foul ground for the first out in what would prove to be an incredibly tense sixth inning. DuBro was very strong on the mound for the Sox, going five full innings, while striking out seven and allowing just six hit.
But the A’s, who battled back time and again this season, refused to give up. In the bottom of the sixth, with the score at 9-7, they loaded the bases with two outs. Just at that moment, the Sox’s pitcher Terwilliger whirled and fired to an alert Scheinman covering second, just in time to pick off the runner and bring the game to a dramatic close.
AAA
Pirates vs. Dodgers – On June 2 at Westgate field, the Pirate sued a powerful offensive and defensive performance to overcome an early lead and defeat the Dodgers 20-6. With the Dodgers up 2-0 in the first inning, Aiden Philips’s two-RBI evened the score. The Pirates took the lead for good with a two-out double by hard-hitting Jessica Manning. In the bottom of the third, Nick Hutzell stroked an RBI-double and Christian Williams ripped a two-run single.
Pirate starting pitcher Dylan Galt allowed only three runs in three-and-two-thirds innings, while striking out seven. The Dodger bats came alive in the fifth, with back-to-back triples by Grinden Collins and David Miller.
A
Express v. Bees – The Express beat the Bees 9-2 on Thursday, June 4 in a game beset by rain delays, but marked by good defensive play. The top of the second inning saw a double play by Express first-baseman Cyril Contessa and pitcher Max Freese. Contessa ended the top of that inning with an unassisted force out at first. In the top of the third, Cooper May and John Schooner combined to make an out. Pitcher Jakob Wegmueller and catcher Caleb Parnell teamed up to make a force at home in the fourth inning for the Express, while added Colin Nininger scored two runs for the winners.
Express v. Ironbirds – In the first round of the playoffs on Saturday, June 6, the Express defeated the Ironbirds 10-3. In the bottom of the second, the Express pulled ahead from a scoreless tie with five runs. The Express held the score in the top of the third, with Express first-baseman Caleb Parnell tagging out two runners, one of whom was unassisted, the other with the help of pitcher Max Freese. Joshua Post and Gavin McNabb also made unassisted outs. John Schooner, Hoang Anh, Andrew Wong and William Ward all scored for the Express. The Ironbirds’ Joshua Meighan made a force at home plate in the top of the first inning, and caught a fly ball in the bottom of the fifth.
