By Erika Toman
In the FCKLL Majors Division, the Smurfs were victorious over the Greyhounds with a score of 9-3 in the first round of the playoffs. The Smurfs pulled away for good in the fifth inning with several hits, including key doubles by Drew Fay and Cole Beck. The Smurfs tallied 13 hits in the game with Fay, Beck, Liam Horgan and James Owen recording multiple.
On the mound for the Smurfs, Horgan surrendered only two runs while striking out five. Pitching in relief, Fay notched three strikeouts in an inning of work.
The Greyhounds tallied seven hits on the night being led by Harrison Carmody, Davis Nicholas and Henry Upton. Kellan McCormack and Carmody split pitching duties, each going three innings and striking out seven batters.
The second game of the night featured the Red Robbers advancing in the playoffs by defeating the Ranch by 15-9.
Teddy Greiner and Hayes Vaughan led the Robbers with two hits each, driving in six runs. The Red Robbers tallied 11 hits including contributions from John “Tig” Fatzinger, Aiden Ortiz, Kaiden Caceres, Jonah Molloy, Xander Wagner, Max Smith, Jacob Emmons and Otto Litton. Ortiz finished out the game by striking out three and only allowing four runs.
The Ranch bats were alive in the evening, with ten total hits, but unable to fend off the defeat. Tanner Hammond, Reid Edmonds, Aidan Izawa and Patrick Verasin each racked up multiple hits for the Ranch. The Ranch were led by Nate Landers with three strikeouts.
The Smurfs and Red Robbers advance to the semi-final round where they will face the Hammerheads and Cherry Bombs. The community is invited to attend Championship Day and the Closing Ceremony on Saturday, June 3 at Westgate Elementary.
