Tag Archives: tournament

New York Nine Win Blue Chip Prospects Great American Classic

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Nine wins Blue Chip Prospects Great American Classic

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The New York Nine opened the tournament season at the Blue Chip Prospects Great American Classic. Facing The Cage Warriors at Trunzo Field at the Brentwood State Park Athletic Complex, The Nine started Bayside rising Senior Ray Winter. Winter threw two strong innings, striking out four while not allowing a run. The Nine started the scoring in the first inning by loading the bases before a Jean Carlos Morillo RBI groundout and an Albery Pichardo RBI single to give them a 2-0 lead. The bottom of the 2nd saw the Nine strike again after booming doubles to left center by John Garcia and Rey Angeles, Jr. Christian Urbina threw two innings of scoreless relief. Claudio Rodriguez picked up the win by throwing the final three frames, striking out four and walking none while the Nine tacked on the final 3 runs to win 9-0.

Game Two saw the Nine face the Long Island Hawks at the same Trunzo Field. The Nine offense came out hot in the top of the first with ten straight batters reaching base while putting up a twelve-spot in the inning. The highlight being a long 2 RBI double by Reynaldo Angeles, Jr. with Cesar Devarez chipping in two singles in the inning. The 3rd inning saw the Nine tack on three more runs on a Christian Urbina single, a long Steven Santos double to center and a Jesse Spellman RBI single to right. After John Garcia reached on an error, Justin Peralta hit a fly ball single to right scoring Spellman. Joe Wozny picked up the win, firing a run rule shortened complete game, while only allowing a single hit.

The Nine went into day two needing a win to advance to the playoffs and only allow one run or fewer to claim the top seed that came with a bye into the Championship Game. Standing in the way was the New York X and Walton HS RHP Fraini Tejada. The Nine went to Albert Cuello on the mound and he came out firing, striking out the first two batters he faced. After an error and two walks to load the bases, Cuello got a weak ground out to end the inning without a run scoring. The 2nd inning for Cuello saw the defense both desert him and help him. The first batter of the inning walked and the 2nd batter reached on an error. After a HBP to load the bases, Cuello got the strikeout he needed for the first out and got the X leadoff hitter to hit a lazy fly ball to right field and the runner on 3rd faked the tag and the runner on 2nd tagged to go to 3rd. Jean Carlos Morillo threw the ball home to Teo Estevez, who quickly threw the ball to 2nd where the runner was going back to 2nd and Rey Angeles Jr. cut the ball off to throw home to gun the runner trying to score to complete the double play and get the Nine out of another jam.

The top of the 3rd opened with Albery Pichardo legging out an infield single and stealing 2nd on the first pitch. Teo Estevez then came through with a fly ball single to left scoring Pichardo and giving the Nine a 1-0 lead. The bottom of the inning saw the X once again load the bases with one out. This time, the X got a run home on a sac fly and the game was tied at one. Both teams traded zeros in the 4th inning. The 5th inning started with Wilmer Polanco hitting a hard ground ball down the left field line for a double and using his speed to force the issue, advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by the left fielder. Joey Vitiello immediately singled to right on a fly ball, driving in the 2nd run for the Nine. Colin Diez, who came on to start the 4th, baffled the X in his 3 innings of work, only allowing 2 hits as the game ended quietly on a fly out to Pichardo giving the game and the #1 seed in the tournament to the Nine.

The Championship game saw the #1 seeded New York Nine vs the #2 seeded Team Connecticut Blue Jays in what promised to be an excellent game. The Nine started Robert Bradley on the bump and he opened the game quickly with 2 strikeouts and fly ball to left. In the bottom of the 2nd, Jesse Spellman started off the inning with a walk and Justin Peralta smoked a single up the middle. After a strikeout, Teo Estevez worked the count to 3-1 before slicing a double down the line to right scoring Spellman. Bradley made quick work of the Blue Jays in the 3rd with 2 punchouts in the inning. In the bottom of the 3rd, Griffin Arnone singled, Cesar Devarez walked and Spellman walked to load the bases for Justin Peralta. Peralta battled for 8 pitches before smoking a line drive through the 3rd baseman into left field for a 2 RBI single to give the Nine a 3-0 lead they would not relinquish. Bradley would stifle the Blue Jays until the 5th inning when he lost control of the strike zone for a few batters and walked 3 to load the bases with 2 outs. With the bases loaded and the Championship on the line, Bradley bore down and got a critical strikeout on 3 pitches to end the Blue Jays rally. In the 6th, Colm O’Shea relieved Bradley and quickly got 2 ground outs and a strikeout to push the Nine on to the 7th. O’Shea dispatched the Blue Jays in order including a strikeout to end the game and give the Championship to the Nine. Catcher Teo Estevez hit .500/.500/.650 (batting average/on base %/slugging %) with 3 RBI and played excellent defense to earn Blue Chips Tournament MVP.

Tournament Notes:

–Albery Pichardo led the team in the triple slash categories (batting average, on base % and slugging %) with a .667 batting average, .714 OBP and a 1.000 slugging %

–Reynaldo Angeles, Jr. led the team in hits with 5 and doubles with 3 and RBI with 5

–Cesar Devarez led the team in walks with 4 and Devarez and Jesse Spellman tied for the team lead with 4 runs scored

–Joey Vitiello led the team with 3 stolen bases

–John Garcia led the team and saw 5.14 pitches per plate appearance

–Robert Bradley led the team with 8 strikeouts

-The pitching staff had a .29 ERA and struck out 26 in 24 innings

Nine wins Blue Chip Prospects Great American Classic

teo estevez wins Blue Chip Prospects MVP

nine and team ct blue jays play a great championship game at blue chip prospects

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Rookies Conclude Summer With Runner-Up Finish at East Coast Nationals

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Game One
After a rain delay forced this to be a grueling one day event, the Nine trekked back to Baseball Heaven knowing that they a had long day ahead.

Although the team started the day a bit slow, the Nine battled all game. Mano Boutsikakis smashed a double with two walks and JA Spanoudakis and Alex Bardi each had hard hit singles and a walk. Alex Bardi kept the Bandits off balance all game and finished with a complete game shut out. The Nine, unfortunately, couldn’t sequence together their hits and failed to score a run, settling for a 0-0 tie.

Game Two
After a tie in the first game, the Nine bats came alive early as they jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead against the Hudson Valley Renegades and never looked back. George Kyriakopoulos had two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored, Sabin Ghale also had two RBI, while Mano Boutsikakis went 3-3 with 3 SBs and one run scored. Sebastian Granobles pitched the 2nd complete game of the day, leading the Nine to a 5-3 victory.

Game Three
With a chance to play in the championship, the Nine sent Micah Garrett to the mound and he didn’t disappoint. Garrett allowed no hits and no earned runs in his 4 innings pitched while also helping his own cause with a two RBI triple. Johan Franco came on to slam the door shut and send the Nine to a 2-1 victory over Team Steel and a spot in the championship.

Championship Game
After a grueling three games, the fourth in a row proved to be too much as the Nine ran out of gas and fell to a tough Levittown American Adrenaline team. The Nine’s runner up finish was quite admirable as they completed a long, hard fought day and left everything they had out on the field.

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New York Nine Finishes in National Final Four at NABF World Series

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For the first time since 2008 in Jackson, Mississippi the New York Nine Scout Team appeared at the NABF Senior Division World Series. This year’s sixteen team event was held in Struthers, Ohio at the beautiful Bob Cene Park. The 2008 club made a run all the way to the Semi-Final game, losing a heartbreaking 1-0 decision on a throwing error. The 2018 iteration that hoped to claim the first national title for the Nine boasts solid pitching and defense and a very capable but boom or bust offense.

The first game of the tournament saw the Nine play College Connect, out of Michigan. The Nine struggled to get going offensively as their offense was completely stifled by a legitimate knuckleballer with a mid 80s fastball and pinpoint control. With the aid of some defensive miscues, Connect posted a six run second inning and cruised to a 7-0 victory.

The 2nd game of the day saw the Nine playing the Ohio Longhorns. The Longhorns opened the scoring in the 2nd inning by plating 4 runs. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Nine scored 2 runs on a Jean Carlos Morillo walk, a Freddy Rojas, Jr. RBI double and a Chris Mondesi, Jr. RBI double. Joe Wozny, who came in in the 3rd inning, shut down Ohio giving the Nine the chance to come back and win the game. With two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning, Jesse Spellman and Joe Caba singled pushing pinch runner Tommy Tavarez to 3rd. JP Compres delivered the 2 out RBI single to cut the Ohio lead to 4-3. Wozny continued his dominant pitching and threw a clean top of the 7th with 2 strikeouts to give the Nine a shot to win. Pinch hitter John Garcia opened the inning by singling up the middle then Freddy Rojas, Jr. roped a single to center putting runners on first and second with no outs setting the stage for Chris Mondesi, Jr. Mondesi hit a line drive to the opposite field that got past the right fielder scoring Garcia with Rojas, Jr. racing home behind him to give the Nine their first win of the tournament.

The next day saw the Nine play the West New York Tigers under the lights in prime time. The Nine manufactured the first run with a Jeissy De La Cruz walk, stolen base and scoring on a wild pitch. In the 2nd, the Nine again took advantage of a defensive miscue when Joe Caba scored on an error. West New York got to Bryce Martino in the 4th inning when a few ground balls got through the infield after a Nine error. With 2 runs in and men on 1st and 3rd, JP Compres came in and threw three straight fastballs, each at or near 90 mph, to shut the door on the rally. The Nine came out in the bottom of the 4th and started to put the game away. Showing plate discipline, Nine hitters walked three times in the inning and Wilmer Polanco hit a 2 RBI double. The bottom of the 5th saw more of the same from the Nine. Nazir Mendez singled, Teo Estevez was hit by a pitch and Joe Caba singled to load the bases. Phil Li walked in a run and Estevez and Caba scored on wild pitches to make the score 8-2. The game ended when catcher, John Garcia threw an absolute seed to 2nd base to pick off a runner. The Nine struck out 10 Tigers, including 6 from Martino and 3 from Alejandro Soler.

The final day of pool play saw the Nine controlling their playoff seeding. With a win vs Diamond Hit Club, the Scout team would advance. In a game being broadcast live, The Nine opened scoring in the bottom of the first with De La Cruz hit by a pitch Martin Jimenez doubling him home on a long fly ball to center field. In the 3rd inning, De La Cruz hit a triple on a fly ball to right field and scored on an error by the SS. Jimenez also singled in the inning. In the 3rd inning, Freddy Rojas, Jr. singled home JP Compres, who singled earlier, on a fly ball to left field. In the 4th inning, the Nine once again plated a run when Jimenez singled to lead off the inning, followed by a Spellman walk and a Morillo RBI single. In the top of the 6th the Hit Club opened with a single and a FC error. Starter Jon Allcock was stellar through five plus strong innings. After a CS, a ground out, an RBI ground ball single to right and a walk, JP Compres came in to pitch with the score 4-1. Compres allowed a ground ball single to center and a walk to make it 4-3. With the bases loaded and the count 3-2 count, Compres induced a fly out to end the inning. Compres came back out for the 7th, striking out 2 and not allowing a baserunner, advancing the Nine to the playoffs.

The Quarter-Finals of the NABF World Series saw the Nine face off against Troy Post 43 Legends, from Ohio. In another live broadcast, The Nine started off the scoring in the bottom of the 1st. Freddy Rojas, Jr. singled to center field, followed by a Chris Mondesi, Jr. RBI double to left. Martin Jimenez immediately hit a line drive single to left to bring in Mondesi, Jr. Wilmer Polanco led off the 2nd with a triple to center, followed by a Jeissy De La Cruz RBI line drive single to center. De La Cruz stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch during Rojas, Jr. at bat, who then walked. Mondesi, Jr. followed with a walk during which Rojas, Jr. stole 2nd and De La Cruz scored on a wild pitch. Jimenez made it 5-0 with an RBI single to left that scored Rojas, Jr. After a sac bunt, Mondesi, Jr. scored on a passed ball and John Garcia drove in Jimenez with a ground ball single to left. In the top of the 3rd, Troy scored on a wild pitch with 2 outs. The Nine capped off their scoring in the bottom of the 4th after Jimenez opened the inning with a walk, followed by a Spellman walk, a Morillo fly ball RBI double to right and a Garcia 2 RBI ground ball single to left making the score 10-1. DJ Flug was outstanding pitching into the sixth, allowing no earned runs. Troy managed to close it to 10-6, but it was too little, too late as Kristian Castro got the final outs to move the Nine along to the Semi-Finals on Sunday.

The Semi-Final game pitted the Nine against the first team they played in the tournament, College Connect. Both teams matched zeroes through the first five frames. Joe Wozny was brilliant, firing 5 innings with 2 hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Unfortunately for the Nine, Wozny tired in the 6th and after a quick fly out, Wozny allowed a walk and HBP and gave up an RBI double and after an intentional walk to their Texas Tech bound switch hitting catcher. A 2 RBI ground ball single put Connect up 3-0. In the 7th, the Nine got runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs but failed to push across a run. With the loss the Nine once again finished in the National Semifinals.

NABF National Senior Division President Derek Topik stated, “There were some really competitive teams at the NABF Senior World Series this year in Struthers, Ohio. One in particular, the New York Nine, showed a lot of enthusiasm and talent this past week. The Nine played hard all week and showed why they were deserving of a spot at the World Series. I really enjoyed watching them play at a high level all week.”

NABF World Series Notes:

Martin Jimenez was named to All-Tournament Team and hit .433/.500/.500 with 2 RBI and 3 runs

Jesse Spellman got on base in all 6 games and had a .529 OBP with 5 walks, leading the team in both

Jeissy De La Cruz had a .478 OBP with 4 runs scored and 4 HBP

Joe Wozny threw 10.1 IP with 8 K and .968 WHIP

Alejandro Soler threw 5 innings with a 0.00 ERA

DJ Flug threw 5 innings with 6 Ks and a 0.00 ERA

Kristian Castro threw 5 innings with a 0.00 ERA

Bryce Martino threw 3.2 with 6 Ks

Media:

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Rookies Claim Mid-Summer Classic Crown

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The 2018 iteration of the Rookies club claimed their second title of the summer by capturing the July 4th Mid-Summer Classic Title. Entering championship Sunday as the 3rd seed (of 6), the Rookies were unable to secure a bye and were faced with the daunting task of having to play up to three games on a hot summer’s day.

After a 9-0 quarterfinal victory behind Johan Franco, the Rookies had the opportunity to avenge their pool play loss against, fittingly, the Avengers. The second seed Avengers were playing their first game of the day coming off their bye and Micah Garrett drew the semi-final assignment on the bump for the Nine.

Johan Franco opened the second inning with a leadoff double and scored ahead of a JA Spanoudakis groundout. After Jack Lobrutto reached safely in the third, Mono Boutsikakis and Micah Garrett both singled and Andrew Park doubled plating a total of two runs. In the fourth, Kieran Jermyn singled home Spanoudakis to push the lead to 4-1. With the bases loaded in the fifth and nobody out, Sebastian Granobles came on and masterfully navigated the inning, not allowing anyone to score. This was the second time in the tournament he worked through a bases loaded, no out jam. With the victory, the Rookies moved into the finals vs the CP Stars.

The finals saw more of the same from the Nine as Sabin Ghale fanned eight through six scoreless frames. Andrew Park cleared the bases with a booming double and Johan Franco went 3-4 with 4 RBI as the Nine cruised to an 11-0 victory. On Championship Sunday, the Rookies outscored their playoff opposition 24-1.

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New York Nine Cubs Win Super Regional

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The New York Nine brought home some championship hardware this past weekend at the Game Day USA Super Regional. Both the Rookies and Cubs had to win three games on championship Sunday to secure the title for the Nine. The Cubs defeated the CP Queens Wolverines (9-0), Ramsey Select (9-3) and in the finals, beat the Long Island Sharks (14-3) to claim the Super Regional crown.

Tournament Notes:

Jesse Oyala led the team with 6 hits, a .545 batting average and stole 7 bases

Giovanni Bausone led the team with a .636 OBP

Josh Huerta led the team with 7 RBI and contributed a .556 OBP

Quincy Bright led the team with 5 walks and 11 stolen bases without being caught

Aidan Colasante led the team with 6 runs scored and stole 8 bases

Miguel Sime contributed a .500 OBP to go with his 7 steals

Abel Ortiz stole 5 bases

As a team, the Nine had a .483 OBP throughout the tournament and walked 19 times (and 15.96% of their plate appearances)

As a team, the Nine stole an astounding 50 bases while being caught only 4 times, good for a amazing 92.6% stolen base %

Jesse Oyala led the team with 10 strikeouts and only 1 walk in his 5 innings of 0 run ball

Aidan Colasante threw 4 innings with 9 strikeouts and no runs allowed

Jose Reyes threw 4 innings while only allowing 1 run

As a team, the Nine had a strong 2.39 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 23 innings.

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New York Nine Rookies Win Super Regional

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The New York Nine brought home some championship hardware this past weekend at the Game Day USA Super Regional. Both the Rookies and the Cubs had to win three games on championship Sunday to secure the title for the Nine. The Rookies defeated the SFX Huskies (18-3), the BBA Blue Jays (8-0) and in the finals, beat the LI Sharks (10-0) to claim the Super Regional crown.

Championship Sunday Tournament Notes:

Mono Boutsikakis led the Rookies with a .667 batting average, an .800 OBP and an .833 slugging. He also walked 4 times, scored 4 runs and had 4 RBI

Andrew Park chipped in a .556/.667/.667 line with 3 runs and a team leading 8 RBI

Kieran Jermyn walked 4 times on his way to a .600 OBP and doubled twice on route to a .667 slugging

Nate Apolinar had a .500 OBP

Jake Towey made the most of his plate appearances with 3 singles and 2 walks in 7 PAs and made the most of his time on base, scoring 4 runs

Micah Garret slugged .700 including the teams only triple

JA Spanoudakis clubbed 2 doubles and hit .444/.500/.667

The Rookies as a team hit .439/.553/.561 with 21 walks (which comes to an astounding 20.3% walk rate)

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New York Nine Show Well at Patriotic Pursuit

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New York Nine Rookies spent Memorial Day Weekend at the Sports at the Beach Patriotic Pursuit Tournament. Opening up against the York Young Revolution. The Nine jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as George Kyriakopoulos doubled Mono Boutsikakis home with the first run of the tournament. After falling behind 2-1, the Nine plated 5 in the bottom of the 2nd, helped by back to back doubles from Micah Garrett and Kyriakopoulos. Dylan Munoz was 2-2 with 2 runs scored. Sabin Ghale walked twice and scored 2 runs and Nate Apolinar walked, singled and scored twice. Munoz relieved starting pitcher Jack Lobrutto and pitched the Nine out of trouble in the 2nd and threw a clean 3rd inning. Lobrutto was re-entered in the 4th and closed out his own start as the Nine won the opening game by a score of 11-5.

The 2nd game of the day saw the Nine struggle to gain a foothold and got 3 hit by the Avengers. Starter Sebastian Granobles pitched better than the score indicated, but the Nine fell short, 8-0. Sabin Ghale walked two more times to bring his two game total to four.

Day 2 saw the Nine come out hot. The Nine was Led by Kieran Jermyn’s complete game effort and Micah Garrett’s 2 run home run. The Nine jumped out to a 3 run lead behind an Andrew Park single. Mano Boutsikakis had a single, 2 stolen bases and a run scored. Sabin Ghale walked 2 more times with a run scored and Jake Towey chipped in an RBI single. Ultimately the Nine beat the Devil Cats 7-1.

In the 4th and final game of pool play, the Nine needed a win to secure a playoff spot and the Nine played like it. Mano Boutsikakis threw a complete game and went 1-1 with 2 walks and a double. Dylan Munoz went 2-2 with 2 runs scored. Sabin Ghale doubled, walked and scored a run. JA Spanoudakis singled home 2 runs. Sebastian Granobles chipped in an RBI single as the Nine cruised to a dominant 11-1 victory over the Poughkeepsie Lightning.

The Nine finished pool play at 3-1 and made the playoffs as the 4th seed. The quarterfinals saw the Nine take on the Mid Penn Prospects in a close fought battle. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 4th when Andrew Park doubled and scored on a Kieran Jermyn single. Starter Sabin Ghale struck out 8 in 6 innings before allowing 4 runs in the top of the 7th. Mano Boutsikakis was 2-3 with a walk and Sabin Ghale had his 8th walk of the tournament and Sebastian Granobles walked twice. The Nine got 2 guys on the bottom of the 7th, but couldn’t push across the tying run, eliminating the Nine from the playoffs.

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New York Nine Win East Coast Championships at Baseball Heaven

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The New York Nine Scout Team ended the 2017 summer season in grand fashion winning the Blue Chips East Coast Championship at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, Long Island. In their final three Baseball Heaven tournaments, the Scout team went on an incredible 17 game winning streak, finishing those tournaments at 6-0,6-0 and 5-0 respectively.

The tournament opener saw the Nine face the Long Island Titans (who finished the tournament 3-1), beating them by a 6-2 score. In the first inning, Danny Alfonzo was hit by a pitch for the 11th time this summer, which is a new Nine record (the previous record held by Ricardo Espinosa, stood since 2006). With two on, Carlos De La Cruz took an 0-1 fastball and drove it out of the park. The very next batter, Oliver Fernandez, went back to back, hitting his first home run of the summer. With the score cut to 4-2, in the 6th inning, Danny Perez hit the longest home run of the summer, which scouts in attendance said would have landed in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium. The very next batter, one Carlos De La Cruz hit his second home run of the game putting the Nine comfortably ahead 6-2, where the game finished. Austin Cole fanned four in his final start for the Nine, while Matt Demartini pitched a perfect 2 2/3, striking out four in the win.

In game two of pool play, the Nine faced a tough New York Grays team and their hard throwing righthander John Rodriguez. Daniel Alfonzo opened the scoring in the top of the first inning hitting a missile into the left centerfield trees plating Freddy Rojas for a quick 2-0 lead. The Grays quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first on a two out, two run single and took the lead in the second, 3-2. After an Alfonzo leadoff double and a Danny Perez walk, Carlos De La Cruz singled to center plating Alfonzo. Perez scored when JP Compres reached on an error. In the fourth inning, Shawn Harrison led off with a walk and forced at second on a Preston Milano groundout. Angel Presinal singled to push Milano to 2rd and Alfonzo singled on a fly ball to right to score Milano. Perez then hit a long double to center field to score Presinal and Alfonzo, giving the Nine three runs in the frame. The Grays cut the lead to 7-4 in the fourth and the Nine completed their scoring on a Jesse Spellman single, Harrison walk, Presinal RBI single, Rojas walk and an Alfonzo RBI groundout. Anthony “Ace” Costa was superb considering the lack of strike zone, tossing a CG and striking out 6.

Having already clinched their pool, the Nine played an early Sunday morning contest against the CGI Braves out of Long Island. DJ Flug got the start striking out four, allowing two hits and no runs. Eury DeJesus fanned two in his inning of work, and Mario Medina worked a perfect inning striking out a batter. The Nine once again jumped on the board early as Carlos De La Cruz, who you may have heard of by now, hit another three-run homer. In the second, Shawn Harrison, Elvis Torres, Nick Hernandez and Angel Presinal all walked to start the inning. Freddy Rojas scored Elvis Torres on an RBI and Danny Alfonzo‘s sac fly scored Hernandez. Carlos De La Cruz reached on an error, scoring Presinal, leaking the Nine out to a quick 7-0 lead. The bottom of the third saw more of the same as a Nick Hernandez walk plated Jesse Spellman and a Presinal ground ball single to center scored two. Danny Alfonzo added an RBI on yet another HBP. With this win the Nine moved into the quarter finals as the 4th seed.

On a drizzly, rainy day, the first game of the playoffs saw the Nine take on the fifth seeded Freedom Baseball out of Long Island. Starter Wellington Belen was solid, fanning five in five plus innings while giving up three hits. In the top of the sixth, after a walk and double chased Belen, Freddy Rojas got consecutive ground outs to Shawn Harrison, who did not convert either out at the plate and Freedom ended their inning up by two. Mike Garcia held the game where it was with a perfect seventh setting the stage for one of the greatest moments in Nine history. With one out Carlos De La Cruz singled on a line drive to left, followed by a Rojas flyout to left. With an 0-1 count, pinch hitter Jesse Spellman did this:

What is unclear in the video is the leaping attempt by the left fielder to rob him of a home run. This is similar to the final play of the 2016 season where Oakland Athletic draftee, Nate Webb put a bases loaded fastball over the centerfield wall in Charleston, South Carolina only to have it brought back. Fortunes would be different this time as Spellman’s shot caromed off of the glove of the left fielder falling over the fence for a home run, tying the game at 2. With score still knotted at two in the 9th inning, the bases were loaded with one out. Reliever Brayan Garcia punched out two consecutive hitters with fastballs in low 90s to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the inning, with the bases loaded, Angel Presinal hit a fly ball over the left fielders head scoring pinch runner, Braulio Melo to push the Nine into the semifinals vs. the Body Armor Titans, the tournament’s number one seed who had not allowed a run all tournament.

That streak ended quickly as Francisco Soriano lasered a 3-1 fastball into the parking lot in right center giving the Nine a quick 1-0 lead. The Nine scored another run in the top of the second when Oliver Fernandez singled to right center, and when trying to throw out Jeremy Bueno, the center fielder threw the ball into the dugout, giving each player 2 bases. Starter Chris Pichardo battled the rain all game, allowing a run in the bottom of the second and another In the bottom of the third, when he escaped further danger by getting a shallow fly out to center, leaving the bases loaded. After a brief delay due to driving rain, the Nine came out swinging with a Danny Perez fly ball single followed by Elvis Torres running for Perez. Freddy Rojas lined a single to right and Jeremy Bueno‘s single to center plated Torres. Rojas scored on a Fernandez force out and Braulio Melo scored on a Shawn Harrison single, which was followed by a Leury Tejada single scoring Harrison. The Nine plated four runs in the frame giving them a 6-2 lead. In the bottom of the 5th, Body Armor cut the lead to 6-3 on a deep double to left. Chris Pichardo was incredible the rest of the way, with the hard fought complete game victory. The win was Pichardo’s 8th, a New York Nine record, and 14th victory in the past two seasons. This was also the Body Armor Titans second loss all summer. As the rains fell again the tournament was halted, and co-champions were declared. The Nine were the only five win club in the tournament and beat the number one seeded playoff club in the process. It was a fitting ending to a fantastic summer. The final record for the Scout team was an outstanding 33-9-3.

Tournament notes:

Angel Presinal led the team in batting average and OBP and had a line of .500/.588/.571
Carlos De La Cruz slugged 1.000 for the tournament with a team leading 3 home runs and 8 RBI
Shawn Harrison led the team in walks with 6 and had a .538 OBP
Danny Alfonzo set the Nine record for HBP in a season and got hit with 2 pitches this tournament. He hit .417/.500/.833 with a team leading 5 runs scored.
Oliver Fernandez slugged .889
Danny Perez hit .333/.500/.667 including the longest home run of the season, and his 3rd on the season
Anthony Costa led the team in strikeouts with 6 and had a 63.2% ground ball rate
Brayan Garcia struck out 75% of batters faced
Matt Demartini struck out 50% of batters faced
DJ Flug had a groundball rate of 71.4%
The Nine averaged 7 runs per game and hit .306/.437/.545 as a team
The Nine allowed an average of 2.2 runs per game and struck out 32 in 32.2 innings.

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New York Nine Wins Mid-Atlantic Showdown

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The New York Nine Scout Team made a successful six game run in three short days to capture the Mid-Atlantic Showdown crown this past weekend at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, Long Island. This was the Scout Team’s second tournament crown of 2017.

The tournament opened with the Nine playing against a very solid, well coached Millburn (NJ) Millers club. The club was comprised of many players who helped Millburn HS claim the New Jersey 4A state title. Derrick Jimenez threw six innings allowing a single run in the victory while Carlos De La Cruz‘s grand slam broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth, a lead the Nine did not relinquish in the 8-2 victory.

Game two saw the Nine get off to quick start on an Angel Presinal walk, a Danny Alfonzo double followed by a Danny Perez RBI single that scored Presinal. Danny Alfonzo‘s long home run to center to lead off the bottom of the 3rd highlighted his three hit effort. Shawn Harrison and Nick Vella each added two hits and an RBI in support of starter DJ Flug who fanned four hitters in four innings as the Nine defeated the Rye Grays by a score of 6-2.

In a winner moves on, loser goes home final pool play game, the Nine and Knights played to a draw after 4 innings, including a first inning Carlos De La Cruz RBI double and a 3rd inning Danny Alfonzo solo home run to right center. But in the 5th, after Nick Vella reached on a strikeout and wild pitch, Angel Presinal doubled Vella in to give the Nine the lead, which would grow to 5-2 by the end of the inning. Chris Pichardo entered the game in the 3rd with runners on 1st and 2nd and threw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief punching out 3, and sending the Nine to the playoffs.

In the quarterfinal, the second seeded Nine met the seventh seeded Connecticut Bulldogs who had scored in bunches in pool play. And as the Nine did all tournament long, jumped out to a quick lead in the first inning. Angel Presinal singled, Danny Alfonzo walked and Danny Perez hit a long double on the first pitch, scoring Presinal. This was no ordinary double by Perez, this double hit the very top of the fence and took a right turn and then bounced off the fence again and back into the field of play. After a Carlos De La Cruz sac fly, Francisco Soriano singled in Perez. After a Soriano stolen base, Shawn Harrison singled him in which ended the scoring in the first. The 3rd inning saw the Nine bats come alive again with a Presinal single, and back to back walks by Alfonzo and Perez. This saw Carlos De La Cruz at the plate and he wasted no time, by crushing the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a slam that put the Nine up 8-0. Anthony Costa shut down the Bulldogs offense, allowing 1 hit in 4 innings striking out 5. The 10-2 win advanced the Nine to the semi-finals to face another Connecticut team.

The Semi-finals saw the Nine face the third seeded Connecticut Moose, who brought one of the top offenses in the tournament with them, averaging nearly 7 runs per game in their first 4 games. The Nine did not get off to a quick start offensively, and the game’s first 2 and a half innings saw the score knotted at 0. It was at this point, the Nine bats exploded, scoring 7 runs in the 3rd and 5 more in the 4th. The 3rd inning started with a Braulio Melo walk and a Nick Vella line drive single. Angel Presinal then reached on an error and Danny Alfonzo doubled. Danny Perez and Carlos De La Cruz both walked, followed by a Francisco Soriano single and a long Shawn Harrison sac fly. Jesse Spellman ended the scoring in the 3rd with a 2 RBI single on a ball hit back up the middle. The 4th inning saw more of the same from the Nine, with 4 singles and 2 walks scoring 5 runs. De La Cruz ended the game showing his speed by scoring the game winning run on a short wild pitch. Dimitri Papazoglou fired a complete game, propelling the Nine into the Tournament finals.

After winning two previous games, the Nine kicked off the tournament championship game vs LIB Roar at 8:30 pm with Adelphi bound Austin Cole on the bump. LIB Roar knocked off the #1 seed in the semi-finals and averaged 6.6 runs per game heading into the finals. The first inning saw neither team push a run across the plate, but the 2nd was a different story for the Nine, who, like they did all tournament, capitalized on an error. Carlos De La Cruz reached on an error and Francisco Soriano immediately doubled him to 3rd. Catcher, JP Compres drove in De La Cruz with an RBI single. After a Jose Arroyo walk, Nick Vella smoked a 2 out line drive single back up the middle to score 2. After LIB scored one back on an error, the Nine once again capitalized on a misplay. Danny Perez singled, De La Cruz walked and Shawn Harrison reached on an error. JP Compres once again came up and drove in 2 on a hard single to left field scoring 2. After an Arroyo walk, Jesse Spellman had an RBI walk to end the scoring in the 3rd. Austin Cole fanned seven in his 4.1 innings only allowing 1 hit. Chris Pichardo finished the 5th with 2 strikeouts. Matt Demartini threw the final outs of the Tournament as the Nine lifted the Mid-Atlantic Showdown Trophy with a 7-2 win.

Tournament Notes:

Danny Perez lead the team in batting average and on base percentage and had a triple slash line of .538/.667/.615
Carlos De La Cruz led the team in slugging percentage with 1.071 and RBI with 13 had a triple slash line of.500/.556/1.071
Angel Presinal led the team in hits with 8
Danny Alfonzo, Carlos De La Cruz and Angel Presinal tied for the lead in runs with 8
Austin Cole led the team in strikeouts with 7
Chris Pichardo got the win in 2 games, struck out 5 and didn’t walk any
As a team, for the tournament, the Nine hit over .400 and had a triple slash line of .401/.485/.585
41% of Nine hits went for extra bases, with Carlos De La Cruz leading the way with 57.1%
As a team, in 34 innings, the Nine had an ERA of 1.85 and struck out 38

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New York Nine Win Independence Day Championships

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New York Nine Win Independence Day Championships at Baseball Heaven

The New York Nine Scout Team won the 18u Independence Day Tournament Championship at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, New York. The Nine secured a championship day bye by finishing second overall with a 4-0 record through pool play, saving them a potential seventh game in four days.

The opening round saw two outstanding mound efforts as recent Bayside HS alumni Dimitri Papazoglou and Anthony Costa each hurled a no hitter in their respective complete game victories. Papazoglou fanned an incredible 48% of the hitters he faced in a twelve strikeout performance over the previously undefeated Frozen Ropes Rockies while Costa punched out nine in his dominant tournament opening outing versus Motus Academy.

In the semi-final, starter Bryant Gomez threw four shutout innings against the FAA Phoenix from New Jersey. The Phoenix, who were 20-0-1 in their previous 21 Baseball Heaven tournament games mounted a furious rally against the Nine bullpen but fell up short in a 9-5 contest.

The championship game against the top seeded Bayside Yankees lived up to its billing. Nick Vella started things off with a long home run in the top half of the first inning. After the Nine tacked on a run in the top of the second, Bayside’s bats came alive as they plated three runs to take a 3-2 lead. The score remained the same until the top of the 6th inning when Danny Perez doubled home Nick Vella to tie the game followed by a two RBI double by Jonell Perez to give the Nine the lead. In the top of the seventh, Jesse Spellman was brought home by an Angel Presinal single to center ending the scoring at 7-3. Chris Pichardo threw five shutout innings for the win in relief. The Nine lifted the trophy after finishing 6-0 in the tournament.

Tournament Notes:

Carlos De La Cruz hit .500 with three singles, four doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, scored eight runs and slugged .938
Oliver Fernandez also hit .500 with a .556 OBP
Danny Alfonzo‘s .550 OBP was helped by a tournament high four hbp, while homering and scoring seven runs
Nick Vella and Francisco Soriano each launched two home runs while scoring five and six runs respectively
Braulio Melo swiped three bags and scored two runs

As a staff, the Nine fanned 41 batters in 35 innings, while only giving up 19 hits
Dimitri Papazoglou‘s struck out 12 and Anthony Costa struck out 9
DJ Flug picked up two victories in relief
Chris Pichardo and Bryant Gomez each threw 5 scoreless innings and had a victory apiece.

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