Cardinals Bang(ert) out 3-2 victory

Tommy Bangert had an inside-the-park home run and a double to drive

in all the runs for the Cardinals in a 3-2 victory over the

Diamondbacks in Newport Beach Little League Majors Division play.

Andrew Dunlap made a game-saving catch in center field in the last

inning, holding onto the ball while colliding with Cory Donavon.

Michael Bloom pitched a complete game for the Cardinals while

Fletcher Della Grotta showed steady presence on the mound. The

D-backs were led by the hitting of Dominic McCoy.

* Cardinals 5, Mariners 0

Bloom and James Petrilli each pitched three scoreless innings to

lead the Cardinals to the win.

The Cardinals’ offense was led by Reed Zachman with two hits and

two runs scored while the entire team played steady defense. Jesse

Starnes, J.P. Fleming, Donavon and Michael Danova played well.

The Mariners were led by the strong play of John Doering, Nick

Freeman and William Ham.

* Cardinals 11, Giants 5

The Cardinals overcame a four-run deficit to defeat the Giants.

Cory Vitalo led the hitting and pitching, throwing four innings

while doubling with the bases loaded to drive in three runs.

Starnes and Petrilli relieved Vitalo and performed solidly on the

mound with Zak Mauer-Erikson, Kendall Pick and Matt Ruiz playing well

for the Giants.

* Cardinals 8, Reds 1

Bloom pitched a complete game and Bangert delivered a bases-loaded

double to help the Cardinals defeat the Reds.

Starnes, Donavon, Michael Danova and Fleming all played well

offensively while Reed Zachman, Petrilli and Jesse Starnes led the

defense. Sean Tokuyama tallied two hits while Kevin Wang also showed

steady play on both offense and defense.

In NBLL AAA play:

* Red Sox 4, Reds 3

The previously-unbeaten Reds were edged by the Red Sox, 4-3, in

Newport Beach Little League AAA action.

The Reds trailed, 3-0, but made it interesting behind the hitting

of Brent Lawson, Dylan Varner and Nathan Wagner.

Justin Tucker threw three innings for the Red Sox, allowing only

one run. Wagner then relieved Tucker and struck out the final six

batters to preserve the victory.

Zac Murtaugh and Brooks Brady played steady for the Reds while

Nick Trippi blasted a home run to left field.

* Red Sox 5, Yankees 4

Alex Morrison’s two-out double scored brother Zac Morrison from

third for the winning run.

The Red Sox trailed, 4-1, in the fourth inning, but rallied to tie

the game at four heading into the last inning.

The Sox had strong hitting from Donald Dalton, Brent Lawson and

Nathan Wagner, who pitched the final two innings, striking out all

six Yankees he faced.

Preston Risser led the Yankees’ hitting charge with the defense of

Tanner Trauthen and Eric Frazier supplying some assistance. Graeme

Fraser led on the mound.

* Cubs 16, Dodgers 9

The Cubs scored in every inning and the steady pitching of Zac

Cabin and Connor Gaughan supplied the rest in the victory. Cabin and

Gaughan combined to strike out nine batters.

Multi-hit games from Allen Brown and David Silverberg paced the

Cubs, who also received sharp defensive play from Reid Johnson, Ian

King and Evan Daniele. Collin McNerney and Parker Seaman ran

effectively on the base paths.

Greg Allen and Brent Gray hit back-to-back home runs for the

Dodgers, who also received solid hitting from Zachary Socoloskie and

Darren Hardy. Trent Anderson, Matthew Portner and Gray led the

defense.

* Cubs 12, A’s 7

Gaughan struck out the only four batters he faced and added a

single and double to lead the Cubs.

The Cubs also received strong pitching from Cabin and Johnson

while Alex Grody, Jonathan Jaffee and Anthony Francisco led the

offense. Daniele also made a solid catch in the outfield.

The A’s received strong pitching from Ryan Grainger, Jeff Condino

and Sam Cuberio while the defense was led by the strong play of Mikey

Pawell.

* Mariners 10, Yankees 3

The Mariners opened their lead with six runs in the third inning

en route to beating the Yankees. A leadoff double by Riley Conroy and

a two-RBI single by Andrew Machoskie provided some highlights in the

inning, but the Mariners did more scoring as the game began.

In the first inning, Mitch Gardner walked and then Will Nord

singled, followed by a double by Machoskie, which plated three runs.

In the second inning, Jackie Anderson walked and scored.

Gardner replaced Chris Alvarez on the mound in the second inning

and held the Yankees to one run until the fifth inning. Machoskie

closed out the bottom half of the inning to preserve the victory.