The age-old truism ‘there is no clock in baseball’ was proven multiple times last week in Mill Valley Little League, as games were marked by walk-offs and comebacks all over Boyle Park and Friends Field, headlined by a wild affair between two of the top teams in Majors:
MAJORS
White Sox 14, A’s 10 — All Little League coaches and players can take heart from the tale of the 2021 Majors White Sox, who entered their rivalry game with the A’s, tied atop the standings with 6-1 records. But things looked dire for the White Sox late in the game, as they entered the 6th inning, trailing 8-1.
But in the kind of comeback that makes Little League so fun (or painful, depending on your point of view!), the White Sox scored 13 runs in the top of the 6th inning to stun the green and gold on Saturday morning at Boyle Park.
Henry Tuttle hit a triple and a double in the comeback, JT Cochrane stroked two singles, Henry Edwards doubled and singled and Nash Benford and Brody Perkins got key hits.
The White Sox still had to close out the bottom of the 6th, and did behind the pitching of Dylan Murphy. After the dust settled, the 7-1 White Sox sat atop the Majors standings.
Giants 16, Sausalito Pirates 2 — Maya Maxson had a big game, smacking two triples and a double to lead the Giants, who improved to 7-1 and pull into a tie with the White Sox for best record in Majors.
Red Sox 6, Tigers 4 — The Red Sox overcame a 4-1 deficit after key RBIs from Hunter Block, Trey Sasso and Lukas Welter, and Welter closed the door with two shutout innings. For the Tigers, Hudson Williams and Asa Abedin had singles in building the lead.
A’s 9, Brewers 0 —Justin Merlin hit an inside-the-park grand slam to lead the A’s, while Gael O’Brien and Braydon Balinski each had two-hit days. The A’s pitched a combined shutout behind Ryder Weber, Sean Miller, Finn Reilly and Carson Farmer. For the Brewers, Connor Grant, Dane Migliori, Ethan Camposano and Bradley Marshall pitched well.
Yankees 6, Red Sox 2 —Henry Bennett held the Red Sox to two hits in four innings, and Brayden Clifford pitched two shutout innings to lead the Yankees to victory. Charley Blumberg led the Yankee offense with three hits and Evan Rechner contributed three RBIs. Trey Sasso hit a two-run double for the Red Sox.
White Sox 5, Tigers 0 —JT Cochrane, Dylan Murphy, Alex Moore and Henry Edwards combined on the shutout, and struck out 14 Tigers.
Yankees 14, Tigers 5 — Brayden Clifford went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and Ryan Bindeman went 3-for-4 to lead the Yanks. Henry Bennett, Alex Radics and Lorcan Keane each had two RBIs for the winners, while Charley Blumberg, Will Weir and Ryan Bindeman pitched well. For the Tigers, Liam Garlick and Henry Holbrook each had three hits.
MINORS
Giants 10, Pirates 9 — The Giants and Pirates met Saturday with much at stake. Each team was 4-3 and bidding for a key win in the Minors horse race. In keeping with the horse race analogy, we had a photo finish at Boyle, when Adam Mortimer of the Giants smashed a two-out, two-run, walk off double to boost the Giants into a tie with the Tigers atop the Mill Valley portion of the Minors standings.
The back-and-forth affair featured the Pirates taking the lead on a Tenzin Mak double, only to see the Giants tie it at 5-5 on RBIs from Austin Miller and Mortimer. Dillon Powell stole home for the Giants to take the lead, but the Bucs answered when Nolan Hansel also swiped home.
The big moment came when Niki Welter of the Pirates smashed a 3-run home run over the center field fence at the Boyle Minors field, giving the Bucs a 9-8 lead.
It turned out to set the stage for Mortimer’s heroics.
Nationals 7, TP Tigers 6 — Yet another walk-off in Minors came when Cillian Flahive smoked a two-out, two-run double to lift the Nationals to a thrilling win. Flahive had the opportunity because Nats pitcher Miller Weir struck out eight Tiburon Tigers in the final innings. Asher Abedin helped with the glove at shortstop, as did Luke Hamer at second base. Weston Kellogg had two hits for the winners, and Frankie Foster, Mateo Hernandez and Hamer each added key hits.
Diamondbacks 5, TP Royals 4 — James Cherchiai had an RBI single and made his pitching debut for the D-Backs, while teammates Trip Goldmacher, Ty Cerne and Kevin Thacher did the rest on the mound. For the Royals, Bryan Chapman went 2-for-3, Devin Adelman hit a double and Blake Burns hit a triple.
Giants 7, MV Tigers 6 — The Giants enjoyed key pitching performances from Roberto Santo Domingo, Adam Mortimer, Austin Miller and Logan Grant, and special credit went to catcher Erickson Kenyon for his defense behind the plate. Mortimer hit a double, while Oliver Churcher, Max Castellano and Santo Domingo had key hits. For the Tigers, Mackie Ippolito scored and added a hit.
Pirates 6, Diamondbacks 5 — William Palmer singled home Ciaran McDonnell with the tie-breaking run in the top of the 6th, and Niki Welter shut the door with two scoreless innings and five strikeouts to close it out for the Bucs. Palmer had two hits for the winners.
The Pirates built a 5-0 lead when Niki Welter and Nate Lee each drove in two, and Ciaran McDonnell (two hits) added an RBI. But the D-Backs came back to tie with five in the 4th inning, led by the bats of Luke Phillips, Kevin Thatcher and Carleton Hackett. For the D-Backs,
Ty Cerne, Thatcher and Trip Goldmacher fanned 11 Pirate batters.
TP Tigers 6, Rockies 2 — Connor Stewart had two hits and Griffin Newby doubled for the Tigers. Pierce Brandt added a highlight catch in the outfield for the Tigers.
Pirates 11, Tigers 7 — Tenzin Mak had two hits and an RBI, while teammates Liam Winn, Niki Welter, Nate Lee and Cedra Crews all knocked in runs. Kevin Boswell and Bode Van Pelt each smacked big RBI double for the Tigers, who used six pitchers in the game.
MINORS AAA
KC Monarchs 15, Sausalito Giants 4 — Chance Donahue hit an inside-the-park home run and two triples, driving in five runs and scoring three times, to lead the winners at Knudsen Field. Kai Hollander scored three runs, Victoria Rice hit a double and Parker Marlin had four RBIs for the Monarchs, who also saw pitcher Rory Murphy strike out six in two scoreless innings.
Twins 11, Cubs 5 — Philip Walker hit a three-run home run and a double, Brandyn Schrobilgen had multiple hits, and Levi Weber smacked 2 ground-rule doubles for the Twins. Evan Wolly made an acrobatic catch in center field for the winners. Noah Schick struck out five in two innings for the Twins. For the Cubs, Kaden Mokari struck out the side on just 12 pitches.
Royals 16, TP Rangers 9 — Dylan Vannata had two hits and two RBIs and Nixon Laird pitched a scoreless inning for the Royals.
KC Monarchs 9, TP Rangers 8 — Jacob DiPippa hit a double and scored twice, and closed out a tight win with a scoreless frame. Holger Laurin, Forrest Slavin and Rory Murphy each had two RBIs, while Murphy fanned four in two scoreless innings. For the Rangers, Tyler Spaulding smacked a bases-loaded two-run single, and Levi Tabak shined with the glove at second base.
Grays 16, Cubs 6 — Brodie Williams, Dylan Roth and Leo Tenenbown combined to strike out with Cubs while only walking three in the four-inning game. Williams had three hits and scored four runs for the Grays. Jack Lee, Davis Marshall, Graz Cerchiai and Tenenbown also had hits for the Grays. Sam Farnell had two hits and Liam O’Keefe scored two runs for the Cubs.
Twins 12, Royals 2 — Levi Weber, Boden Medow and Oscar Walker allowed just two hits and struck out eight in four innings. Weber, Philip Walker and Oscar Walker combined for four RBIs. Nixon Laird on the Royals had a strong pitching performance with 5 strikeouts.
Twins 14, Sausalito Giants 0 — Levi Weber stroked two triples and a double, and had three RBIs. Philip Walker had four hits, and teammates Noah Schick, Jack Chaudhry, Boden Medow and Mayes Cable also contributed multiple hits for the Twins.
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