12U Cooperstown Wk 11 Championship Game Review

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12U Cooperstown Wk 11 Championship Game Review

- By Ernie Rapiere

August 21, 2009 Cooperstown Dreams Park – Week #11 championship game featured another close game that featured a match-up between the #19 Seed Connecticut Cardinals against the #1 Seed Mets of Tustin, California. The Mets came to the finals with a perfect 9-0 record having outscored all prior opponents by a wide margin of 109-14. In contrast, the Cardinals came into this championship game with an 8-1 record and a #19 seeding. This game would prove to be filled with lots of excitment as it went into extra innings.

*2009*_Week#10_Champions	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	SCORE
Connecticut Cardinals	0	0	5	0	0	1	0	6
Tustin Mets Baseball	0	0	2	0	4	0	1	7

------------------------------
The game remained scoreless until the top of the 3rd inning when Jake Walkinshaw hit a homerun to center to get the Cardinals on the score board. But, the scoring had only just begun. Matt Toth singled to centerfield and then stole second and onto third. Willie Burger walked to make things interesting. The game exploded when Brandon Ginnetti hit a homerun scoring Toth and Burger putting his team up 4-0. But the Cardinals were not finished as Dillon Rocha singled down the left field line scoring Johnson who had reached base on an error – thus finishing off the scoring with a 5-0 lead.

The Mets responded with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning when Nick Peabody singled to right and Matt Avila walked. Both runners advanced on a pass ball, setting up a 2xRBI double (down right field line) by Christian Molfett that scored Peabody and Avila. When the inning was over, the Mets had cut Cardinals lead to a 5-2 margin. This proved to be huge as the game progressed.

The fourth inning remained scoreless. The Mets brought in Scott Christopherson to relieve Nathan Gill. Christopherson retired the Cardinals 3 up and down. When the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the 4th, Cardinals pitcher, Willie Burger responded and retired the Mets batters after allowing only one walk.

The the 5th inning proved to be pivotal when the Cardinals left 3 runners on base. The Mets came to bat with rally on their minds. This rally started with a leadoff homerun by Luke Diradoorian putting his Mets within 2 runs of tying the game. Next, Nick Peabody promptly followed with a single to right and advanced to 2nd. Then, Dylan Doherty reached on an infield single advancing Peabody to third. The Mets grabbed the lead when Scott Christopherson hit a 3xRBI homerun scoring Peabody and Doherty and putting his team on top 6-5 going into the top of the 6th inning.

But the Cardinals were not about to give in. They responded with a game tying homerun by Anthony Amoroso. When the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the 6th, the Cardinals brought in Kevin Johnson to relieve Willie Burger. This proved to be a good move as Johnson retired the Mets in order after giving up a lead off walk. This forced the game into extra innings.

In the 7th inning, the Cardinals threaten as Brandon Abate singled and Dillon Rocha walked putting two runners on base. But once again, the Mets found a way thwart the Cardinal scoring attempts when - what looked like a sure RBI from Jordan Vazzano’s single, suddenly took an unexpected turn as Brandon Abate was thrown out at home. This stalling two Cardinal runners on base. The game took a decisively dramatic turn when the Mets came to bat in the bottom of the 7th inning. First, Nick Peabody reached first on an error. Then, Matt Avila singled to left advancing Peabody to second base. Runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd base on a balk. Then came the game winner as Dylan Doherty hit a sacrifice fly to right field driving Nick Peabody home giving the Mets a hard fought Championship win.

Clearly, the fans got their money’s worth as this game featured plenty of excitement from start to finish and wasn’t decided until the very last play. But, even with this heart breaking loss, these Cardinals proved that they are a talented team. They refused to be intimated by records or by rankings. When this game was over, they had proved that - even in a loss, victory can be shown when a team shows heart and leaves everything on the field. Clearly, both teams showed heart tonight and both teams walked away as winners.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 25 March 2010 09:42

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