Nail-biter in Little League contest
By Mike Meeropol
On Saturday morning (April 23), as the weather brightened, banishing fears of a postponement due to wet conditions, two teams from the Philipstown Little League Majors division, the Mets and Yankees, treated fans to a thrilling game at the North Highland’s Firehouse field.
After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, the Mets were held to only one more run by the Yankees’ pitching staff of Terence Driscoll and Jonathan Bradley. Meanwhile, the Yankees cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the 4th inning. The Mets’ insurance run, scored in the top of the 5th, became extremely important when, in the bottom of the 6th, Evan Tighe worked a leadoff walk and scored the Yankee’s fourth run on a single by William Bradley.
Bradley represented the tying run at second base with two outs when Mets pitcher Julian Ambrose finished off a complete game — a nail-biter — for a 5-4 victory.
Ably supporting their pitchers, catchers Gianni Carone (Mets) and Jonathan Bradley (Yankees) gunned down runners on the bases. Blake Bolte and Gianni Carone (Mets), and Jonathan and William Bradley and Dan McElroy (Yankees) all launched extra base hits into the outfield. Evan Tighe scored two runs for the Yankees, including the all-important fourth one in the 6th.
The fans, coaches and players all agree these teams are evenly matched. They play one more regular season game at 9 a.m. on May 21 with a possible playoff date anticipated in early June.
