Wins 15-3 on two five-run rallies
By Coach Mike Meeropol
The Philipstown 12U Little League team had to wait two weeks for its most recent game, but it was worth it. Five pitchers — Kevin Van Tassel, Johnathan and William Bradley, Dylan Gunther and Julian Ambrose — held visiting Hyde Park to three runs while the Philipstown bats came alive in the fourth inning.
After spotting Hyde Park two runs in the top of the first, Philipstown came roaring back, sparked by Van Tassel’s three-run homer to right for a 4-2 lead. That was the score when Van Tassel came to bat in the bottom of the third and hit his second home run, a screaming liner to left center that never got more than 5 feet off the ground before it cleared the fence.
The home team broke the game open with two five-run rallies in the fourth and fifth innings sparked by a Blake Bolte triple, two-run singles by Ryan Merritt and Ambrose and a two-run sacrifice fly from Bradley.
Fielding was particularly important when the game was close. In the first inning, catcher Johnathan Bradley threw out a runner attempting to steal second. At third base, Bolte had two put-outs on runners attempting to take extra bases. In the third inning, first baseman Jordan Albertson made the play of the game by coolly digging a low throw out of the dirt. The final was 15-3.
The 12U team (2-1) plays their final home game Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1 p.m. The 10U team plays at 11 a.m.
