Mustang Division
Yankees 10, A’s 5
The Yankees had the opportunity to clinch the No. 1 seed in the American League against the second place Indians to sow-up the regular season crown. The Yankees pounded-out 12 hits and scored 16 runs in a dominant performance. Leading the way for the Yankees were Mitch Hickey (2-for-4 with two RBIs and a homerun), Domenic Zanotto ( 2-for-2 with two doubles and three RBIs), Michael Williams (2-for-3 with a RBI), Jacob Fernandez ( 2-for-3 with two RBIs) and Stephen “Chuck” Gause (2-for-3 with two RBIs). Hickey and Gause also lead the way on the mound by pitching two innings a piece while striking-out a combined 10 batters out of 12 recorded outs. Brandon Lozada chipped-in a solid inning of relief striking-out each of the three hitters he faced. Not to rest on their accomplishment, the Yankees then faced the up and coming A’s on Saturday. In similar fashion, the Bronx Bombers of Morgan Hill let their bats do the talking in a 10-5 resounding victory. Christian Ukanwa drove in three runs with a pair of singles, Chuck Gause had two hits and scored two runs, Dom Zanotto had a hit and scored three runs, and Mitch Hickey hit a booming triple of the right field fence that started a two-out, four-run rally in the third inning. The scoring was punctuated when Michael Williams hit a scorching double that drove-in Ukwana for the 10th run.
Cardinals 10, Braves 9
Adam Belluomini, Jack Affourtit and Josh Alaniz took the mound for the Cardinals. Pitching for the Braves were Matthew Bellah, Tristan Ginkle, JT Miller, Clay Miller and Sam Aptekar. The Cardinals scored five runs in the first and third innings. Belluomini drove in three runs with a double in the third for the Cardinals and Sam Raney hit a double in the sixth inning. JT Miller and Aptekar both had doubles for the Braves in the first inning. Quentin Jorstad got his first base hit of the season in the second inning and the Braves scored five runs in the fifth.
Astros 2, Mets 1
Astros pitcher Taylor Pullen started off the game by pitching three innings with four strikeouts and allowed no runs. The Mets pitching staff began the game with starting pitcher Andrei Arroyo followed by Garrett Taylor, performing great defense. A nice defensive play by Patrick Kelly making a cutoff catch to hold Alejandro Torres of the Astros to just a single after a long hit. In the fourth inning, the Astros’ Pullen hit a bounding triple.
Astros 5, Angels 4
In the bottom of the first inning, Astros’ first baseman Evan Dean hit a double. In the top of the second, Brandon Duran of the Angels hit a triple. Astros left-fielder Giovanni Gonzales made an astounding catch in the bottom of the third. Justin Salgado hit a double and scored two runs for the Angels. Andrew Reisenauer pitched three innings giving up one run and striking out six.
Bronco Division
Cardinals 9, White Sox 6
Cardinals 14, Yankees 7
The Cardinals took back to back games this weekend beating the division leading White Sox (9-1) on Friday night and downing the Yankees on Saturday, 14-7. Cardinals pitcher J.P. Howard went five innings giving up three unearned runs while the Cards bats finally came to life. Aaron Wallace, Richie Martinez, Ryan Mooney, Christan Turnland and Howard all had key RBI hits. Mike Schreiber finished up for the Sox and Wallace got the save for the Cards. Brett Fuller and Marc Weber each had two hits on the night for the White Sox. Saturday’s game featured Aaron Wallace starting for the Cards but could only go two innings after pitching the night before. Nick Ramirez started for the Yanks and went four innings but nothing could stop the hot bats of the Cards. Wallace lead off the bottom of the first with a towering homerun that set the tone for much of the game. The big story of the game was long time MHPB player Pierre Gerard who had a RBI-single on a flare over the shortstop and also made two run saving catches on deep fly balls in right field.
Giants 7, Angels 6
In a close game that went to the last play, the Giants defeated the visiting Angels 7-6 on Saturday. The Angels racked up three runs on a single by John Forestieri, who took third on a single into right field by Clayton Howard. Forestieri scored and Howard took third on a single by Tyler Pederson. Pederson then stole second and both Howard and Pederson scored on passed balls. Successive singles by Angels’ Nelson Pyle, Connor Havstad, and Forestieri scored Dukes, Kral, and Pyle and tied the score at 6-6 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Giants batter Adrian Garcia reached first on a single. Garcia then came in from third colliding with the catcher so hard it jarred the ball loose and the run scored, giving the Giants a 7-6 victory.
