Juniors Division:
Eagles Juniors defeat Martins by a score of 34-4
The Eagles bounced back from a loss last week to demolish the Martins on a beautiful Sunday morning in Lion Rock. With a 16-strong roster, the bats came out hot scoring 20 runs in the first inning with 10 straight hits. At the end of the half inning, 27 batters walked into the batter’s box. The bottom half of inning was quick affair with the starter, Kai Shohtoku, getting three quick outs with one K, one ground out, and one runner caught stealing due to a great back up and throw from CF Freddie Ernst to 3B Daniel Looram. The top of the second didn’t get any better for the Martins with 14 runs scored over 20 batters. The bottom of the 2nd ended relatively quickly too with Freddie Ernst coming in relief to get 3 outs while facing 9 batters. With time becoming an issue, the umpire called the game with only two innings played. Highlight of the week was Sean Peterson completing his cycle with a 4 for 4, 6 RBI performance.
Juniors Typhoons defeat Astros Falcons by a score of 26-1
When the bats are crackin’ nothing else really matters, as the Typhoons proved during a 4 inning hammer fest against the young Astros Falcons. Theo Simms and Jett Pederson lead the bonanza from home plate with 4 hits apiece: 7 singles, 1 double and 3 RBIs between them. Together they scored 9 runs. Jacob Lee and Daniel Zhang followed suit with 3 hits each, chalking up 5 singles and a double and 5 RBIs. Damian Lee hit an impressive blast to center field for a clean triple. The Typhoons blazed lines in the base paths with 20 stolen bases on the day. The Typhoon pitchers did not disappoint on the mound, with Shaye Schroth opening the game, allowing only one hit and no runs, with two strike outs to, ultimately, clench the victory after the Typhoons never let up after 5 runs in the first inning. Ethan Holland came in on relief with a great two innings of light’s out pitching and Daniel Zhang closed down the Astros with a strike out and two successive outs. The Typhoon’s defense was masterful, with zero errors on the day and great plays made in the outfield by Jacob Lee for a handful of crucial outs. The final inning sealed the Astro’s fate as the Typhoons mounted an onslaught that lasted for nearly 40 minutes, tallying 17 runs as the bats carried the day. Another great effort to take the Typhoons to 5-2 on the seasons.
U14 Typhoons lost to Pheonix White by a score of 12-2
In their very first appearance at the HK National baseball field in Sai Tso Wan, the young but feisty U14 Typhoons put up a strong showing against the seasoned Pheonix White team from Sham Shui Po. Jacob Flach toed the rubber in the opening innings allowing 6 hits and 4 runs while striking out 4 and walking none. It was a superb effort against a solid and very well coached Pheonix team of mostly older players. Ethan Holland came on in relief in the last 2 innings to contain the Pheonix White, but allowed 8 runs, most of which resulted from Typhoon fielding errors. Holland wiffed two batters and looked strong throughout his relief innings. Aaron You lead the Typhoon offense with 2 hits in 3 at bats, followed by a recovering Dylan Burgess, off the DL, in his first U14 game. Dylan had a hit, three stolen bases and 2 spectacular catches in deep right field to keep the game close into the later innings. The Pheonix White team proved too experienced and deep in the bullpen for the Typhoons to mount a comeback, but overall the level of play was superb and the players learned a lot from this outing against a bigger and more experienced team. We’ll be back soon to the HKBA fields to improve our 2-1 record.
Minors Division:
Minors Sharks vs. Astros Storm
Never have the words “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” rang more true than in this nail biter against the Astros Storm, a fantastic roller coaster of emotions for both teams, crowned by a walk off double by Aaron Lee to win the game for the Sharks 11-10.
The Storm hit hard in the 1st inning as the Astros racked up 5 runs on 3 hits against starting pitcher Taku Cheng. Hopes of an early comeback were dashed when the Sharks were left toothless by a sidearm lefty starter.
But the tide began to change in the 2nd as Connor Wang retired 3 batters in a row. As the Astros’ starter was replaced, the Sharks began to bite with 3 runs scored on errors by the opposition and an RBI double by Ethan Man.
The flow rocked back and forth, with the Astros clawing back runs against reliever Jason Zhu, only to be answered by persistent hitting, including a screaming left field triple by Evan Racine in the bottom of the 4th.
Racing against the clock, the Sharks entered the bottom of the 5th with a 3 run deficit as the sun began to set.
It was baseball at its best. Yoshi Hirano, bottom of the order, defied the odds and electrified his team with a career first single. Steely resolve drew walks from the opposition as Jason Zhu and Conner Wang singled, setting the stage for Aaron Lee (who came into the game looking for his first hit) to crack a two out, 0-2, walk off double worthy of Hollywood.
Minors Typhoons vs Ninewest
The Minors Typhoons (5-1) started a hit parade that lasted throughout the four innings of play smashing 10 hits in a 13 run outburst against Ninewest. They needed almost all of those runs as Ninewest attempted a comeback in the bottom half of the last inning but fell short by a score of 13-11.
The offensive barrage was led by Eugene Yan who had two triples in the contest, along with a multi-hit game from both George Rao and Taran Scheiwe. Quinn Lawler’s game tying double in the third and subsequent run scored on a wild pitch put the Typhoons up for good.
The team had their difficulties on the mound, but George Rao came in for some solid relief as he collected three strikeouts over an inning and two-thirds. Simon Chen (2-0) picked up the win with Elijah Park picking up his first save of the young season.
Minors Dragons vs Cowboys
The Dragons and Cowboys game began as a classic pitchers’ duel. Both George Hosford from the Dragons and Brady Chan of the Cowboys went back and forth for 2-2/3 innings of no hit baseball, each tallying 7 strikeouts. The game was turned over to the relief corps in a 0-0 tie. Scoring began in the top of the 4th with the Cowboys posting 3. The Dragons quickly answered back in the bottom of the fourth, but had to settle for 1 run due to a costly base running mistake. In the top of the 5th, and final inning of the game, Dragon’s pitching had difficulty finding the strike zone and gave up 5 runs. Final: Dragons 1 – Cowboys 8