2016 Youth League Baseball And Softball Season (3)
Winson Thai

 

The St. George Angels and Springfield Isotopes finish 2016 at 89-61, best record for the women’s western conference when the Isotopes beat the Angels in the season finale, but the Angels won the regular season series versus the Isotopes 10-9, so they are given the division crown and Springfield earns the wild card, though this loss costs the Angels the home field edge in postseason’s quarterfinals versus the Central Champions Canton Dragons, who finish 2016 also at 89-61, but went 6-4 against the Angels in the regular season. Vermont goes 0-7 and 0-6 versus the Dragons and Angels, respectively, but 7-0 against the Eureka Eagles and Stanton Dolphins, who close the season last in their divisions at 62-88 and 58-92, respectively.

The Dragons defeat the Angels in five games in Round One, outscoring them 22-18 despite being outhit 40-33. This is due to Canton outhitting St. George in only the decisive Game 5 7-6, which they won 3-2. Both teams had 13 hits in Game 1, which Canton won 13-7, while the Angels outhit them 7-3 in a 3-1 Game 4 win, 7-5 in a 5-2 Game 2 win and 7-5 in a 3-1 Game 3 loss. Canton swept St. George 3-0 in 2006.

The Rip Tide fight the Isotopes in the quarterfinals. In Game 1, Jamie Hinshaw’s blast off of Lynn Xu puts Springfield up 2-0 in the third. They make it 3-0 in the fourth on Liz Choi’s blast off of Xu. In the sixth, Chris Richardson’s homer off of starter Kristen Wood makes it 3-1 Isotopes. Springfield in the ninth gets girls on first and third with two outs off of Amanda Scarborough, then Hinshaw’s single scores a run, then two wild pitches score one more. In the lower half, Vermont loads the bases off of Fabien Baker with two outs, but score just once on a wild pitch with Richardson striking out to end the 5-2 game. In Game 2, Lisa Norris hits Janine Tanner with a pitch to lead off the third. She runs to second on a walk, then to third on a sacrifice bunt and scores on Savannah Brooks’s sacrifice fly, but the Isotopes tie the score in the sixth on three hits off of Alina Maroz. They get one more hit in the game. In the bottom of the 10th with runners on second and third and two outs off of Carmen Diego, Natalie Wilson grounds to first, but baseman Leah English bobbles the ball, letting the winning run score as Vermont got two leadoff singles that inning after getting just one hit through nine. Their 2-1 win ties the set going to Springfield. In Game 3, three Isotopes pitchers shut out the Rip Tide. Amanda Scarborough allows a leadoff shot to Britney Baines in the second and four straight one-out singles in the fourth, the third scoring a run and fourth scoring two. The Isotopes bust the match open in the eighth with five runs off of three relievers. Their 9-0 win puts them a win from the semifinals. Kyle Glasco homers on Trish Parks’s second pitch at Game 4. Kimberly Holt in the bottom half allows a two-out single followed by three walks to tie the score, loading the bases for Springfield, but escapes the inning without further damage. Janine Tanner’s homer after a leadoff single in the second puts Vermont up 3-1. In the third, Britney Baines’s homer cuts it to 3-2 and Holt departs with two outs and one on. Parks allows back-to-back leadoff doubles in the top of the fifth and leaves with one out and Glasco at third. She scores on Meryl Jefferson’s sacrifice fly off of Rachel Fox. Liz Choi doubles to begin the lower half of the sixth off of Shelly Hoerner, goes to third on a groundout, and scores on a sacrifice fly by Jamie Hinshaw, but Madison Flannigan permits back-to-back one-out doubles, then Bonnie Kozminski’s blast in the seventh makes it 8-3 Vermont, the final, forcing a Game 5 at Vermont. It is scoreless until the fourth as Natalie Wilson hits a leadoff single and scores on Chris Richardson’s triple. She, after a groundout, scores on an error that puts Janine Tanner at first. A single and walk load the bases and Kyle Glasco’s grand slam puts Vermont atop 6-0, knocking starter Kristen Wood from the game. Four relievers shut them out for the rest of this game as their team tries to claw its way back. In the fifth, Jamie Hinshaw’s double with two on off of Lynn Xu scores both. Britney Baines’s leadoff blast in the sixth off of her makes it 6-3 Rip Tide and Alina Maroz in the ninth allows a one-out walk followed by a single and Baines’s RBI single makes it 6-4 Vermont, but she retires the next two girls, striking out Leah English to end this game and set. Springfield outhits Vermont 12-9, strands 11 ladies and is 2 for 13 with them in scoring position as Vermont advances.

They face Canton in the semifinals. Kyle Glasco’s home run in the first in Game 1 in Vermont off of Gina Twain puts Vermont up, 1-0. Meghan Bore, after four perfect innings, hits Lesley Fernando with a pitch to start off the fifth as Kelsey Stewart’s double ties the game. After a groundout, she is thrown out at home trying to score on Monica Bennett’s single. Twain strikes out to close the inning. In the bottom half, Twain allows back-to-back one-out singles and one out later, Natalie Wilson’s single puts Vermont up 2-1. Janine Tanner’s blast in the sixth makes it 3-1 Vermont. Savannah Brooks singles, leading off the seventh, moves to second on a sacrifice bunt, steals third, and scores on Wilson’s sacrifice fly to end Twain’s night. Erin Evans’s homer in the eighth after a walk makes it 4-3 Rip Tide and knocks Bore from this game, then Amanda Scarborough comes in for a four-out save. Natalie Wilson in Game 2 singles, leading off the first off of Deana Benner, scoring on Sammie Nate’s double. Kyle Glasco then homers to make it 3-0 Vermont. Wilson walks leading off the third, steals second and third, and scores on Shelby Catalina’s single. Benner and three relievers shut them out for the rest of the game, but Canton scores just once after Ashley Carson singles in the sixth, steals second and scores on Tracy Lai’s double off of Alina Maroz while four relievers pitch 3 1/3 shutout innings. Vermont goes up two games to none in the series heading to Canton. In Game 3, Sammie Nate hits a one-out single in the first off of Ali Willis, scoring on Shelby Catalina’s double one out later, but Canton ties it in the bottom half on Erin Evans’s shot off of Kimberly Holt. In the third, Kyle Glasco’s blast puts Vermont up 2-1, but Canton ties it in the fourth on Lara Basin’s blast. Catalina singles, leading off the sixth off of Taryne Mowatt, goes to second on a sacrifice bunt, steals third, and scores on a strike-three wild pitch to Meryl Jefferson. Her team scores two runs in the seventh off of Farrah Shaw and Holt and two relievers shut out Canton. Their 5-2 win puts them only a win from the finals. Just one team, the 2005 Salem Warlocks, managed by current Canton manager Jay Lyndsey, rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series. Vermont in Game 4 gets two on in the first with two outs off of Kasey Southern, then back-to-back homers from Chris Richardson and Janine Tanner put them up 4-0. Richardson doubles next inning with two on and two away off of Farrah Shaw to put them atop 6-0. Canton loads the bases with no outs off of Lindsey Dean in the fourth, but scores just once on a groundout. Aubrey Bianco walks Sammie Nate with two outs in the eighth as Kyle Glasco homers to put Vermont up 8-1. In the bottom half, Canton gets those runs back when Tracy Lai homers after a double off of Shelly Hoerner, but no more as Vermont wins it 8-3 to finish the sweep in a series where they never trailed. Only one of seven teams that swept the semifinals since it was expanded to a best-of-seven series, the 1995 Tampa Whales softball team, won the finals. Glasco is the MVP with a .53 batting average and home runs in a record six straight playoff games.

On the baseball side, the Subways defeat the Stanton Dolphins in the quarter-finals three games to one despite being 1-8 versus them in the regular season for 11 straight postseason game wins versus them, including quarterfinal sweeps in 2010 and 2015 and the Seattle Marines defeat the Chicago Storms in four games also despite going 0-6 versus them for the regular season, outscoring them 17-13, but are outhit 36-28 from only outhitting them in one game. In the semifinals, Seattle takes the first game in New York, but New York ties the set in Game 2 before it shifts to Seattle. The Marines take the next two games, but New York wins the next three and outscore Seattle 32-1 (45-20 in the whole series) to be the men’s champions. The finals for the fourth time will have a team that swept their semifinal series fight one that won theirs in seven games. The seven-game winner won in all prior cases, showing long layoffs can hurt performances.

In Game 4 of the Subways-Dolphins series in Stanton, the Subways go up 1-0 in the first as Jacky Martinez hits a leadoff single off of Jason Lieu, scoring on Kendrix Miller’s double an out later, but in the bottom of the inning, Stanton goes up 2-1 on four straight one-out singles off of Zane Serena. They do not score for the rest of the game, however, despite having men in scoring position and under two outs in each of the next five innings and go 2 for 13 in those cases. Miller singles to lead off the fourth, goes to second on a walk, steals third and scores on Hank Rutenberg’s sacrifice fly. In the sixth, Miller’s homer puts New York up 3-2 off of Lieu, which is the game and series winner. Stanton had won Game 3 to force the game.

The Subways face the Rip Tide in the final round. In Game 1 in New York, three pitchers shut out Vermont. Alina Maroz pitches a complete game, but takes the loss when Mario Ruiz hits a two-run homer in the sixth. In Game 2, Damien Khaliq hits a leadoff shot off of Meghan Bore in the second. Vermont ties it in the third as Janine Tanner singles, goes to second on a groundout and scores on Kyle Glasco’s double off of Bernie Hales and Loren Pierre in the inning’s bottom half reaches first on a force out, steals second, goes to third on a wild pitch, and scores on Jacky Martinez’s single. Neither team scores for the rest of the match as New York takes a two games to none lead going to Vermont. In Game 3, Damien Khaliq draws a leadoff walk in the first, scoring via Hank Rutenberg’s two-out double off of Kimberly Holt, but Subways starter Zane Serena must leave in the bottom half after a bloody finger. Savannah Brooks ties the game on a homer off of Miller Diaz in the second. Rutenberg’s homer in the fourth puts New York atop 2-1, but the Rip Tide tie it in the fifth again off of Holly Evelyn as Shelby Catalina hits a leadoff triple, then scores on Sammie Nate’s groundout. Kendrix Miller’s leadoff homer in the sixth puts New York up 3-2, then Holt is taken out with an out after walking Rutenberg, who goes to second from a wild pitch by Ricki Milano and scores on Julio Rios’s single, making it 4-2 New York, the final. Kyle Glasco’s shot in the third of Game 4 off of Shane Madison puts the Rip Tide up 1-0. They make it 2-0 in the fourth as Madison walks two, then permits an RBI single to Shelby Catalina. New York cuts it to 2-1 in the fifth as James Cooper walks, runs to second on a wild pitch and scores on Tony Kennedy’s double off of Shelly Hoerner. New York gets just one more hit in the game. Vermont loads the bases with no outs in the seventh off of Jim Hardy. Bobbi Ian Williams’s single scores two. Catalina triples in the next inning off of Hugh Anderson and scores on Chris Richardson’s ground out to make it 5-1 Vermont, the final, forcing a Game 5, where Mario Ruiz singles in the first off of Alina Maroz and scores via Hank Rutenberg’s double. New York adds to its lead on homers by Damien Khaliq and James Cooper in the third and fourth, respectively. Four pitchers shut out Vermont. New York wins its first title since 2010 despite hitting .168, the lowest batting average for a winning team and being outhit 31-25 from getting outhit 7-6 in Game 1, only outhitting Vermont by one in Games 2 and 5, and both teams getting seven hits in Game 3, and a ticker tape parade is thrown in celebration along the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan with players, coaches, and elected politicians riding aboard floats.

The Princesses sweep the Tampa Whales, who they go 7-11 against, to close 2019 at 80-70, going 47-28 in the second half, after ending the previous two years under .500. The Salem Witches become only the second team to sweep a semi-finals series since it was expanded to a best-of-seven series, then win the finals, which the road team wins all seven games for the first time in Youth League history. They fight the Eureka Eagles, who defeat the Subways in the semifinals for the second time in three years after sweeping a three-game set at home in April and winning the finale of four at New York in July in the regular season. The Subways go 14-5 versus the Salem Witches, losing the first three of a four-game set in Salem in June, and 17-2 against the Vermont Rip Tide, losing the last two of three at home to start the year. The next year is reduced to 50 games without fans at stadiums due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The teams play 10 games against the other teams in their division and two versus each team in the same division at the other league.

The outbreak also affects Youth League’s postseason in 2020. The quarterfinals are a best-of-three with the team having home-field edge hosting all games. The semifinals are reduced to a best-of-five with the team without home-field edge hosting the first two matches and the team with it hosting the last three.

Versus the Salem Witches at home, the Princesses load the bases via a single and two walks off of Kasey Southern when a Sandy Boon walk forces in a run, then Jessica Dignon’s grand slam puts her team up 5-0. Salem gets two walks in the third, then Janine Tanner’s single aided by Dignon’s error scores both off of Sandy Boon. After Erica Beach allows a leadoff walk in the fifth, blasts by Sammie Nate and Tracy Lai tie this game. Jessica Moore’s blast in the sixth off of Gina Twain puts New York up 6-5. They win by that score despite being outhit 7-4, strand only two girls (Ashley Carson’s single after Moore’s homer and Dignon’s walk in the fifth), and go 1 for 1 with them in scoring position, that one hit being Dignon’s slam.

The Princesses play three versus the Hawks in Philadelphia. Tracy Lai in Game One hits a leadoff single in the first off of Terri Bell, moves to second on a wild pitch and scores on Lucy Jung’s single. One out later, Monica Bennett’s shot puts the Hawks atop 3-0, but they do not score again off of Bell and three relievers. New York loads the bases with none out in the second, but scores only once on Sherri Johnson’s single off of Hollie Jones. Kara Rau next inning hits a two-out double, scoring via Jessica Dignon’s single and Anita Casablanca relieves Jones. Dakota Russel’s blast puts her team up 4-3. They load the bases with no outs in the sixth off of Kimberly Holt. Dignon’s double scores two, then Russel’s single scores another off of Ali Willis. Dana Thompson’s one-out homer off of Farrah Shaw puts New York atop 10-3, the final.

The Princesses then face the Vermont Rip Tide at home, losing the first game 2-0, getting just one hit and leaving on four runners (on that hit, a walk, hit-by-pitch and error off of Ricki Milano, who throws 6 1/3 innings). They take the next game 7-1 and score three runs via two hits and three walks in the fourth off of Amanda Scarborough. Sammie Nate goes yard off of Terri Bell in the sixth, but in the bottom of the inning, Alina Maroz allows four runs as Jessica Dignon starts the scoring with a blast. New York takes the finale 6-4. Closer Maria Abraham allows a game-tying two-run blast to Natalie Wilson in the seventh, but Vermont closer Alina Maroz in the bottom of the inning allows a walk-off two-run shot to Jessica Dignon.

The Princesses face the Philadelphia Hawks at home. The Hawks go ahead 2-0 on Christina Bay’s blast after a walk in the second off of Sasha Ellis. New York cuts it to 2-1 on Fallon Gabriela’s blast off of Kimberly Holt in the bottom half. Kathie Petite walks four in the fifth to load the bases and force in a run. Erica Beach in relief allows a sacrifice fly, stolen base at home and RBI double to Meryl Jefferson. Shelly Hoerner gives up three hits in the bottom half, including an RBI single to Kylie Cox. Kyle Glasco homers after a walk in the seventh off of Terri Bell and Arielle Kerrigan in the bottom half allows two runs on two hits. New York walks eight ladies, hits one with a pitch and loses 8-4 despite outhitting Philadelphia 10-5.

The Princesses play three at home against the Philadelphia Hawks, who in the first game, go up 1-0 on Terri Bell’s wild pitch in the first with ladies at first and third, but New York ties the game on Dakota Russel’s blast in the bottom half off of Fabien Baker. Kylie Cox’s blast after a double and single puts New York atop 4-1. Neither team scores after that, so they win by that score. The Hawks win the next game 3-2 with each team scoring in the ninth and the third 9-6 despite being outhit 9-8. New York loads the bases in the fourth off of Arielle Kerrigan and Dakota Russel’s sacrifice fly scores a run and Sherri Johnson’s blast puts them up 4-0. The Hawks cut it to 4-3 off of Erica Beach in the fifth on Shirley Reil’s homer after two walks. Jen Sang’s homer next inning off of Kathie Petite ties the score. The Hawks score five runs on five hits in the seventh off of three pitchers. Ayumi Karino’s shot after a walk in the bottom of the inning off of Meghan Bore makes it 9-6 Hawks. Bore allows a single, then retires the next three girls to close the game.

The Princesses face the Whales in Tampa for three games, winning the first 7-6 in ten innings, but outhit Tampa 14-5. Five of Tampa’s runs come on homers and they strand just two girls, in the seventh off of Sandy Boon when Bonnie Kozminski reaches on an error and in the ninth when Shelby Catalina hits an RBI single off of Jo Wei. New York wins the next game 6-2 with Tampa scoring its two runs on solo shots (Logan Rome in the fourth off of Terri Bell and Macie Morrow off of Kathie Petite in the seventh) as they strand only one runner, a walk in the third. Dana Thompson ties the match with an RBI single off of Laura Lee after a double in the fifth as New York scores five runs on three hits in the seventh off of two pitchers.

The Princesses then play a four-game series versus the Witches in Salem, taking the first 10-9, but are outhit 10-8 and leave on 11 ladies as the Witches strand eight due to them walking 12 and making two errors. They win the next 8-6 (Joyce Camp hits a grand slam in a five-run first off of Sam Park and behind 6-5, Kara Rau hits a three-run shot in the seventh off of Lindsey Dean) and third 10-5, but are outhit 10-8. Salem avoids the sweep with a 10-2 win in the finale. New York gets solo shots by Lara Basin and Dakota Russel in the first and fifth off of Gina Twain, respectively. Carol DeVito walks two to lead off the bottom of the first and allows consecutive RBI singles to Sara Elias and Shelby Catalina. Another single loads the bases, then Liz Choi hits a grand slam. In the fifth, Salem scores four runs on four hits off of Sandy Boon.

The Subways begin the season 14-4, but lose 14 of their next 18 with a seven-game losing streak, their longest since 2017, starting the fade. They then win nine straight, their longest streak since 2013 and nine of 10 versus the Salem Warlocks, losing the last game at home, but lose eight of 10 versus the Tampa Whales, who finish first in the eastern conference at 35-15. Salem closes last at 19-31 and New York ends second at 28-22 to get the baseball wild card. They go 7-3 versus the Rip Tide, losing the last three games of four in Vermont. New York loses to the Whales in the semifinals in five games despite outscoring them 24-21. The Princesses finish at 21-29, same record as the Vermont Rip Tide, but going 4-6 against them in the year, are ranked last in the east. The Philadelphia Hawks win the division, but lose in the quarterfinals.

The Chicago Storms sweep the Colorado Racers in the softball semi-finals, outscoring them 13-2. The Racers score their only runs of the series in the ninth inning of Game 1. The Storms defeat the Tampa Whales in five games in the finals. Tampa takes the first one in Chicago 7-2 (but just outhits them 5-3 and strand nine runners due to the Storms walking ten and hitting three with pitches), but the Storms tie the set with an 8-2 win in Game 2 and win the next three in Tampa 8-6, 4-1 and 7-5 for their first title since 1988.

 

 

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