Rienzi and Sons of the RGMVM Little League have won five in a row with consecutive victories over Haller and Haller and Juniper Elbow, improving their overall record to 5-3.
On Thursday, May 10, Rienzi beat Haller and Haller 14-8 behind the strong starting pitching of August Larsen, who pitched three solid innings, yielding only one single and two walks while striking out 8-including striking out the side in the second and third innings.
Kevin Klaar made his pitching debut for Rienzi in the fourth. He worked through 10 batters before handing the ball to Frank Navarra for the final out, a three-pitch strikeout.
Massimo Todaro also made his pitching debut to finish the game for Rienzi. Todaro pitched the complete fifth inning, striking out two and earning his first save of the season.
On the offensive end, Rienzi came out strong, scoring five in the first and never looking back. Sam Navarra was 1-1 with a walk and executed a perfect squeeze bunt in the fourth, scoring Kevin Klaar from third base.
Derek Portalatin added two hits and scored twice, Todaro was 3-3 with three runs scored; Frank Navarra added two hits and scored twice, and Kyle Conlin reached base and scored in each of his two at bats.
On Sunday May 13, Rienzi continued their strong offensive efforts, beating Juniper Elbow 13-3. They were led by Nicolas Hutson, who had two solid doubles and scored twice in the leadoff spot despite limited playing time.
Sam Navarra hit a two run homer deep to left field in the second helping his cause on the mound and propelling Rienzi to a 6-0 lead. Larsen, who leads the league in walks, added three more to his total and scored twice.
Aidan Mooney had a strong game, contributing two singles and a triple and played flawlessly in the field turning a double play in the first to get Sam Navarra out of a jam.
Frank Navarra also had a strong day at the plate, going 3-3 with a walk and two runs scored including a triple deep to right. Frank also closed the game for his third save of the season. Brandon Balsamo had a strong single to left over the shortstop, while Portalatin was on base three times and scored twice. Joe Pizarro made his debut at second base for the final inning of the game.
The pitching duties were shared by Sam Navarra and Portalatin, who kept Juniper Elbow scoreless through five innings, combining on nine strikeouts.
Rienzi now looks forward to a rematch with Modica Pitching who bettered them earlier in the season 8-6.
