How They Made It To Championships
OnMonday, Aug. 13, the 17-18U RGMVM Twins began their quest for the championship.
Twins Manager Anthony Rosario lost a key player, Ryan Klaar, a week earlier due to a batting cage injury which would require reconstructive eye surgery. This event had encouraged the whole team to play the season for their teammate.
The Twins would end the season with a 5-0 victory over the third place RichHaven Mets, placing the team in sole possession of fourth place.
Rosario would give Twins ace Larry Lebeau the start against the fifth-place Cubs in the first round single elimination playoff game. The Twins would score in the bottom of the first with five straight hits starting with a single from Kenneth Sumsky. Lebeau would double to the fence to score Sumsky from first base followed by a single from Andrew Crimmins.
Tyler Rosario would single to score Crimmins from second base giving the Twins a 3-0 lead. In the third inning the Twins scored again thanks to a walk to RJ Klein and a double to Nick Lo Prinzi. Lebeau would go four strong innings with 5 strikeouts and two earned runs.
Tyler Rosario would come in relief to pitch the fifth to seventh innings. The righty would close out the game with four strikeouts and several ground balls for a 4-2 victory.
The Twins would advance to play first-place Corona in the semi-finals. On Wednesday, Aug. 15, the Twins would jump out to an early lead, but the hard -itting Corona team would stay in the game and chip away at the Twins’ advantage.
Corona would tie and pull ahead of the Twins in the top of the seventh with a 7-5 lead. The Twins answered with a lead off hit off single from Lo Prinzi and a screaming double from Sumsky which made the game 7-6. Rosario would drive in Lebeau with a single to tie the game.
A walk off walk gave th Twins an 8-7 win. Being a double elimination playoff, the Twins would face Corona for one more game on Saturday, Aug. 18.
The Twins would start game two with Larry Lebeau on the hill. Lebeau would get all the support from his comrades. Twins scored two runs in the first inning, three runs in the second inning, two in the third and three in the seventh. The dynamic duo of Lebeau and Rosario would combine for a four-hitter. Big hits came from second baseman Paul Perez, who went 4-4 with four singles, and RJ Klein who hit two monster doubles off the fence in victory.
But the day belonged to the long time veteran Sumsky, who went 4-4 with two singles, a double, a threerun homer and five RBI.
