by Matthew Cataruzolo
Westbury, NY — Batting 1000 made a strong first impression with a victory over the LI Storm at Eisenhower Park on Friday night. A rout of offensive firepower combined with a strong pitching performance gave Batting 1000 the advantage and eventually emerge victorious.
Back-to-back one-two-three innings for both teams indicated the possibility of a low scoring game. Batting 1000 starting pitcher Chrish Patel remained virtually unhittable throughout the game, and his offense provided him with plenty of run support.
The bottom of the second inning saw a barrage of offensive firepower from Batting 1000. Starting off with a scorching double off the bat of catcher Niko Koutsoftas, followed by a single by Jake Maxwell, Batting 1000 had first and second with one out.
Sean OConnell and Marek Williams both recorded base hits to give Batting 1000 a 2-0 lead. A wild pitch, a bases loaded walk and a two-run single by Antonio Dedona later, brought the second inning score to 6-0 in favor of Batting 1000.
Marek Williams opens up the scoring to give Batting 1,000 a 2-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/joELHf4SVe
Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 8, 2021
From then on, Batting 1000 continued to strengthen their lead, as Patel was keeping the Storms offense essentially out of the game.
In the bottom of the third inning, Batting 1000s offense proved they were not comfortable with their lead. Koutsoftas, Bryce Howes, Williams and Ian Yegides all recorded RBIs to bring the Batting 1000 run total to 11.
Ryan Moore came on to relieve Chrish Patel to close the door. Moore got the job done and the mercy rule was enforced after four innings. Batting 1000 defeated the LI Storm by a score of 11-1 on the first day of the East Coast Columbus Day Tournament.