The 2024 Beast of the East would kick off in East Meadow, NY.  For the second straight year, the first leg would only consist of two games.  the Renegades would take pn the Strong and the Fire in these two contests.

Renegades Show the strong who has the muscles

First inning

The Renegades lost the coin toss but still got the home team.  On a glorious morning there was a constant breeze that would have an impact on this game.  The fields were playing hard and bouncy. The Strong batted first with Jack Mosko of the Woburn Host Lions taking the mound.  He struck out Chris Eagle on four pitches and then Joe Quintanilla on 6 pitches (1 take). Kelsey Linsenbigler then took the mound to face Matt Debrigard who had one foul and the same result.  Three up and three whiffs for the Strong.

This brought the Renegades up for the first time in 2024.  Shawn Devenish would lead the game off.  With three strikes, he would loft a high fly ball to the middle of the field and beat it out racing to third base.  Joe McCormick then hit a laser on the second pitch past all three layers of the Strong defense rolling past the 170 line.  Tyler Mireault would be next up, making his first career start and looking to break the Renegade rookie record of most hits to start their career.  He was tied with Drew Crook at two.  Tyler swung and missed three times before finding his timing with Cochran.  He fouled off two pitches then hit a weak grounder up the middle and scored, setting the new Renegade rookie scoring record for most hits to start off their career.  Peter Connolly would take the mound to face Shayne Cantan.  With three strikes, Shayne hit a grounder down the third base line past everyone for a run.  David Sanchez then came to the plate to face Connolly and hit the third pitch on the ground to the left side and scored, making it five straight runs.  This brought Rob Dias to the dish.  On the second pitch, Dias hit a ball to the left side but took a few steps to first when third was going off.  Those mis-steps cost the Renegades the run as Matt Debrigard made the stop for the Strong.  Shawn Devenish then hit another fly ball to the left side that dropped in the first layer of the defense and this time scored running to first base.  With 6 runs in, Weissman went to the bench and called Ivan Rodriguez to hit for McCormick. Pregame, Weissman told the whole team Ivan was going to score his first run of his career in this game.  Pitching to Ivan was Peter Connolly.  The at bat was pretty eventful including four foul balls and a trip to the ground as Ivan stumbled out of the box on one of them.  After a plane time out with a three strike count, Ivan hit a grounder down the third baseline, right at Winter Pingel for the out.  Tyler Mireault was next and on the third pitch hit a hard grounder past all three layers of the defense and scored his fourth consecutive run to start his career.  Luis Soto was next off the bench to hit for Cantan.  After missing the entire 2023 season due to brain surgery, Soto was sporting a bike helmet to protect his surgical area.  With Connolly back on the bump, Soto swung at four pitches and whiffed.  At the end of one inning, the Renegades were up 7-0.

Second Inning

Rookie Gianna Griffith would lead off facing Kelsey, and she would be the fourth strike out victim in a row.  This brought up Darren Black who followed suit with another strike out.  The 3rd Strong pitcher took the mound, Johnny Coe.  He faced Winter Pingal and she made the first contact of the game on a grounder to Rob Dias.

David Sanchez would lead off for the Renegades and would foul three straight pitches off and eventually strike out.  Weissman went to the bench for Dias bringing in Rob Thayer.  Thayer hit a line drive into left field and slowly turned to third base.  Thayer took a bad banana line to the base and then actually fell down about 3 feet from the base.  As this happened, Joe Quintanilla picked up the ball, but it was knocked out of his hands as he lay on the ground by Chris Nagle.  Nagle, then chased it as Thayer crawled to the base.  Nagle got to it first, but he never had possession of the ball and he dropped it.  The call on the field was out but the umpire stated that he stopped watching after the play.  There was no argument from the Renegades as there was no help for this umpire as both teams were manning the bases and there was no field umpire.  Thayer should have been safe, but the play took nearly 10 seconds and the call stood as an out.  Thayer then was sent to get his blood sugar checked.  Luis Rodriguez was then brought off the bench to hit for Shawn Devenish.  He hit a grounder down the first base line and Darren Black didn’t have to do anything other than drop to the ground to make the room service out.  The Renegades led seven to nothing after two innings.

Third inning

The Strong would have their top three hitters up.  They would go three up and three down with three more strike outs.  9 hitters up in this game and 8 went down by the way of a strike out.

Ivan Rodriguez would lead off the inning for the Renegades.  With one strike, he lofted a fly ball into left field and took off toward first base.  Ivan raced to first base redeeming himself for falling in his previous at bat.  In about 8 seconds, Ivan found first base, as the team erupted  and four of his teammates raced to first base to pick him up and celebrate with him.  It took him 27 at bats to do it, and when it finally happened, it was awesome.  To say Ivan was excited is like saying the green monster is green.  It’s an understatement and does not do the moment justice.  As Ivan celebrated, Tyler Mireault hit a grounder to the right side that Griffith did not hit the ground on and Black had to run backwards to get it.  They were not beating the speedy Tyler and Mireault had his third straight run and 5th straight run to set a new Renegades record for most hist to start off their rookie career.  Joe Yee then was next off the bench for the Renegades to face his cousin, Peter Connolly.  Yee blasted a hard grounder down the third base line past the strong defense for a 10th run.  David Sanchez was next and on the 6th pitch of the at bat hit a grounder down the first base line but he stopped running before he got to the base and stumbled as he touched it.  The call was contested but the call stood as there was no help for the umpire.  Elana Regan was next off the bench, hitting for Thayer.  She grounded the ball down the third base line right at a charging Wynter Pingal who made the stop in time.  Luis Rodriguez then hit a bottom of the bat dribbler to the right side that Griffith gobbled up quickly.  Ivan Rodriguez then copied Luis with a dribbler to the right side right to Griffith who stopped him before he made the 40 foot arc.  After three innings, the Renegades led 11-0.

Fourth inning

Griffith would lead off the inning with a strike out.  Darren Black then would hit just the 2nd ball of the game into play to the right side in the air.  Elana Regan charged the ball, dropped to her knees a little early, but picked up the ball long before Black got to the base.  On that play, Elana Regan set the record for most stops by a Female Renegade with the fifth of her career.  The inning ended on a strikeout by Pingal.

Chris Kimball was next off the bench, replacing Tyler Mireault.  Kimball fouled off four pitches and on the 6th pitch, struck out off Ron Cochran.  Joe Yee did not fare much better as he also struck out off his cousin, Connolly.  Rob Thayer re-entered the game, pinch hitting for Sanchez.  He hit a grounder to the right side that got past the first layer.  Chris Nagle charged in and raised the ball above his head for the out to end the inning.  After four frames, the Renegades held an 11-0 lead.

Fifth inning

The last Renegade came off the bench in this game as Melissa Hoyt came into the game, replacing Ivan Rodriguez on defense.  She became the 15th Renegade to play in a single game, a team record.  Chris Nagle hit a line drive to the left side, at Guy Zuccarello who missed it.  Joe Yee over pursued it to his left and it was by him.  Luis Rodriguez then was too slow to get to the ground and it was by him as well.  Chris Nagle got the Strong on the board, in fact he was the only Strong player who scored against the Renegades in 2023.  The Strong then went to their bench and brought Alberto Moreno into the game who struck out.  The Strong then pinch hit George Kamara for Debrigard.  Kamara would connect off Jack Mosko.  He hit a high pitch on a line to the right side.  Chris Kimball  hit the ground and made the play look easy giving all three players from the 2021 rookie class a statistic in the same game for the first time.  Griffith would strike out to end the inning.  After four and a half, the Renegades led 11-1.

Elana Regan would leadoff for the Renegades.  She hit a hard grounder to the left side on the first pitch and Winter Pingal would make her third stop of the game. Luis Rodriguez then hit a hard grounder past all three layers of the Strong defense for his first run of the 2024 season.  Melissa Hoyt would then come to the plate.  Facing Cochran, she fouled off three pitches and struck out.  Chris Kimball would be next and he would strike out to end the frame.  Boston led 12-1

Sixth inning

the Strong would bring  Christine Diaz off the bench and she would strike out.  Wynter Pingal struck out and Aaron Rawley came off the bench and struck out as well.  For the Strong, they struck out 15 times.  This was one of the most strikeouts of any opponent the Renegades have faced in 296 games.  The 79% whiff rate ranked as the 9th highest opponent strikeout rate in our opponents history.  The 15 whiffs is the 10th time that an opponent had struck out 15+ times in a game.  The last team to hit this mark against the Renegades was the New Jersey Lightning in 2017.

Wrap up

The players of the game for the Strong would be Chris Nagle who scored their only run and made 2 stops on defense.  The Renegades players of the game would be Tyler Mireault who was a perfect three for three and Ivan Rodriguez who scored his first run of his career.  The would be the 28th time in team history the Renegades had held an opponent to one run or less.  It was also the 35th time the Renegades had won by 11 or more runs in a game in team history.

Fire and Renegades battle it out

The Renegades had completed its first game of the 2024 season and Philly was playing in its 4th tournament of the season.  These two teams have had some epic battles in recent years including the Renegades beating the fire in the 2022 World Series.  Philly was on a two game win streak over Boston entering this match.  The Fire would be without their superstar, Casey Krause.  Justin Rhines was also making a comeback after knee surgery.  Philly flew in Cesar Lezcano (Arizona) and Nick Silver (stl) for this contest.  For the Renegades, they would bring 15 players into this game.

On a hard field, pitched up field to left and down field to right with bumps and a light breeze, the two teams would take the field.  Philly had a bye in the morning game and the Renegades walked all over the Strong in a 12-1 blowout with the Strong striking out 15 times.  This game would be a test, a test for both teams.  For the Renegades Bryan Grillo would call the left side of the defense with Peter Connolly calling the right side.  Ron Cochran would have 4 of the hitters in the Boston lineup with Peter Connolly taking the three-hour hitters of Shayne Cantan and David Sanchez.

First inning

Philly would lead off a red hot Tyler Rodriguez, coming off a Chicago tournament where he hit over .700.  Tyler started things off with a high pop fly with a ton of back spin on it.  Dias backed up on it and when it hit the ground charged it, slid and whiffed picking it up twice before he got it up on the third attempt.  It was a tad too late and Tyler scored running to third base.  John Margist was next, fouled off two pitches, took a pitch and struck out.  Scott Hogwood was next and hit a dribbler to the left side as Hogwood took two steps to 3rd base before finding that first base was the base with noise.  Dias charged the ball to his right, slid and it rolled under his arm as he slid.  Dias recovered and made the stop in time this time for the 2nd out. This brought up Cesar Lezcano.  He hit the first pitch up the middle.  Shawn Devenish was frozen and seemed to lean to his left, while Guy Zuccarello took a step to his right.  The call from Peter Connolly may not have been clear as they went in opposite directions.  Devenish recovered but hit the ground late as the ball rolled just by him.  Tyler Mireault was there to back him up but over ran it.  Lezcano was safe. Nick Silver then stepped up from the right side of the plate with his three iron.  On a 3-1 pitch, Silver hit his three iron into left center past a diving Shawn Devenish.  Joe McCormick lined it up moving to his left  but as he dove for the ball it hit him and rolled away which gave Silver more than enough time to score.  Justin Rhines was next, and hit a bouncing grounder to the right side that bounced off a diving Guy Zuccarello’s hip and past Tyler Mireault in right field.   Tyler Rodriguez would get his second at bat of the game and the result would be be different as he whiffed to end the inning.  Two Strike outs, four runs and an error from Shawn Devenish and the Fire started hot.

Boston would start this game off with Shawn Devenish as the leadoff hitter and Ron Cochran on the hill.  Devenish with improved hitting mechanics had been hitting with more power than at any time in his 8 years as Renegade.  He blasted a line drive into right field past Nick Silver for an easy run.  Joe McCormick was next.  He fouled off the first pitch right back to his catcher and then went down swinging for the first out,  Peter Connolly took the mound to face Shayne Cantan.  On the third pitch, Shayne hit a laser down the third base line that landed just a few feet foul.  With three strikes, Connolly changed the speed of the pitch and Cantan hit a fly ball to the left side.  That air gave him time to sprint to first base and score as he crashed into the base. David Sanchez fouled off the first pitch but then swung and missed three times for the second whiff and second out of the inning. Rob Dias was next with Ron Cochran coming back to the mound.  Dias lined a shot to left center.  Margist had to race to his right and dove for the ball but it bounced away from him and by the time he could recover, Dias was safe at third base.  This brought up rookie sensation, Tyler Mireault who had yet to be put out in the five at bats he had in his career.  Mireault fouled four straight pitches off before hitting a hard grounder to the left side.  It scooted past Tyler Rodriguez who didn’t attempt to play it  and it went off John Margist giving Mireault time to race to third to tie up the game at four and gave him his 6th consecutive run to start his career (a Renegade record).  Shawn Devenish came back to the plate and on the 7th pitch of the at bat, hit a dribbler that sent Tyler Rodriguez to his right.  It was not hit well and Rodriguez gobbled it up.  Boston tied it up 4-4

Second Inning

John Margist led off with a line drive just over his pitcher, Pat Krause’s head.  Shawn Devenish appeared to have it lined up, but he didn’t get down quick enough and it went under him.  McCormick came to back him up sliding feet first to his left and the ball bounced off him as Margist scored the go ahead run.  Devenish could have had this ball if he had hit the ball sooner.  Sometimes the hardest ball to hear is the one hit right at you.  Hogwood was next and hit a fly ball into left center,  Devenish dove at it and sis poor and late transition to the ground had that ball bounce off him to his right.  McCormick had to change direction and just missed making the play as that tip from Devenish made it impossible to get Hogwood.  Lezcano and Silver would strike out brining Rhines to the plate.  With three strikes, he hit a dribbler up the right side middle of the field. Dias charged to his left and actually slightly over ran it as the ball hit him in the shins.  Dias picked it clean and nailed the speedy Rhines.  Philly took a 6-4 lead.

Joe McCormick would start things off for Boston.  After hitting a one hopper foul ball off third base, he hit a grounder down the third base line.  Tyler Rodriguez had to angle back to the line and it was a foot race as Mac raced down the third base line.  Tyler dove and the ball went off him into foul territory as Mac slid safely.  Shayne Cantan lofted a three strike fly ball up the left middle of the field.  Hogwood dove, Margist dove and Cantan was safe at third tying the game.  David Sanchez took the first pitch to the right side off the handle of the bat. Dakota Hogwood struggled to find it as the ball was spinning toward the line.  Nick Silver didn’t know where he was and went into foul territory as he almost got hit by Sanchez who pulled up and scored.  A questionable play that should have been stopped for player safety with Silver in foul territory.  Rob Dias then hit the 5th pitch to the right side.  Dakota struggled to find it and her dad ,Scott Hogwood tried to recover but was too late as Dias scored.  Hogwood spiked the ball in anger like a Rob Gronkowski touchdown celebration.  Mireault, staying hot, fouled off the first pitch and then hit a laser to left field, he stumbled out of the box but was able to recover and just beat a diving Justin Rhines to the base.  With five straight runs in and the Renegades up 9-6, Devenish came back to the dish.  He fouled off three straight pitches and struck out as Ron Cochran wished he had that last pitch back.  McCormick didn’t fare much better.  He had one foul ball and a take but the same result and his second whiff of the game.  Shayne Cantan and Peter Connolly came to the field.  They made some noise with a loud foul ball but the result was a whiff for three straight strike outs to end a big inning with a whimper.

Third inning

The top of the Philly line up would start off the third inning.  Tyler Rodriguez, grounded a ball up the middle.  Dias shuffled a few steps to his left and the ball rolled up his body and into Rob’s hands for the first out.  Margist was next and hit a dribbler up the middle.  Guy Zuccarello moved fat to his right and Dias over ran it going to his left.  The call may have been a zone off as Zuccarello battled Dias and they both missed the dribbler as Margist scored his third straight run.  Scott Hogwood then hit a hard bouncing grounder up the middle.  Devenish shuffled to his right and laid out with his arms fully extended and made an amazing stop for an out. Lezcano then hit the first pitch right at Dias.  Dias took one step to his left and hit the ground as the ball rolled by his feet.  That one step cost him the out.  He called Shayne Cantan up.  Cantan picked the ball up on a bang-bang play with Lezcano racing to third.  There was no umpire to ask for a check on the play as the home plate umpire had mentioned he had no help in this game as the Renegades and Fire were umping bases (or so that is what we thought). Sometimes the easy ones are hard and the hard ones look easy.  Nothing shows that more than the past four plays. Nick Silver struck out for the second out.  Boston held on to a 9-8 lead after two and a half.

For Boston they would have their 4-5-6 hitters with Sanchez starting things off.  Sanchez hit a spinning grounder off the end of his bat up the middle.  Tyler Rodriguez was able to track it down with ease for the first out.  Rob Dias has his third deep count making contact on the fifth pitch as he hit off the bottom of the bat right to Tyler Rodriguez.  Tyler Mireault was next and hit a bomb into left center field and with his speed scored his third run of the game and his 8th straight run to start his young career.  Shawn Devenish then hit a laser to the right side as the base cut off as he was running to first.  The base came back on and it did not matter as Silver had no chance to make this play and the Renegades pushed their run total to eleven.  Joe McCormick was next and with a full count hit a fly ball to the left side.  Margist slid to his right, dove and made a nice play right before McCormick hit the base.  Boston led 11-8 after three innings.

Fourth inning

Justin Rhines hit a grounder to the left side. Dias took one step to his right as the ball was hit well to his right.  Dias and Grillo may have thought it was hit right at him, but it was more to his right.  Shayne Cantan held his ground but he hit the ground too soon and the ball was just out of his reach when he got to the ground.  Rhines scored running to third.  Tyler Rodriguez then hit a grounder right at Dias again.  Dias took another step to his left and the ball went by him on the right.  Shayne Cantan hit the ground and the ball went off his feet as McCormick tried to corral it but didn’t have time with the speed of Tyler Rodriguez.  Margist then lofted a ball right at Cantan who was in right field for this play.  Cantan was frozen on the play and should have backed up.  The ball took one bounce and then was by a diving Cantan to make it 11-10.  Hogwood then hit a hard grounder up the gut and Devenish dove to his right and stopped the ball cleanly for the first out after three straight runs.  Lezcano then hit a bouncer to the right side past a diving Guy Zuccarello as Tyler Mireault broke the wrong way on the play. Shawn Devenish raced after it and picked it just as Lezcano hit the bag.  It was a close play but replays show the right call was made.  Nick Silver was next and the result of his at bat matched his name as he whiffed for the third time, picking up the silver enchilada!  Rhines would also end the inning in similar fashion  After three and a half, Philly took the lead 12-11.

Shayne Cantan would lead off for the Renegades and with two strikes hit a weak grounder off the bottom of his bat. Tyler Rodriguez scooped it with ease.  David Sanchez would then strike out for the second time after two decent pokes that went foul.  Rob Dias then hit a 39 footer that was foul and he ran 90 feet before being stopped.  Slightly gassed, he then hit the next pitch up the middle and raced to first.  Scott Hogwood bobbled the ball and Dias was safe.  Tyler Mireault, the kid setting Renegade records was next.  He fouled  off four of the first five pitches and then hit a weak flare to the right side.  Dakota Hogwood was caught off guard as her first step to the middle of the field.  She was not going to beat Mireault to the ball and Mireault (a former punt returner in high school) scored and learned about beep ball coffin corners.  Shawn Devenish then his a laser into left off of Justin Rhines and scored his third run of the contest.  McCormick then hit a laser into left field and on a bang bang play as McCormick hit first base, Rhines picked it up.  The umpire had no help and there was nothing the Renegades could do to contest the call.  After four innings, Boston was up 14-12.

Fifth inning

Tyler Rodriguez then blasted a hard grounder into left center.  Devenish dove but didn’t have a chance on it. McCormick over ran it and this ball traveled near the bleachers in deep center field as Rodriguez scored with ease.  John Margist then hit a grounder to the left side.  Dias took one step in the wrong direction again and then didn’t angle back to the ball and then threw his legs at the ball, he whiffed.  McCormick dove and picked up the ball a split second after Margist slammed into third base.  Replays show the call was made right.  Scott Hogwood then lofted a flare to the right center of the field.  Guy Zuccarello fell to his knees and reached behind him to make a clean pick of the ball to stop Hogwood for the first out.  Guy kept the game tied at 14.  Lezcano struck out for the second time.  Nick Silver then came up batting left handed at the request of his pitcher.  His swing looked much different from the left side, but the result was the same as Silver struck out for the 4th time.

Shayne Cantan would lead things off for Boston in the bottom of the 5th.  He would foul off three pitches and then miss for this second strike out of the game.  Weissman decided to go to the bench and brought in Luis Rodriguez to pinch hit for Sanchez.  After fouling off the first pitch, Luis hit a grounder up the middle.  Scott Hogwood dove to his left and the ball hit him in the feet.  Hogwood was able to recover to nab Rodriguez by a lot of time for a big out.  Rob Dias then hit a bouncer up the middle. Tyler Rodriguez took a bad step to the right and then dove to his left as Scott Hogwood was also coming over.  Rodriguez appeared to miss it but then seemed to pick it off the carom from Scott Hogwood.  Boston put up a bagel in the fifth inning.  This was the only inning of the game for both teams without a run scored.

Sixth Inning

Justin Rhines would lead things off for Philly.  He did hit a hard bouncer off Krause for a dead ball.  He would eventually would whiff and the 10th whiff for Philly for the first out.  Tyler Rodriguez then hit a grounder up the middle that went under a diving Rob Dias and right into the box of Shawn Devenish with plenty of time as Tyler raced to third.  John Margist was next with two outs in a tie game.  Margist blasted a high fly ball up the middle.  It was over Devenish and right at McCormick.  Joe took too many steps to his left and then had to dive back to his right and picked it up right after Margist hit the bag.  Philly took a 15-14 lead.  Scott Hogwood then hit laser into left center.  The only player who had a chance was McCormick.  Hogwood took steps to the wrong base again, but McCormick lined it up and the ball got by him as he dove and Philly took a two run lead.  Cesar Lezcano then hit a bouncer down the third base line.  Shayne Cantan dropped to his knees and was able to pick up the ball to stop the bleeding.  Philly led 16-14 heading into the 6th inning

Down by two in the bottom of the 6th, Tyler Mireault would lead off.  He would hit the first ball weakly to the right side as Dakota Hogwood charged it and Tyler raced to third. The play was called safe as Boston erupted.  However,  Philly called for help and for some reason the ump now had help?  The third base ump called him out and the call was over turned.  A crushing blow to the Renegades.  Tyler Mireault set a new record in renegades history as he became the first player ever to score in his first 9 trips to the plate.  The previous record was two by Drew Crook in 2019. Aqil Sajjad (2011) and David Sanchez (2108) round out the only four players in history to score in their first at bat.  Shawn Devenish was next and on the 4th pitch crushed a shot into left field.  Rhines would make a great play on it but the ball was in the air too long and Devenish scored.  Joe McCormick strolled to the dish.  He foul tipped the first pitch.  He then fouled off a ball to the right side.  The third pitch was a swing and miss and the fourth a take.  The fifth pitch was off the bottom of the bat weakly to Tyler Rodriguez for a room service out.  Peter Connolly and Shayne Cantan were the battery with 2 outs down by one run.  Cantan foul tipped two pitches but the result was a strike out.  Philly hung on to win a very close and great game 16-15.

Wrap up

For the Renegades, the players of the game would be Tyler Mireault, plating his first ever four run game and going 4-5.  Shawn Devenish also was 4-6 with three stops in the second layer of the defense.  For Philly, John Margist led the charge on offense with 5 runs and one big stop on defense.  Tyler Rodriguez made 6 stops to lead both teams.  The beast of the east could come down to a tie breaker in Jersey if both these teams can beat NJ and get to the finals in two weeks