Titans break 10 game losing streak to the Renegades
Heading into this game, the Titans finished 6th in the World Series and the Renegades 9th. The last time these two teams faced off was in New Jersey and the Renegades prevailed 18-5 in a 4 inning 12 run game. Things felt different. The Titans seemed focused, the Renegades were loose. Michael Donovan was called upon to take the coin toss on his 19th birthday, but that birthday luck didn’t pan out and the Renegades lost the coin toss in a humorous moment, when he called “home” as the coin was in the air.
First inning
For the Renegades, Shawn and Gina Devenish were unavailable for this trip. Ron Cochran would be pitching to Rob Weissman behind the dish. Joe McCormick got things started with a hard grounder down the third base line past everyone and scored at first base. Tyler Mireault fouled off the first pitch but then waived at three straight for a whiff. Rob Dias had a similar result as he also fouled off the first pitch and on the 6th pitch of the at bat became the second strike out victim. Shayne Cantan then fouled off six pitches and on the 8th pitch lofted a short fly ball up the middle. Lamont Bordley dove for it head first and it bounced off his body and Cantan was safe. Drew Crook, batting as the designated hitter then hit a grounder down the third base line past Damion Gonzalez and into the hands of deep man, Zach Turner.
The Renegades took the field with Bryan Grillo calling the left side and rookie Nick Morn-Tylock calling the right side in his first ever start as a caller. Zach turner dribbled the third pitch of the at bat up the middle. Rob Dias charged it, and slid on the wet grass and went by him. The ball trickled past him and Zuccarello also took too steep of an angle and Turner was safe. Alfonso Harrell was next and with a full count hit a dribbler back in almost the same spot. The result was the same as Dias flew by it again and Zuccarello wasn’t there in time. Damion Gonzalez, the lefty got to a full count as well and lofted a fly ball up the middle. McCormick moved to his left but the ball was hit right where he started, which meant the call may have been off. It skipped away from him as he scrambled to find it. Gonzalez missed first base and McCormick made the stop with the extra time. This should have been the end of the inning but it was just the first out. Lamont Bordley then laced a grounder just fair down the third base line and it went into foul territory after the base. Cantan reached the ball just as Bordley hit first base and the run counted. Marvin Morgan fisted a hit to the right side. Zuccarello charged it, bobbled it and recovered for the second out. Randy George then hit a two strike delivery on a line right at Rob Dias. Dias jumped right but Cantan held his ground, which means Dias may not have heard the call right. However, when Cantan gave chase he fell to the ground in a way that looked like he could not decide to go head or feet first. That indecision allowed the ball to roll by him for a run. That turned the order over for the Titans. Turner, in his second at bat then laced a bouncer up the right center of the field but the base never went off. Turner then hit the next pitch in the air that landed on the third base line at about 55 feet. Dias gave chase, slid on his knees and could not pick it clean and Turner had his second run of the inning. Harrell then worked a full count and hit a grounder right to Dias. Dias hit the ground at the same time the ball hit him which kicked it into foul territory about 25 feet away. Dias and Cantan gave chase but Harrel beat them to third base. Gonzalez grounded a hit up the middle on a full count. Zuccarello was there but dove late as it went under him. Dias gave chase and McCormick creeped in. Gonzalez missed the base again and that gave McCormick the time to make the out. The Titans had taken a 6-2 lead. From the Renegades perspective, it could have been a 1-2-3 inning. From the Titans perspective, if Gonzalez had not missed bases – it could have been 8-2 with just one out. Either way, it was a sloppy inning on a wet field for the Renegades.
Second inning
Luis Rodriguez hit a ball that traveled about 30 feet and the bat made a weird noise on contact. For safety, the bat was taken out of the game as it may have been compromised. Luis eventually struck out after fouling off the first two pitches. Joe McCormick then hit the first pitch up the middle as it creeped past the forty foot arc. Randy George pursued and make the stop on McCormick for the second out. Tyler Mireault was next and laced a line drive into left field past Gonzalez for his first run of the game. Rob Dias would have another epic at bat with four foul balls and the result would be his second strike out. Heading to the bottom of the inning, The Titans led 6-3
Chris Kimball would sub in for Luis Rodriguez to play defense. Lamont Bordley would lead off the 2nd inning and hit a 60 foot pop up to the left side. Rob Dias, already having a tough day froze on the call and was unable to get it in time to get Bordley. Marvin Morgan was next and hit a grounder to the left side. Rob Dias could not get it in time an Morgan was safe as Dias’s frustrations went to an all-time high. Randy George then hit a grounder down the third base line and Shayne Cantan was able to make the stop for the first out of the inning. Zach Turner then went back to the third base line on a ball that landed between Dias and Cantan and he scored his third run of the game. Alfonso Harrell then laced a line drive up the middle that was stopped by Joe McCormick. Damion Gonzalez then went to McCormick for the third time and this time on a clean base, McCormick stopped him for the third time. The Titan lead swelled to 8-3
Third inning
Shayne Cantan would lead off for the Renegades and in Shayne Cantan fashion fouled off three pitches before grounding a ball down the third base line for a hit past the outstretched hands of Damion Gonzalez, Drew Crook then hit a first pitch grounder to the left side that got into the third layer of the defense and Zach Turner made the stop before Crook could reach base. Joe Yee popped off the bench to pinch hit for Kimball with Hunter Weissman taking the mound. After a foul ball, Yee hit a pop fly to the left side and Randy George made the stop. Joe McCormick ended the inning with a weak grounder down the third base line that Randy George charged and picked clean to end the inning. The Titans led 8-4.
Elan Regan checked back in for the Renegades on defense at first base. Lamont Bordley started the inning with the Titan’s first strike out of the game as Steve Dinome was pitching his best game against the Renegades in his short career. Marvin Morgan then muscled a hard grounder down the first base line. Elana Regan was slow to react and took a shallow angle as the ball rolled to the 170 line for a run. Randy George Lined a ball to the left side past Dias, but Cantan was there to scoop it for the second out. Zach Turner then laced a line drive up the middle to the 170 line for his best hit of the game and 4th run of the contest. Alfonso Harrell then hit a short pop fly to the left side. Dias struggled again and Alfonso was safe. Damion Gonzalez ended the inning with a strike out. The Titans lead grew to 12-4.
Fourth inning
Tyler Mireault hit the first pitch of the inning on a line into right field past Walli Salahuddin, the designated fielder for an easy run and the best hit of the Renegades day. The frustrated Rob Dias then struck out for the third time in a row. Shayne Cantan hit the 3rd pitch in the air to the left side that Randy George picked clean. Drew Crook hit a hard grounder that Damion Gonzalez stopped in the second layer of the defense. A nine pitch inning to four hitters and the Renegades limped back to defense down 12-5.
In this inning, a switch was called as Rob Dias moved to the right side of the defense and Guy Zuccarello went to the left side. Lamont Bordley got things started and tested Rob Dias immediately and Dias answered the call as the team cheered. Marvin Morgan then stepped to the plate and drove a ball deep to left field past everyone. The head umpire, Jason Price went out to talk it over with spotter Bryan Grillo to the disbelief of coach Weissman. It’s important to note that the Philly tournament did not have a single volunteer on the field. There was no base operator, no field umpires no base umpires at all. The only umpire stood near 180 feet away from the ball. Weissman immediately argued that requires help to make. Weissman had the same vantage point and could not see the ball go over the line. After Weissman lost the argument and then upon dropping an F bomb about how poorly the tournament was staffed was warned for the whole tournament. It was a tremendous achievement from Marvin Morgan who became the oldest player to ever hit a home run at 65 years of age. A home run is worth two runs. When play resumed with a seething Weissman on the sideline, Randy George grounded a ball up the middle on the right side. Zuccarello beat Dias to the spot and made a clean pick on the run for a nice defensive play, Turner whiffed to end the inning. This game was over as the Jersey energy reached a high on the Morgan home run. Jersey led 14-5.
Fifth inning
Luis Rodriguez pinch hit for Elana Regan and on the second pitch grounded to the left side and raced to first. At around 80 feet to the base, he side stepped and changed his line running past and missing the base on the outside side of it. As he pivoted to come back, Zach Turner made the stop in the third layer. Joe McCormick then went back to the same spot. Gonzalez could not line it up and McCormick was safe sliding into third. Tyler Mireault then ripped the second pitch hard on the ground into right field past Salahuddin and past the 170 line for a run. Rob Dias made it three straight on a weak grounder down the third base line. George took the wrong angle and then was late to recover as Dias hit third base. Cantan hit a weak grounder on the first pitch right at Randy George. Crook had a mirror image at bat to George and even though the Renegades had their best offensive inning, they still trailed 14-8.
Alfonso Harrell led off the inning with a line drive up the middle. McCormick over ran the ball and then dove backwards as the ball went by him. Tyler Mireault gave chase but could not pick it in time. Harrell had a four run game. Damion Gonzalez hit a full count pitch down the 1st base line. Dias raced to the line without an angle, slid and it went under him. Mireault pursued too far into foul territory and almost got in the way of the base runner and Gonzalez had his first run of the game. Lamont Bordley then lofted a fly ball to the left side bouncing over Zuccarello. Cantan had it lined up on his knees but it bounced off him as McCormick flew in from the middle of the field. The two fought to control the ball and that was enough time for Bordley to hit third base for his third run of the contest. After a Marvin Morgan strike out, Randy George hit a grounder up the middle sending Zuccarello and Dias to the middle of the field Guy made the stop. Zach Turner struck out for the final Titan at bat of the game and just the 5th whiff of the game. The Titans led 17-8.
Sixth inning
Pinch hitting for Luis Rodriguez would be the birthday boy, #19 and 19 year old Michael Donovan. He swung and missed four times with a take mixed in to lead off the sixth. McCormick then laced a line shot into left past everyone for his third run of the game. Tyler Mireault went down on strikes after a 7 pitch at bat. Dias then laced a line shot into left field past everyone for his second run of the game. The game would end with a nice high fly ball to left field off the bat of Shayne Cantan. Zach Turner would make a great play to end the game with a 17-10 win.
Wrap up
This win was a milestone win for the Titans. It snapped a ten game losing streak for them against the Renegades. It also put them into the Beast of the East title game for the first time ever. The player of the game would be Zach Turner who scored four times and made 4 stops in the 3rd layer of the defense. The Renegades were paced by McCormick and Mireault who each scored three times and McCormick led the defense with 4 stops in the middle of the defense.
Renegades beat NY for the first time
Boston would take on the New York Bombers for the first time ever. The Long Island Bombers had rebranded their team to New York. This rebrand brought a roster of new players to the squad. Three new players would start this game for New York
1st inning
With Gina Devenish and Bryan Grillo doing the spotting for the defense, A familiar face would leave off in Joe Dejesus against their young pitcher, Matt Galante. He hit a grounder to the right side where Guy Zuccarello made a stop with his leg and picked the ball clean for the first out of the game. The first new New York rookie was next in Taisham Brown, a fast left handed hitter with a big one handed swing that got all of the Renegades off the bench and moving in case he let go of the bat. Brown grounded to left field down the third base line sending Rob Dias and Shayne Cantan chasing the ball. Cantan took too steep of an angle and it never made it to him. Brown’s speed was too much and the New York Bombers were on the board. The next rookie, Shan Doran stepped into the box from the right side. He hit a full count dribbler to the left side into the gut of Rob Dias for the second out. Alex Barrera, the DH, struck out to end the top of the first inning with New York holding a 1-0 lead.
Leading off for the Renegades, Joe McCormick laced a hard grounder into left field to tie the game. Tyler Mireault, batting second hit a first pitch grounder up the middle. rookie, Tanveer Ahmed picked it and the ump called “out” as he dropped it. Despite the umpire blowing the play dead before it was, the out call stood. Rob Dias then hit a hard grounder to the left side, Brown laid out and missed it and Dejesus laid out and picked it a split second after Dias hit third base as the Renegades took the lead. Shayne Cantan then put another epic at bat together fouling off the first 6 pitches before waiving at pitch seven. Cochran threw more pitches to Cantan then the first three hitters in the lineup (7-6). Drew Crook stepped into the box and with three strikes hit a weak bouncer up the middle that Tanveer Ahmed stopped with ease. The Renegades took a 2-1 lead.
2nd inning
The Bombers sent Mel’Shawn Wee-Ellis to the plate in his first at bat against the Renegades. The speedster with a Jamaican flag hanging out of his pocket struck out. Long time Bomber, Matt Puvogel followed suit with a whiff of his own. With a full count, Joe Dejesus hit a bouncer up the middle. Rob Dias got a great jump on it but it rolled under him and into the waiting arms of Joe McCormick for a 1-2-3 inning. Boston led 2-1.
Luis Rodriguez entered the game to hit for Elana Regan who played the first two innings on defense. With three strikes he hit a hard grounder into left field and Joe Dejesus stopped him in the third level as Luis took a terrible line to first running about 70 feet in fair territory. McCormick then hit the first pitch past Dejesus and scored his second run of the game. Tyler Mireault then laced a line drive that hit Shan Doran right in the chest. As he gathered himself, he dropped to his hands and knees and that’s rarely going to beat Tyler in a race and Mireault scored. Rob Dias hit a high pop just clearing the 40 foot line. Ahmed was slow to react and Dias scored his second run of the game. Cantan then got back to his foul ball ways and fouled back two in a row. Working to a full count, he hit a pop fly to the right side and Doran could not find it. Cantan was on the board. Crook laced a shot past everyone into right center field rolling past the 170 line into the baseball field and he cruised into first base. Rodriguez kept the party going with a hard grounder into right center past the third layer and he represented the 6th run of the inning. With the lineup turning over, an opportunity arose to have a huge inning. However, McCormick waived at four pitches for his first out of the contest. Mireault fouled three pitches off and then hit an absolute missile past everyone into left field. Sadly, the ball was dead and the stupid rule of punishing hitters for crushing a ball sent Tyler back to the dish with three strikes. The result was a strike out as the umpire reacted with a comment about how he also did not like the rule. A big inning had the Renegades up 8-1 and looking at the 12-run rule.
3rd inning
Taisham Brown started things off with a grounder to the left side. Dias took one step to his right and hit the ground as the ball rolled past his head. Cantan lined it up, dropped to his knees and scooped the ball quickly to stop the speedy Brown. Sean Doran and Alex Barrera struck out as Galante had five whiffs through 3 innings.
Rob Dias, always making things interesting, hit a first pitch grounder to the left side. Brown laid out with his head toward the line and the ball went off his hands and trickled into foul territory. Dias was steaming down the line as the Bombers screamed stop, preventing Brown from colliding with Dias and the run was awarded. Cantan actually hit the second pitch on a line up the middle past a diving brown for the 10th run of the game. Off the bench popped the birthday boy, wearing #19 on his 19th birthday, Michael Donovan. He struck out on 4 swings and a take in his second career at bat. Luis Rodriguez, his confidence growing, then hit a fly ball into left field past Dejesus for his second score of the game. McCormick earned the hat trick with a line drive into left past everyone. Chris Kimball subbed in for Mireault and hit a dribbler up the middle. A foot race between him running 100 feet and Tanveer Ahmed running 20 feet, and Ahmed won the race, barely. Boston led 12-1 and was on verge of the 12 run rule.
4th inning
With Kimball taking the field on defense. The Bombers would have a rough inning as Wee-Ellis, Puvogel and Joe Dejesus all struck out. Galante was now at a 75% strike out rate. Boston needed just 1 run to be able to put the game in the 12 run rule.
Coming to the plate next, Luis Soto hitting for Drew Crook. Pregame, Soto switched to have Cochran as his pitcher. Senior Soto hit a first pitch dribbler up the middle and Tanveer Ahmed was all over it like an ant on a cookie crumb. Donovan, now the DH crushed a ball into right field toward the third layer. Donovan raced past first base, missed it on the inside of the bag, pivoted and came back to the bag, missing it for the second time as the Bomber defense could not find the ball. On his third attempt Donovan scored his first career run. Rodriguez was next and lost his rhythm as he swing before getting his front foot down and then stopped striding and found nothing but air. This brought Hunter Weissman to the mound to face pinch hitter, Joe Yee. Yee hit one down the line that rolled just foul at the last minute. He would find air for the rest of his swings. The Renegades had a 13-1 lead and the 12 run rule was invoked.
5th inning
Heading into the fifth, some defensive changes were made. Elana Regan subbed in for Rob Dias at the left short position. Chris Kimball moved up to the right short position. Joe Yee stayed in the game at first base. Two rookies, Jen Morin-Tylock and David Marcano subbed in at third and midfield. Luis Rodriguez remained the only starter on the field.
Taisham Brown stepped in and with a full count lofted a pop fly to the right side. Kimball slid to his right but froze on the call, lost his balance for a second and by the time he attacked, the speedy Brown was at third base representing all two of the Bombers runs. Sean Doran whiffed for the second time. Alex Barrers, hit a pop up to the middle of the field. Regan tracked it but didn’t hit the ground. Kimball was there to back her up but booted the ball off his knees and Barrera had the first non-Brown Bomber run. Weissman called time and inserted Rob Thayer into the game at first base to replace Joe Yee. Edgar Erickson, pinch hitting from the right side struck out for Galante’s 10th. Then rookie, Anthony Devito came to the plate. He hit the second pitch to the right side on a bounce, Kimball raced in and the ball squirted by him. Kimball stopped and reversed direction and nailed Devito.
6th inning
John Gilroy entered, hitting for Dejesus and dribbled a grounder up the middle. Gina Devenish made a bad call as she was frozen by the big swing of Gilroy. Regan and Kimball raced into the middle and then as they met each other realized the ball was 30 feet in front of them. Kimball raced forward, slid past it and picked it up to just get Gilroy. Taisham Brown then lofted a first pitch fly ball up the middle right at rookie, David Marcano. Marcano held his ground, let it bounce twice and as it rolled, he hit the ground and stopped the ball on his thighs. The entire Renegade defense celebrated loudly to honor the rookie, as he held the ball above his head in a stance like Rocky had after a big win over Apollo Creed. He became just the third Renegade since 2003 to make a defensive stop in his first game joining Rob Dias and Corey Joseph in history. Sean Doran stepped into the box and with a full count hit a line to right field that just missed Kimball and hit Rob Thayer in the leg as he was sliding to his right. The ball kicked away from him. Thayer fell, lost his balance, recovered and crawled for at least 15 feet. Doran was about to hit third and the umpire called safe even though Doran appeared to miss the bag. Thayer picked it up as Doran was coming back to the base. The call was contested and as Galante and Weissman debated what was bigger , Doran’s first run or Thayer’s 2nd career stop since 2011. The umpire awarded it to Doran as the Bombers celebrated their rookie. Alex Barrera, the strong captain, hit the first pitch to the left side as Regan took one step, dove and stopped it in her abs for the final out of the game.
Wrap up
The Renegades players of the game would be David Marcano for his first stop of his career and Michael Donovan for his first run of his career. Joe McCormick and Rob Dias would pace the Renegades with three runs and six different Renegades made a stop in the game on defense.
Renegades beat Bombers for third place
For the first time in Beast of the East History, the Renegades were not in the championship game. Instead, they were playing for third place against the New York Bombers, the game started very late because the day was slowed by a 30 minute late start, zero volunteers on the field and the fact the Strong and Bombers took a 20 minute break during the previous game. Unknown to the Renegades entering this game that their main opponent would be the clock.
First inning
New York won the coin toss, chose home and the Renegades came to the plate. Joe McCormick led off and with a full count hit a bouncer up the middle that bounced over the ducking Ron Cochran. Tanveer Ahmed was on it and picked it clean long before McCormick made it to third base, but the Bombers had a double call on their defense and the run was awarded to the Renegades. Tyler Mireualt then hit a weak grounder up the middle and a diving Tanveer Ahmed made the stop. After a Shayne Cantan whiff, Luis Rodriguez came to the dish. He also hit a weak grounder to Ahmed. A weak start to the game and the Renegades led 1-0.
James Sciortino would be the pitcher in this game with Matt Galante on the sideline injured with a bone bruise on his shin, after getting hit by an Alex Barrera line drive in the previous game. Bryan Grillo and Nick Morin-Tylock would be the callers in this game for the Renegades. Taisham Brown, the rookie left hander with a full count hit a hard grounder to the right side bouncing over a diving Guy Zuccarello. Tyler Mireault slid feet first and missed it past his hands and Luis Rodriguez slid in in the third layer to make a nice stop to get the speedy Brown. Rookie Shan Doran was next and hit a bouncer to the left side, a room service play for Rob Dias who made the stop quickly. Joe Dejesus, hitting third, then hit a weak grounder up the middle and Rob Dias was on it to make a 1-2-3 inning. The renegades led 1-0 after one frame.
2nd inning
Drew Crook started things off with a strike out, Chris Kimball, getting the start was next and with two strikes he hit a line hugger that stayed fair dancing on the third base line and scored running to first. McCormick then hit a high fly ball that landed just past the 40 foot arc that must have frozen the New York spotters as the defense was late to chase it and McCormick scored easily. Tyler Mireault whiffed. Shayne Cantan then hit a first pitch weak grounder up the middle to Tanveer Ahmed. Boston led 3-0.
Elana Regan subbed in for Chris Kimball in the right short position, where Guy Zuccarello started. Melchion Wee Ellis and Tanveer Ahemd would each have the same result by having Rob Dias stop them to start the inning as Dias now piled up four outs in a row, Matt Puvogel struck out to end the 2nd and Boston held a 3-0 lead.
3rd inning
Luis Rodriguez started off the inning with a pop fly to the left side Ty Brown was there and picked it just before Rodriguez hit the base, but the call went in favor of Rodriguez and Boston was up 4-0. At this point, Joe Yee came into the game to hit for Drew Crook and with him came Hunter Weissman to the mound. Yee hit the second pitch just barely past the 40 foot arc. Ahmed came racing in and Joe Yee slowed up right before hitting the base as he was about to crash into it giving Ahemd the out. Elana Regan then got the at bat and on the third pitch hit a grounder down the third base line. She ran past first base on the inside of it and had enough time to come back and hit the base for the run. Joe McCormick then hit a line drive off Ron Cochran’s hip for a dead ball, he then had an 8 pitch at bat resulting in a strike out. Tyler Mireault was next and drilled a line drive into left field past everyone for an easy run. Shayne Cantan was next and hit a second pitch line drive into right field that kicked off the 2nd layer Bomber defender about 20 feet and he scored his first run of the game. Luis Rodriguez, who started the inning then laced a line drive into left field at Joe Dejesus and he ran into the field of play and then veered way left and probably ran 110 feet in total, which was enough for Dejesus to get him in time, making up for last time he may have gotten the benefit of the doubt with a call. During this inning, the Bombers notified Weissman that this would be the last inning as they had flights to catch. This caught the Renegades off guard, reducing the amount of innings they had to get players into the game.
Ty Brown would lead off the “last inning” with a strike out,. Weissman then subbed David Marcano in for Joe McCormick at the mid field spot. Shan Doran, with a full count hit a weak grounder to the right side and the rookie stood in the batters’ box without running as Regan made the play with ease for the second out. Joe Dejesus then lofted a fly ball to the left side with spin that sent Rob Dias running backwards. He over ran it, pivoted then had to run into foul territory and by the time he located it, Dejesus was at first base. Melchion Wee-Ellis then hit a line drive to the right side. Regan dove and missed and Tyler could not decide which direction to go as it rolled past him for a run. Tanveer Ahmed ended the inning by hitting a grounder to the left side. Dias dove, the ball hit his feet and popped up to his hands for the out.
Boston would win this half game by the score of 7-3 in a time shortened contest. For Boston Joe McCormick paced the offense with two runs and Rob Dias made 5 stops on defense. The game was less than one hour long. With better organization from the hosts, this game had a chance to be played in full, but the late start and the allowed break stole close to 50 minutes from this contest.