The Cicero Rattlers and CNY Sandlot met up on Saturday night for one of the more entertaining match-ups of the indoor winter season.
With both teams fielding players primarily from the CNS school district, the match-up delivered plenty of hits, exciting plays, a homerun – and a near triple-play.
Cicero starting off with singles by Nicholas Capece and Lucas Thelen, followed by a single by KJ Cochran to drive in Capece. The inning stalled, leaving Thelen and Cochran on base, and Cicero with the early lead.
Three quick put-outs by Cicero followed, which included a nice backhand grab by Capece (SS) who made the long throw to Thelen (1B) to beat the runner.
In the second inning, Sean Bombard led off with a single. He was then hit in by a homerun deep to left field by Lucas Thelen. Bases loaded off hits by Cochran, Michael Mooney and Conor Downer, but the inning ended with the score 3-0, Rattlers.
The Rattlers defense held up again in the second, as outfielders Cochran, Mooney and Bombard made impressive catches or plays, including a great throw by KJ Cochran (CF) to Capece (SS) for an out at 2nd base.
The Rattlers were held scoreless in the 3rd, as a deep fly ball by Capece was caught and a questionable call kept Thelen off first base. A double by Daniel Capp and a single by Downer were the highlights of the inning.
CNY Sandlot struck back in the 3rd inning, loading up the bases and driving in runs off of well-placed line drives. The inning ended with 5-runs on the board for CNY to make the score 5-3 in their favor.
Cicero bounced back in the fourth inning, as hits by Bombard, Connor Pearce, Capece, Thelen, Cochran and Mooney brought in 3 runs, making the score 6-5, Rattlers.
CNY came back with hits of their own, putting up 2 runs to make the score 7-6, CNY Sandlot. Unfortunately, an error on the scoreboard gave them 3 runs and the score at 8-6 instead.
Both defenses brought cheers from the crowd as they made exciting catches and throws to hold each squad scoreless for the next few innings. Scoops by first basemen, running catches in the outfield, double plays and long-throw putouts from the infield and outfield made it a fun game for players and fans.
One of the most exciting plays, however, came in the 8th inning with the Rattlers on defense and runners on first and second base for CNY…
A hard ground ball was hit to Capece (SS), who made a quick turn throw to Downer (2B) for the first out. Downer made a fast throw to Thelen (1B) for the second out. Thelen then sent the ball over home plate to Capp (C) for the tag, but they were a split-second late. An almost triple-play that had fans for both teams cheering.
With just a few minutes left, the score was 9-8 in Sandlot’s favor. Connor Pearce was facing 2 outs and 2-strikes before he knocked a fly ball into right field to bring the tying run (Conor Downer) in, making the score 9-9. The inning ended tied.
The next inning saw quick put-outs by the Rattler defense. With time expiring, Cicero was unable to get another chance at bat.
Highlights for Cicero:
- 29 hits, which sets a new high for hits in a game.
- Long throw from RF by Bombard for the out.
- Multiple putouts from the middle-infielders, including Capece, Downer, Bombard and Cochran.
- Multiple scoops and jump catches by Mooney and Thelen at first base.
- Running throw to 1B by Cochran for an out.
- Long throw by Cochran for CF to Capece for an out
- Running outfield catches by Thelen, Cochran, Mooney and Capp.
- 2-run Homerun by Thelen.
- Near triple play by Capece, Downer, Thelen and Capp.
- Double-plays by Capece and Downer.
At the end of the night, parents, fans, players and coaches walked away with smiles after what turned out to be an fun, exciting and entertaining display by two CNS squads.
Captain for the Rattlers on this night was Michael Mooney.
MVP for the Rattlers was Lucas Thelen, who went 3/5 with a 2-run homerun.