The Cicero Rattlers Tournament Team met up with teams from Diamond Pro, Sportszone and the Junior Chiefs this weekend in the Patriot Games Tournament at Legends Field in Oswego.
This was the first game for the Rattlers with Griff Filighera, Dylan Bertollini and Ryan Walker. The trio, who barely had a chance to practice with their new squad, fit right in with their new teammates.
The first game of the tournament for the Rattlers came on Saturday night against Diamond Pro, hailing from Rochester, NY.
D-Pro was overpowered from the start, as Griff Filighera started on the mound for the Rattlers with a dominating performance. Filighera pitched an efficient 3 innings, giving up zero runs and striking out 3. Connor Pearce took over in the 3rd inning, where he struck out one and gave up zero runs. Ethan Matthews finished the game for the Rattlers, giving up one hit and zero runs as the Rattlers won with the score at 9-0.
Hits in the game came from Filighera, Matthews, Bertollini and Capece. Runs were scored by Filighera, Matthews, Bertollini, Capp, Capece, Bombard and Thelen.
Saturday night’s 2nd game of the double-header matched the Rattlers up with a talented Sportszone squad.
Toeing the rubber for the Rattlers was Ryan Walker. Sportzone struck fast in the first inning, racking up 4 runs and early momentum. The Rattlers hit back, bringing in 3 runs of their own. The Score remained 4-3 until the 3rd, where 5 walks and 2 hits helped Sportszone take a commanding 10-4 lead.
The Rattlers held their own the rest of the game, but were unable to mount a comeback (leaving 6 runners on base). The game ended at 10:45pm as time expired. Unfortunately, this meant the Rattlers would have to play at 8am the next morning.
The Rattlers met up with their friends from the Junior Chiefs bright and early Sunday morning. The Chiefs struck first with one run in the first inning, as Frankie Sgroi hit in Baker from an earlier walk. The Rattlers started the bottom of the first with a single by Ryan Walker and a double by Griff Filighera.
Daniel Capp put a ball in play to bring in Walker, while Nicholas Capece followed with a shot to right field that brought in Filighera. The inning ended with the Rattlers ahead 2-1.
The game remained close until the 4th inning, when a series of errors gave the Chiefs a 5-run lead. Despite putting 23 balls into play and loading bases, the Rattlers were unable to bring in the runs and lost the game in the 7th inning, 9-2, as time expired.
This team notched themselves a tourney win, had plenty of great plays and hits, and showed great promise for this fall season.
Team quotes from this tournament:
Game 1: “Champions don’t show up to get everything they want. They show up to give everything they have.”
Game 2: “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from swinging.”
Game 3: “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.”
Tournament Stats
Photo: Griff Filighera, Dylan Bertollini, Ethan Matthews and Nicholas Capece