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Steelheads turn in strong showing; M-A Red Sox go 2-0

Hunter Loomis, pitching for the NorthEast Twins 15U.

OBERLIN, OH – Warren’s Ryan Rafalski, Mitch Grosch, Nick Hussey and Micah Passmore helped lead the Erie Steelheads 16U team to the semifinals of the Brownlee Lookouts Showcase over the weekend at Oberlin College.

In their final game of pool play Saturday, the Steelheads earned a 7-5 win over the Hurricanes to advance, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and holding off a fierce rally in the seventh.

Rafalski, playing shortstop went 2-for-3 with an RBI, walk and a pair of runs scored, while Passmore, who was behind the plate, went 1-for-4. Grosch played third base and had a rare hitless game. He would, however, bounce back in a big way on Sunday, coming off the heels of a brilliant pitching performance in a 7-1 win over Diamond Hit Club on Thursday that saw him go 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11 and allowing just one hit.

Rafalski’s RBI single came in the 3-run fifth for the Steelheads, which saw them take a 5-2 lead.

They pounded out 13 hits in the contest, with Mason Bender (Fairview), Cody Smith (Harbor Creek), Casey Smith (Harbor Creek) and Jared Bielanin (McDowell) each collecting two.

Aidan Morrison, catching for the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox.

Cody Smith picked up the win, tossing 6 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs, striking out four and walking four.

That win helped them move on to bracket play, where the top six teams qualified. The top two teams received byes, and the Steelheads were the only 16U team to move on (the rest were 17U).

In their quarterfinal game, they faced off with the Brownlee Lookouts 17U, a game they won 9-5 with Rafalski on the hill.

The junior-to-be went 6 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs, striking out three and walking four. Hussey came on in relief to get the final two outs, recording a strikeout in the process.

Rafalski and Grosch both had big games at the plate, with Grosch going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Rafalski 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Passmore also recorded a hit.

The Steelheads jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning – a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Cody Smith’s bases-loaded walk brought in Grosch, who had singled, and Casey Smith’s RBI double brought in a pair, including Rafalski, who walked.

Cody Smith’s RBI double in the third brought in Hussey, who was pinch-running for Rafalski and Rafalski’s 2-run single in the fourth scored Passmore and McDowell’s Matt Shepard to make it 7-1. Shepard drew walks on all four plate appearances.

Rafalski threw 98 pitches, 56 of which were for strikes.

In the semifinals, the Steelies dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker in walk-off fashion to the Indiana Nitro out of Indianapolis.

The Nitros’ Cooper Walchle drew a bases loaded walk against Casey Smith in the seventh to earn the win.

Erie took a 1-0 lead in the third on Grosch’s RBI single that brought in Aidan Kelly (Cathedral Prep).

Matt Taylor’s RBI double in the fourth tied the game. Passmore also recorded a hit in the game.

Kelly started and went five innings, allowing the one run on four hits and three walks, striking out four.

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Mid-Atlantic Red Sox go 2-0

MARIETTA, Ga. – The Mid-Atlantic Red Sox 17U went 2-0 over the weekend at the Perfect Game WWBA National Championships in suburban Atlanta.

On Saturday, the Red Sox earned a 9-1 win over the Elite Squad 17U Southwest, based out of Fort Myers, Fl.

Warren’s Austyn Cummings started in left field, going 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored. Aidan Morrison caught three innings behind the plate and went 0-for-1.

Anthony Fiallo (Georgetown Prep/North Bethesda, Md.) hit an inside-the-park two run home run in the second inning, part of a 6-run frame for the Red Sox. Cummings scored on Tyler Martinez’s (Gilman School/Baltimore, Md) RBI groundout in the inning, which also featured a 2-run double by Blake Ahalt (Walkersville, Md.) and an RBI single off the bat of Justin Carboni (Walt Whitman/Washington D.C.).

Travis Luensmann (Bellwood-Antis) tossed a complete game, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.

On Sunday, the Red Sox earned a 4-3 win over the Home Plate Chili Dogs (Peachtree City, Ga.).

With the Red Sox trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh, Cummings drew a 7-pitch walk (his second of the game) and was pinch-run for by Martinez, who scored on Carboni’s bunt single. Fiallo’s RBI single brought in the game-winning run, with University of Pennsylvania commit David Shoemaker (State College) shutting the door in the seventh, thanks in part to a double play after a leadoff single. Shoemaker went the distance, striking out six and walking three.

All three teams, like many who are competing in the field, feature numerous high-level Division I and Division II prospects.

The Red Sox return to action today, playing the Carolina Cubs at 4:30 p.m. at North Cobb Christian School in Kennesaw, followed by a 9:30 p.m. contest against the Dallas Tigers – Hernandez at nearby PG Lakepoint Complex in Cartersville.

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NorthEast Twins 15U goes 2-2

Playing for the NorthEast Twins 15U, Warren’s Hunter Loomis and James Swanson were part of a team that went 2-2 at the Can/Am Championships in Niagara Falls, NY.

In the first game, a 2-1 setback to the Rochester Rattlers, Loomis (catcher) was 1-for-3, while Swanson was 2-for-3.

In game two, a 12-2 loss, Loomis pitched, allowing nine hits in three innings, striking out four, while also going 1-for-2 at the plate. Swanson (center field) was 0-for-2.

The Twins got in the win column in their third game, 17-5 over the Vaughn Vikings. Loomis (catcher) was 1-for-1 with a pair of walks, an RBI and two runs scores. Swanson (EH) was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

In the fourth game, a 7-4 win over Team PAC, Loomis (EH) was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Swanson (center field) 0-for-1 with three walks and three runs scored.

The Twins are back in action this weekend at the Iron and Oil Tournament at St. Bonaventure and Pitt-Bradford.

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