The Rye Little League season ended with several rounds of fireworks on Monday, June 8, as the Angels outlasted the Braves to win the Majors division championship 14-13. The game, played in front of a large crowd on the newly renovated Grainger Field at Disbrow Park, featured two late lead changes and 27 total runs on 31 hits before the Angels prevailed.
“I’m just ecstatic for these boys. They improved so much from the first practice to the final out,” Angels coach Tom Aronson told MyRye.com. “They competed until the very end, had a blast doing it, and carried themselves with class the whole way. They’re terrific ballplayers, but they’re even better kids.”
The Braves led 5-1 in the second inning before the Angels roared ahead with eight runs in the second and third innings combined. They strung together eight hits in the third alone to rally for six runs, with contributions coming up and down the lineup. Every Angel who had a turn at-bat reached base in the game.
In the fifth, a crazy six-run rally from the Braves put them in front 13-12, completely turning the game upside-down. However, the Angels scored twice in the bottom half of the inning as three straight ballplayers reached with two outs. Matthew Vernace tied the game with an RBI double, scoring Arav Shah, and Grady McGill delivered the go-ahead RBI one batter later. The Angels hung on in the top of the sixth to secure their championship.
The Angels’ championship roster is listed below.
Players:
Bobby Aronson
Andrew Berkowitz
Luke Duda
John Johnston
Grady McGill
Sean O’Callaghan
James O’Reilly
Nicholas Panzarino
Parker Plauché
Noah Schuch
Arav Shah
Matthew Vernace
Coaches:
Tom Aronson
Dennis McGill
John Schuch
