Players from Georgia and California helped lead their teams to victory in the second day of the Area Code Games on Friday at Blair Field in Long Beach.
Charles Sheffield of Columbus (Columbus, Ga.) and Zac Freeman of Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.) both came up with big hits to lead the Athletics to a 6-0 win over the Nationals in the first game of the day. Meanwhile Rio Ruiz of Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) had a two-run triple and also pitched a scoreless inning to lead the Yankees past the Rangers.
The Milwaukee Brewers White, with an entire California crew, also had little trouble with the Cincinnati Reds. Billy Flamion of Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.) had a pair of hits to spark the Brewer offense while Robert Stephenson of Alhambra (Alhambra, Calif.) pitched three scoreless innings for the defense.
Athletics 6, Nationals 0
Scoring: Athletics broke through in the third with a single run when T.J. Costen reached base on a fielder’s choice and scored on a single to right by Charles Sheffield III.
In the fourth, Ahmad Christian singled to reach base and was lifted for pinchrunner Alex Blandino. He stole second and went to third, all on the same passed ball, and came home on Kenneth Gaines Jr.’s sacrifice fly to foul territory down the right field line. Vance Vizcaino also walked and scored on Costen’s single to center.
The Athletics scored three times in the fifth. Zac Freeman doubled to deep left-center to score Sheffield and Tanner Pollack, both of whom had walked. Freeman scored on Gaines’ second sacrifice fly of the game to nearly the same spot as his earlier sac fly.
Top Pitcher: Although his team didn’t win, Tyler Gonzales of the Nationals had the best pitching performance of the day as he struck out all three batters he faced in the sixth.
Top Hitter: Sheffield had a double and an RBI single for the Athletics while going 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Dylan LaVelle went 2-for-4 for the Nationals with a leadoff triple 400 feet to centerfield, a single to right, a groundout and a strikeout.
Best Hit: LaVelle’s triple in the first inning traveled the farthest of any hit so far in the first three games of the event.
Best Defensive Play: James Harris Jr. of the Athletics had several impressive catches in centerfield including a diving grab on a Kyle Olson hit that looked headed for extra bases. Gaines, the Athletics’ shortstop, also made an impressive stop on a groundball to his right. He made a diving stop and then was able to get up and force the runner at second base.
Yankees 5, Rangers 2
Scoring: The Yankees scored first, striking for four runs in the second inning. Rio Ruiz had the big blow, belting a two-run triple that scored Michael White and Josh Ake. Ruiz latered scored on a passed ball for the final run of the inning. Michael Papi opened the scoring when he walked, went to second on White’s single, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout.
The Yankees scored their other run in the seventh on a double steal with Devin Over racing home for the run.
C.J. McElroy scored the first run for Texas in the fifth when he singled and scored on a passed ball. Trevor Story added the other run in the sixth when he reached base on an error and scored on Hunter Kopcinski’s ground out.
Top Pitcher: Ruiz had the most impressive inning, regularly hitting over 90 mph on his fastball including a high of 93. He threw one inning and did not give up a hit or a run while striking out two. William Sahlinger also had a strong outing for the Yankees, going three innings and allowing no runs on two hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
Top Hitter: McElroy was the only player in the game with more than one hit as he went 2-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Best Hit: Ruiz’s triple that scored two runs and gave the Yankees the early lead.
Best Defensive Play: Josh Ake made a diving stop of a ground ball and then forced a runner out at second base to prevent a big inning by the Rangers in the third inning.
Brewers White 6, Reds 1
Scoring: The Brewers White scored in every inning except the first and sixth to put away the Reds. Rouric Bridgewater opened the scoring in the second when he walked and scored on a bases-loaded walk to Trevor Gretzky. In the third, Shawon Dunston walked and scored on Tyler Goeddel’s basehit. Dante Flores, who also walked, scored the second run in the inning on Billy Flamion’s groundout.
Walks continued to plague the Reds as Christopher Keck walked in the fourth and scored on Desmond Henry’s basehit. In the fifth, Bridgewater singled and scored on Flamion’s double. Flores scored the last run of the game in the seventh by rapping a basehit and scoring on a Bridgewater sacrifice fly.
The Reds got their only run in the seventh. Greg Bird led off the inning with a double and came hom when Brett Harrison’s single to right field was mishandled.
Top Pitcher: Robert Stephenson started on the mound for the Brewers White and pitched three strong innings. He allowed three hits, but he did not give up a run and he struck out six with no walks. John Hochstatter also pitched well in his two innings as he did not give up a hit while striking out three with no walks.
Top Hitter: Flamion was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Brewers White while Bridgewater did a little bit of everything with a 1-for-2 effort that included two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a sacrifice fly. For the Reds, Blake Swihart was 2-for-2 with a pair of singles.
Best Hit: Flamion pulled a basehit sharply down the right field line and used his speed to leg out a double.
Top Defensive Play: With a runner on first base, the Reds’ Cole Gleason snagged a line drive by Keck and stepped on first base to double up the runner, Gretzky, for an unassisted double play.
