Back in action
Everyone’s a winner as season finally gets underway in Lincoln
LINCOLN — After having not pitched in a Lincoln Little League game since last July, if not late June, Nick Pelosi admitted he felt the nervous butterflies soaring around his stomach before he and his Colts battled the Tigers in a Major Division (10-12) regular-season “opening” clash at Randy Hien Field on Thursday night.
“I was a little nervous at first; I felt a little trembly and shaking and stuff, but then I threw my first pitch, and I knew I was all right,” he stated. “I felt good.”
He nevertheless admitted he never thought he’d be playing any kind of baseball this summer, not with the COVID-19 pandemic running rampant for the better part of the late winter and spring.
“I thought the whole thing
was going to be canceled, but it wasn’t,” Pelosi said. “I’m so glad!”
The strapping 12-year-old righty had more than just returning to the diamond to be thrilled.
He and teammates A.J. Swerdloff and Ryan Lemery combined to twirl a spectacular no-hitter and collect 13 whiffs during a thrilling 2-1 victory over Tigers.
It should be noted that Pelosi lasted only two frames, yielding one earned run and two passes with five strikeouts, but also hit two batters, while Swerdloff mustered the next 2 1/3 innings with the same amount of walks and whiffs.
One of the key players of the game, however, had to be Lemery, who escaped a possible Tigers’ rally in the bottom of the fifth with four straight outs, including three by “K” and the last by groundout.
“I was nervous, too, just like Nick,” Lemery grinned after his Colts improved to 1-0. “I came in with runners at second and third on and only one out, but I thought about doing it before when I was 10. I came in as a closer with the bases loaded and nobody was out, and I struck out all three batters.
“That’s what I was thinking about, but – before the game – I thought about the fact we were playing. I definitely didn’t expect it, and we were all so glad (to be out playing). I’m proud of all of my teammates. It was a great team win.”
The moment wasn’t lost on Colts’ skipper Kevin Greene, whose stepfather just happens to be Randy Hien, the namesake of the diamond his squad had just performed.
“I told the kids before the game, ‘You know what? We’ve been practicing for a month now, so you all should be ready to go,’” he offered. “Truth be told, I was surprised we were even out there. I never anticipated anything like this a couple of months ago. I mean, we’re playing ball on July 2? Really?
“We (as coaches) had drafted (our teams) back in mid-March, and it wasn’t even two weeks later I thought, ‘Did we do that for nothing?’After (this), obviously, we didn’t,” he added with a satisfied grin. “The most impressive thing I saw (Thursday night) was our intensity. A lot of these kids hadn’t played in a game in about a year, but the guys picked up where they left off. I actually told ‘em afterward, ‘We’re in mid-season form, and we’re looking great.’”
Fellow righty Carson Mellen took the disappointing loss, despite yielding only two hits, both runs (one earned), four walks and a wild pitch with nine strikeouts in a 4 1/3-inning stint. Over the ensuing 1 2/3 frames, righthander Luke Cavanaugh and southpaw Joey Cunha surrendered only one hit and two passes while fanning three, but couldn’t overcome the Colts’ first-inning flurry.
In that fateful frame, Tyler Almeida reached on a lead-off dropped fly and Brennan Robert walked before both moved up on Lemery’s groundout to first.
With two down, Mason DiDomenico ripped a single to left to plate both, and he took third on the heave to the plate. He later hustled to second on the throw home and took third on a passed ball before Mellen whiffed Swerdloff to end the surge.
Pelosi may have hit Tigers’ backstop Joey Lezon with a two-out breaker in the back half, but still struck out the side. He nevertheless got himself into trouble in the second after walking leadoff hitter Will Aiken and hitting Cavanaugh. That tandem advanced on a passed ball, yet with Liam Mulligan at the plate, Tigers’ skipper T.J. Mellen chose to ask Aiken to rob home.
When Lezon tossed back to Pelosi, Aiken broke for the plate, but the pitcher recovered quickly to register the initial out.
Still, Cavanaugh raced to third on the attempt, then himself succeeded in a theft of the plate, slicing the deficit to 2-1.
Mulligan actually followed not only manufactured a pass but stole second, though Pelosi fanned his fifth to end the rally.
That’s when the contest became an extremely interesting pitchers’ duel, with neither club assembling much of a surge.
The Colts produced their finest in the fifth and sixth, though could capitalize in neither. In the latter, after Mellen reached 89 deliveries, Cavanaugh came on and walked Reed Foster before Conner Johnson reached on a one-out, infield miscue. He whiffed Tyler Pelosi, yet Zach DiMario drew a “freebie” to juice the bases.
That’s when the elder Mellen replaced Cavanaugh with Cunha, and the lefty forced leadoff batter Almeida to line to Mellen at short to shut it down.
As for the sixth, Robert walloped a two-bagger to left before Cunha registered three straight outs.
The Tigers did threaten to tie it in the fifth, and appeared as if they would do so after Cavanaugh earned a one-out pass and sprinted to third on a second wild pitch, and Williams also walked and stole second. Williams actually signaled the go-ahead run with one down, yet the manager Mellen again took a chance.
Cavanaugh broke for the plate to steal home again, this time with Lemery on the hill, but this time he wasn’t as successful, Robert applying the tag. Cunha erased the
Tigers in order in the bottom of the sixth.
“I wasn’t happy with the loss, not at all,” Cavanaugh explained after the showdown. “I mean, we didn’t get one hit, but it still felt great to be back out on the field. It was really cool to be back with my friends and playing.
“We didn’t hit well, but if we start playing better defense and get our bats going, maybe we can beat the Colts the next time (which will be Monday night at 7:30 on this same turf),” he added. “I never thought we’d be playing this soon. I hoped we’d have some kind of short season, but that was only a dream.”
It came true Thursday evening, just without a victory.