Second win for S.I.
LITTLE LEAGUERS BEAT TEXAS
Gregory Bruno got his Staten Island team to Williamsport with a perfect game in the Regional Championship. On Sunday, he delivered another gem to put Staten Island one win away from playing for the U.S. title.
Bruno went 5.1 innings, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out six in Staten Island’s 2-1 victory over Post Oak from Houston, the Southwest representatives. It was a classic pitchers’duel bethe tween Bruno and Southwest’s Ryan Selvaggi, who struck out five through the first two innings, until Staten Island got on the board in the third.
Consecutive one-out singles by Robert Cavalieri and Chris Bedford got things going before Cavalieri took third and scored on two wild pitches. Steven Martinez then singled home Bedford to give Staten Island a 2-0 lead.
Bruno gave one back in the bottom of the frame when Southwest’s Matthew Hedrick hit an RBI double to center, but the right-hander
bore down to get the final two outs of the inning and limit the damage.
The Mid Island Little League team would not put another runner on base after the third inning, but the two runs were enough for Bruno and Bedford, who came in to close it out.
Bedford entered with one out in the top of the sixth after Bruno reached 85 pitches, and he walked the first batter. But he settled down after that, getting a fielder’s choice for the second out and then striking out the final batter to pick up the save.
Staten Island, which has a perfect 2-0 record in Williamsport thus far, will take on Hawaii next. The team from Honolulu is also undefeated in Williamsport after putting on a power display in beating the Great Lakes representatives, 8-3.
After their victory Sunday, the Staten Island players got to hang around and watch the Mets take on the Phillies. The players took pictures and got autographs, and had the chance to talk shop in the stands with pitchers Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom and Zack Wheeler during the game.
“I was talking to Zack Wheeler about pitch grips,” said Bruno, who admitted on the ESPN Sunday Night broadcast that he’s a Yankees fan. “I was mostly talking to him about how to correctly throw a curveball or a changeup, how to throw a good curveball and changeup.”