TORRINGTON – The Torrington Little League kicked off its Majors division Wednesday, with three games between the six teams, including wins by the Cardinals, Yankees and Mets.
Cardinals 12, Braves 2
The Cardinals came out hot to kick off the 2018 campaign. Nolan Long, Andre Mares, Justin Clayton, Ty Bennick and Brady Cook all came around to score in the first inning to give the Cards a 5-0 advantage after the first. After being walked in the second, the Braves’ Bryce Hager made his way around the bases to score, cutting the lead to 5-1.
In the third, the Cards exploded for another three runs, this time with Bennick, Cook and Matt Cook all scoring to increase the lead to 8-1.
Logan Sandusky scored a run in the fourth inning for the Braves, but another four runs in the frame by the Cards put the game out of reach. Bennick, Colter McFarlin and Brady and Matt Cook combined for the four runs in the fourth.
Yankees 17, Cubs 9
The Yankees used a huge fifth inning to come around the Cubs on opening night. The Cubs plated Alyssa Albaugh, Sebastian Brumley, Ryan Moorehouse and Mac Hibben, which were the first four batters up in the contest. Mateo Correa scored a run in the first to put the score at 4-1 heading into the second. Moorehouse came around to score again in the second to increase the lead to 5-1.
The third inning is when the rally kicked off for the Yankees. Correa, Braeden Reid, Kai Foody, Caleb Kelly, Braxton Carlson and Xavier Sanchez all scored in the third to wrestle the lead away and build a 7-5 lead of their own. In the fourth, Moorehouse and Hibben scored again to tie the score at seven apiece.
The Yanks were blanked in the fourth, but that would not be the case in the fifth, when the team scored 10 in the frame. Moorehouse and Hibben’s two runs late in the game would not make up the difference. When the dust settled, Moorehouse finished with four runs and Hibben kicked in another three for the Cubs. Kelly and Sanchez both scored three times for the Yankees to pace the team in scoring.
Mets 28, Giants 13
The Mets came to the plate in the season opener with a scoring mentality, racking up 28 runs on the night. Ayden Desmond and Bodie Moffat led the charge for the team with five runs apiece in the contest. Rhett Clarke was not far behind, scoring four runs of his own.
Zachary Zigweid, Nathaniel Stull and Barrett Moffat each had three runs to their credit on the night, while Barrett Eichenberger and Griffin Wolfe notched two apiece. Lucas Ingram rounded out the scoring for the Mets with a run on opening night.
The Giants came to play as well, with the third-highest run total league-wide on the night. Evan Hellus and Kaden Miller both had three runs in the loss. Matthew Hellus and Harper Boche each notched two runs, while Grady Shields, Spencer Booth and Emmett Coxbill all kicked in a run apiece.
After the first night of action, the Mets, Yankees and Cardinals jumped to the top of the standings. A second night of games was played Thursday after the press deadline. The teams return to action Monday, with three games set to start at 5:30 p.m. The Yankees and Giants square off, while the Cardinals and Cubs will play on field 2. The Braves and Mets will meet on field 3.
