Game #1 On Friday, Gateway took the lead early, scoring one run in the bottom of the second inning and three more runs in the third. Lower Cape scored all six of its runs in the top of the fourth inning, but Gateway bounced back nicely, scoring three runs each in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, and four more runs in the bottom of the sixth.  Hunter Black led the team with four hits, while Aidan McBride and Miles Mogilnicki each had three hits.  Kurtis Garcia, Anthony Angelo, Nate Desrochers, Nick Gray, Bill Sullivan, and Mike Sullivan had hits as well.

Anthony Angelo and Hunter Black split the pitching duties on Friday, with Angelo striking out four and Black striking out six.  Bill Sullivan and Mike Sullivan played very solid defense, and Nick Gray made an outstanding catch in left field to end the game.

Game #2 On Saturday, Gateway took on a very talented Plymouth team.  Mike Sullivan started on the mound, and threw five strong innings, scattering six hits.  Plymouth scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take the early lead. Gateway was able to cut the lead in half, scoring one run in the bottom of the fourth on back to back singles from Hunter Black and Miles Mogilnicki and a long double from Nick Gray to score Black.  Unfortunately, Plymouth scored another run in the top of the fifth, leaving Gateway down by two runs after five innings. Anthony Angelo came in to relieve Sullivan, and held Plymouth scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Kurtis Garcia led off with a walk and stole second base.  Bill Sullivan hit a single to right, scoring Garcia.  With one out in the inning and Brian Ganshirt running for Sullivan, Anthony Angelo hit a single, moving Ganshirt to third.  Ganshirt scored on a wild pitch to tie the score, and back to back walks to Aidan McBride and Mike Sullivan loaded the bases with just one out.  Hunter Black came through with the game-winning hit, launching a single to right field, scoring Ryan Garvey from third base who was brought in to run for Angelo.

Gateway played outstanding defense as well.  Catcher Kurtis Garcia threw out three runners trying to steal second base.  Ollie Hiller had five put outs in center field, and Nick Gray had four put outs in left field.

Game #3 The Gateway Babe Ruth 14-year-old all star team continued its winning ways, with a close victory over Sandwich in the District 7 Tournament.

The game, which was postponed twice due to inclement weather, was finally played on Saturday, July 7, in Sandwich.

Gateway took an early lead, scoring one run in the top of the first inning.  Nick Gray singled to center, and advanced to third on a Sandwich throwing error.  A passed ball allowed Gray to score.  Sandwich came back in the home half of the first inning, scoring twice without the benefit of a hit. 

The score remained 2 - 1 until the fourth inning, when Gateway was able to tie the score.  Ollie Hiller drew a walk, and advanced to second on a Sandwich error.  An Aiden McBride single combined with another Sandwich error allowed Hiller to score the tying run.

Gateway took the lead in the top of the fifth inning.  Nick Gray was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.  Hunter Black earned a walk, Anthony Angelo was also hit by a pitch, and Ollie Hiller drew his second walk of the game to score Gray.

Sandwich scored a single run in the bottom of the sixth inning on one hit and three walks.  This left the score tied at 3 - 3 going into the seventh inning.

Gateway began the seventh inning with back-to-back singles by Miles Mogilnicki and Anthony Angelo.  After the next two hitters were retired, Aidan McBride and Mike Sullivan were both hit by pitches to force in the go-ahead run.  Gateway held Sandwich scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to hold on to the 4 - 3 win.

Hunter Black, Miles Mogilnicki, Anthony Angelo, and Mike Sullivan shared the pitching duties Saturday, with Mogilnicki throwing five innings of one-run ball, striking out six while walking only two Sandwich batters.  Mike Sullivan finished on the mound for Gateway, getting the final four outs against a tough Sandwich lineup.

Hits were hard to come by for the Gateway all stars, as Sandwich pitchers did an outstanding job keeping hitters off balance.  Aidan McBride, Nick Gray, Hunter Black, Miles Mogilnicki, Anthony Angelo, and Nate Desrochers all had singles.

Defensively, Nick Gray made yet another outstanding catch in left field, diving to snag a fly ball in the bottom of the seventh inning to help preserve the win.

Gateway will play for the District 7 Championship on Monday, July 9 in Sandwich.

Gateway 14s Eliminated from District 7 Tournament

The Gateway Babe Ruth 14 year old all-stars finished as the runner-up to Plymouth in the District 7 Tournament held in Sandwich.  Plymouth needed to beat Gateway in two consecutive games to secure the championship, and they were successful in that attempt, beating Gateway 6 – 2 on Monday July 9 and 3 – 0 on Tuesday July 10.

On Monday, Gateway was able to jump out to an early 1 – 0 lead in the top of the first inning.  Aidan McBride drew a walk and stole second base, and Hunter Black hit an RBI single to bring in McBride.  Gateway gave up three runs in the bottom of the third inning, but was able to get one run back in the top half of the fourth inning.  Hunter Black led off the inning with a double, and Greg Kornichuk hit a single to score Black.  Unfortunately, Gateway was unable to muster any more runs, and gave up one run in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the bottom of the sixth.  Anthony Angelo and Mike Sullivan split the pitching duties, throwing only one walk while striking out three.

On Tuesday, both Plymouth and Gateway played outstanding defensive baseball, as neither team gave up a run through three innings.  Catcher Kurtis Garcia threw out one Plymouth runner and caught a difficult foul pop to help keep Plymouth off the board through three innings.  Plymouth struck for a single run in the fourth inning on two hits and a walk.  Plymouth scored their other two runs in the top of the sixth inning, and Gateway was unable to put runs on the board against a very good Plymouth team.  Hunter Black pitched six strong innings for Gateway, and Miles Mogilnicki did an excellent job in relief of Black.  Anthony Angelo played outstanding defense at third base for Gateway, and had a hit as well.

For the tournament, Hunter Black was Gateway’s most outstanding player, with a .688 batting average and 11 strong innings pitched over the five game tournament.  Anthony Angelo also pitched well for Gateway, and batted .384 despite a mild hamstring strain.  Aidan McBride batted .353 and played outstanding defense at first base.  Miles Mogilnicki batted .462 and threw seven strong innings on the mound.  Ollie Hiller and Nick Gray were perhaps the best center field/left field combination in the tournament, tracking down and catching balls that most other outfielders would have seen fall for hits.  Mike Sullivan did it all for Gateway, earning the win on the mound over Plymouth on June 30, knocking three hits and an RBI, and playing outstanding defense at second base.

Coaches Glenn Kornichuk, Dave Descrochers, and Chris Gray carried 15 players on this team, and therefore had several all-stars who saw limited playing time.  Despite this, these young men made the most of their opportunities.  Greg Kornichuk went 1 – 3 and earned an RBI in the team’s first loss to Plymouth.  Matt Hartley played good defense in the outfield, while Nate Descrochers had two hits and played excellent second base.  Bill Sullivan and Brian Ganshirt split the duties at shortstop, making only one error between them in five tournament games.  Patrick Muldoon was able to reach base in one of his pinch-hit opportunities, and Ryan Garvey scored the game-winning run in Gateway’s victory over Plymouth.

Gateway will be playing in the Little Fenway Tournament in Freetown, MA on the weekend of July 13 – 15.

Gateway 14s Begin Little Fenway Tournament with Victory over Norton

The Gateway 14 year old all-stars began the Little Fenway Tournament with a come-from-behind win over Norton on Friday, July 13.  Norton held Gateway scoreless through the first three innings, amassing 9 runs themselves to put Gateway into a big hole in their opening game of pool play.  Patrick Muldoon pitched the first two innings for Gateway, allowing three runs while striking out two and not walking a batter.  Bill Sullivan threw very well for Gateway in the third inning, but a combination of Gateway errors and timely hits by Norton produced six runs.

Gateway’s bats came alive in the top half of the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five hits.  Mike Sullivan and Kurtis Garcia both hit RBI doubles, while Nick Gray hit an RBI single.  Norton was able to score an additional run in the fourth inning, but Gateway continued its offensive explosion with five more runs in the top of the fifth inning.  Greg Kornichuk, Anthony Angelo, Miles Mogilnicki, and Mike Sullivan all worked walks in this inning, while Ollie Hiller and Hunter Black both had RBI singles.  This left the score at 10 – 9 after five innings.

Norton held Gateway scoreless in the top of the sixth inning, and scored an additional run in the bottom of the sixth to put Gateway down 11 – 9 going into the seventh inning.

Hunter Black began the top of the seventh inning with a single, but was eliminated on a fielder’s choice two batters later.  With two outs in the inning, the Gateway offense came alive.  Nick Gray was able to come across and score Gateway’s 10^th run.  Kurtis Garcia smacked a single and Nate Descrochers drew a walk.  Greg Kornichuk came through with a two-out single to plate Garcia, the tying run.  Anthony Angelo drew a walk, and Aidan McBride beat out an infield single to drive in Desrochers and Kornichuk.  Mogilnicki earned a walk, and Ollie Hiller got his third hit of the game to score McBride.

With the score 15 – 11, Gateway was able to hold Norton in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory.  Matt Hartley saw his first time behind the plate for Gateway, and played very well.  Greg Kornichuk played good defense at first base for Gateway, and Ryan Harvey singled for the Gateway all stars.

Gateway’s next game in pool play is Saturday, July 14, against Rehoboth.

Gateway 14s See Continued Success in Little Fenway Tournament

Gateway moved to 2 – 0 in pool play in the Little Fenway Tournament with a 12 – 5 victory over Rehoboth on Saturday in Freetown, MA.

Gateway came out swinging in this one, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning with hits from Hunter Black, Kurtis Garcia, and Nate Descrochers.  Aidan McBride earned a walk to lead off the game and Mike Sullivan had a run scored to help get Gateway off to a solid start in this game.  Gateway scored five more runs in the top of the second inning, with Ollie Hiller and Aidan McBride drawing walks, and Nick Gray, Bill Sullivan, Mike Sullivan, and Hunter Black all hitting singles in the inning.  Catcher Kurtis Garcia also hit a 2-RBI double.  Rehoboth was able to plate two runs in each of the first two innings, leaving the score at 8 – 4 after two.

Gateway scored two more runs in the top of the third inning.  Greg Kornichuk led off with a single, and Nick Gray had his second hit of the day to knock in Kornichuk.  Ollie Hiller was also able to score, after reaching on an error.

Rehoboth scored their last run in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Gateway held them scoreless the rest of the way.  Gateway scored its last two runs in the top of the sixth inning.  Matt Hartley bombed a double to lead off the inning and, after Anthony Angelo reached on an error, Hunter Black singled in Hartley and Kurtis Garcia earned an RBI to plate Angelo.

Brian Ganshirt saw his first pitching duties for Gateway, and through two strong innings, allowing only one earned run while striking out two.  Miles Mogilnicki threw three scoreless innings of relief, fanning four and allowing only one hit.  Nick Gray showed off his strong arm with an outfield assist to end Rehoboth’s second inning.

Gateway 14s Go Undefeated in Pool Play

Gateway 14s Finish Runner-Up at Little Fenway