Martha’s Vineyard Little League Red Sox top Cubs 4-1

For Major League championship; Rays and Dodgers to play Sunday for AAA title.

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The Red Sox got stellar pitching from Sam Zack and rode surehanded defense and a balanced hitting attack to win the Major League championship of the Martha’s Vineyard Little League with a 4-1 win over the Cubs on Saturday afternoon at Penn Field in Oak Bluffs.

Sam pitched 5⅔ innings of three-hit, one-run ball, with five strikeouts and two walks, before giving way to Wyatt Nicholson, who got the final Cubs hitter to secure the win.

This was a close one, played under murky skies. The Red Sox scored single runs in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings off a gritty Nate Story, who struck out six and walked only one while sprinkling nine hits over his five innings of work.

Ethan DiBiaso had two RBIs, and Silas Stanek and William Nicholson one each. Wyatt Loughman created the Cubs run with a single and two stolen bases before scoring on a passed ball to cut the Red Sox lead to 2-1 in the fourth.

The Red Sox got two hits apiece from Sam Zack and Ethan DiBiaso. Jack Engler, Waylon Sauer, Silas Stanek, William Nicholson, and Henry Wansiewicz also had hits. Wyatt Loughman had two hits, and Griffin Callahan had the Cubs hits.

Defensive good hands were on display all day, with each team shutting down opposition rallies. The play of the day was Red Sox centerfielder Broden Vincent’s catch of an absolute bomb hit by Nate Story in the top of the fourth inning.

The Cubs flashed leather in the bottom of the inning with two Red Sox on base when Cubs’ Tristan Pinelli spun to his left to grab a liner off the bat of Jack Engler, then doubled up a runner at second base for an inning-ending double play.

The AAA championship game between the Rays and the Dodgers, scheduled for Saturday morning, was rained out, and will be played Sunday afternoon (June 24) at 1 pm at Penn Field.