Pirates 11, Cubs 3
On Wednesday, the Cubs started off strong in the top of the 1st, scoring three runs off a couple of walks and a Keaton Aliberti double, putting the Cubs up 3-0 before the Pirates could bat. For the Pirates, Jonathan Norton got them started with a huge blast in the first for a solo home run, his first of the season. Norton added a double later, and drove in 4 on the day. Ben Mulvey had a good day at the plate, going 2-3 with a double, walk, 3 runs scored, and an RBI. Liam Marek went 1-1 with a walk and RBI, Kaleb Hatt drove in a run with a hard single up the middle, and Eleanor Hyland worked two walks and scored both times. Pirate relievers Tobey Roberts and Liam Marek held the Cubs scoreless for 5 1/3 innings after the Cubs initial 3-spot. Roberts got them out of a bases loaded jam in the first with a strikeout. In the third, Cubs Landon Cormie and Silas Stanek-Streed both singled and then reached 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Roberts sandwiched a pop up to himself with two strikeouts to end the inning. Marek came on and pitched 3 innings of shutout baseball to secure the win. For the Cubs, Cam Napior and Teagan Myers made stellar plays at third, throwing home to cut down Pirate runners at the plate. Myers hit a massive double over the Pirate left fielders head, and Finn Lewis reached twice on a walk and double of his own.
Pirates 14, Red Sox 7
The Pirates beat the Red Sox 14-7 on Tuesday, in game that changed from a pitchers’ duel to a slugfest. The Red Sox’s Nick Cranston (7 K’s) and the Pirates’ Jonathan Norton (5 K’s) battled over the first three innings, with the Red Sox holding a 2-1 lead thanks to a Sam Zack walk, a single by Ben Belisle, and a perfect bunt by Latham Higgins to move the runners over. Zack scored on a wild pitch, and the Sox might have had more, but the Pirates’ Kaleb Hatt made a nice catch in deep left field to end the inning. In the fourth, the Pirates broke through to plate four runs. After a leadoff single by Liam Marek (2-3, RBI) and a walk to Eleanor Hyland, Tobey Roberts (3-3, 2 RBI) doubled home two runs, Jonathan Norton (4-5, 2 triples, 3 RBI) tripled home another, and then Norton was driven in by Nico Arroyo (2-5, 3 RBI). 5-2 Pirates. The Pirates scored seven in the fifth. The Red Sox scored three in the fifth, led by Atlas Zack (2-3, 2 runs) and a clutch two-out single by Ben Belisle (2-2, RBI). The Pirates scored their last two runs off another Norton triple and Arroyo’s third RBI of the game. The Red Sox scored two more, but Pirates reliever Liam Marek struck out the last batter he faced to end the game.
A’s 7, Cardinals 6
On Monday, Memorial Day, the Cardinals and A’s played under cloudy skies. The A’s Owen DiBiaso led off the game with a double, followed by an Owen Metell single and Matt Moore two-RBI triple. Jack Debettencourt’s sacrifice put them up 3-0. Red Birds would rally back on a Silas Abrams single and Emmett Athearn double, and they would both score on Andrew Marchand’s single, making it 3-2. In the fifth, a leadoff Hardy Eville single, Abrams walk, and Athearn single loaded the bases for the Cardinals’ Andrew Marchand, who smashed a grand slam, putting them up 6-2. Bottom of the nfifth, A’s fought back with another DiBiaso double, a Moore triple, and a Parker BenDavid blast over the scoreboard, halfway into the practice field, which tied the game at 6-6. Great defense by A’s, most notably a pop-up catch down the third base line by DiBiaso, left it up to A’s last bats. “Bullseye” Charlie Porterfield, on base due to his second HBP of the day, scored the winning run on DiBiaso’s walk-off triple. A’s win, 7-6. The A’s Matt Moore pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts, and the Cardinals’ Andrew Marchand had seven strikeouts.
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