The Martha’s Vineyard Little League Majors double-elimination playoffs entered the homestretch with the Pirates taking on the A’s on Tuesday afternoon at Penn Field in Oak Bluffs.
The A’s jumped out to an early lead, but the Bucs scored five unanswered runs and held off a late A’s rally to pull out a 6-5 win.
Nate Story led off the game with an infield hit, and Harper Hearn cracked an RBI double off the fence in center-right field to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead.
The A’s responded with three runs in the bottom half of the first. Starting pitcher Charlie Porterfield and Jack Lionette singled, then executed a double steal, setting the table for Cole Lambert, who drove a triple down the right field line to put the A’s up 2-1. Lukas Fernandes singled up the middle, scoring Lambert to close out the rally.
The Pirates inched closer by manufacturing a run in the second. Parker Blake got the Bucs started by drawing a walk and stealing second. Hardy Eville advanced Blake to third with a grounder to short, and Devonne Saunders earned the RBI on a fielder’s choice as Blake hustled across the plate to beat the throw from second. After Rocco Imbrogno singled, A’s second baseman Micah Simmons snuffed out the Pirates threat with an unassisted double play by snaring Nate Story’s line drive.
With the A’s clinging to a 3-2 lead, Pirates starter Tobey Roberts rebounded nicely from a tough first inning, and settled into a groove to hold the A’s scoreless for the next three innings, striking out five batters.
Clyde Smith smacked a leadoff double in the third and the Bucs loaded the bases in the fourth, but the A’s and their pitchers Charlie Porterfield and Cole Lambert got out of the jam.
The Bucs turned the tide in the fifth. Tobey Roberts and Harper Hearn walked, then stole second and third. Caleb Dubin grounded out on a high chopper to second, scoring Roberts, and Hardy Eville knocked in Hearn with an infield hit to put the Pirates in front, 4-3.
Nate Story came on in relief of Tobey Roberts in the bottom half of the fifth and singlehandedly retired the A’s by making a shoestring grab off the mound, fielding a comebacker and throwing to first and catching a pop-up.
A little insurance is a good thing to have in the last inning, and the Pirates got some, taking a 6-3 lead on a Clyde Smith double and Tobey Roberts single.
Down to their final at-bat, the A’s did not go quietly. Jack Lionette scored from second on an errant throw and Cole Lambert crossed the plate on a passed ball. Bending but not breaking, Nate Story retired the last two batters to close out the Bucs’ win.
Three teams remain in the playoffs. The Pirates play the Red Sox on June 22, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s Majors championship against the first-place Cubs, who are unbeaten in the postseason. The Cubbies need only win once on Saturday to claim the title, while the Bucs or Sox must win twice.