18-Grip Shield Glory Days

The Sharpie Cardinals won the Spring league's 18AA championship Sunday, August 29 at the Lantana Sports Complex, rallying from a 7-0 deficit to beat the Dobson Roofing Hurricanes 13-9. The Hurricanes, who earned the finals with an 11-4 semifinal win earlier Sunday over the Yankees, looked like they would cop the title game easily racing off to a 7-0 start after only three innings. Craig Spatara doubled home a run in the first inning, then Gregg Perrin hit a grand slam in the second off Cardinals' starter Louis Ortiz. Spatara then blasted a two-run shot off Ortiz for a 7-0 lead. After the next batter, Felix Martinez, singled, Cardinals' skipper Steve Ausdenmoore brought in lefthander Vinny Casella and he stopped the Hurricanes cold. That give the Cardinals time to get their offense going. After Hurricanes starter Joe Hager held the Cards scoreless through the first three innings, the Cardinals exploded for two in the fourth, five more in the fifth to tie, and five more in the sixth to take a commanding 12-7 lead. They added one more iun the 8th. The Hurricanes, held scoreless for 6 and 2/3 innings by Casella, finally cracked through for two more runs in the 9th, but it was too late, too late. August 29th was a busy day for the 18AAA league at the Santaluces Complex. First, the sixth seeded Orioles finished off the #3 Indians by completing a suspended game with an 8-2 victory. The game had been halted by rain the previous Sunday and resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning with the O's leading 7-1. And, fourth seeded Los Tigres completed their suspended game against the number five seeded Boynton Red Sox, winning 7-2 after resuming play in the bottom of the fifth with a 5-1 lead. That put the Orioles into one semifinal against the second-seeded Pacino Twins, and the Twins won it easily 8-0. Los Tigres earned their other semifinal against the top seeded Bru's Room Rockets, with former New York Met pitcher Mike Draper pitching the Rockets to a 4-2 victory.