by Jacob Infald
Amarante gets Daly swinging. Empire gets one on a throwing error from Huthwaite but it won’t be enough as the game will end on time limit.
LIB Select 6 – Long Island Empire 3 pic.twitter.com/MtPqYjK3c6— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2025
In the bottom of the third inning Joe Arlia stepped to the plate for LIB 16U Select. They were in the midst of a two-out rally that already saw them net one run to tie the score up at two runs apiece against Long Island Empire 16U. Arlia dug in, his dugout was loud and on the first pitch he sat on a fastball on the upper half of the plate and roped it to right field, driving in two runs and giving his team a lead that they would not relinquish.
That Arlia at-bat was a strong representation of this 6-3 victory for LIB Select as they got their first league victory in the Long Island Boys of Summer 16U American Division. They attacked early and came up with timely hits at the plate and key outs in the field. Arlia, who is a class of 2027 product for the Class AA Long Island Champions, Garden City High School, drove in four runs for his squad and shut down Long Island Empire on the mound, throwing two scoreless innings late in the game.
The game started out in favor of the Empire as they struck first. With Ryan Schmidt (Garden City 2028) on the mound for LIB, Ryden Nafte came through with a two out RBI in the top of the first, driving in Nick Kokosinski with a double to the left-center gap.
LIB did not let this rattle them, as they came back quickly in the bottom half of the frame. Singles by Thomas Andersen and Brandon Amarante put the pressure on starting pitcher Xavier Wilson (Island Trees 2027). With runners on the corners and one out, Wilson threw a ball in the dirt that got by his catcher. Andersen initially held up at third, but the catcher still flipped the ball to Wilson who had not covered the plate. The ball ended up on the ground in front of the mound, Andersen hustled home and fired his team up and LIB had their momentum shifting play.
With both teams playing tournaments this upcoming weekend, they had to limit pitch counts for their pitchers. In the second, Ian Olivo (Long Beach 2027) entered for LIB and Jeremy Katakofsky entered for Empire. Both retired the side in the second.
The action resumed in the third as Empire’s top of the order helped put them back in front. Jake Marchetti hit a one out single, followed up by another by Wilson to put runners on the corners. This brought Nafte to the plate and he found grass in center field, Marchetti crossed home and Long Island Empire retook the lead, which would be short lived.
The bottom of the third was not set up to be the magical inning for LIB Select. Markus Daly (Malverne 2027) retired the first two batters of the inning. Dylan Nerses hit a ball down the third base that was good enough for a two out single. This was followed by a two out walk by Amarante which was earned after fouling off multiple tough pitches. The dugout was loud now, as Schmidt stepped to the plate.
The first pitch was right over the plate and Schmidt waited for it before putting onto open grass in right field to tie the game up. After catcher Landon Huthwaite reached on an error, Arlia had his go ahead hit and he said he knew his only job was to get at least one runner in.
“My team has been helping me all game,” Arlia said. “Just keep the momentum going, move the runners and [have] the pass the baton mentality.”
Arlia was not done yet. He relieved Olivo in the top half of the fourth and retired the side in order, including striking out the first two batters he faced. He ran into some trouble in the fifth when Marchetti came up with runners on the corner as the go-ahead run. Arlia bore down, forcing Marchetti to hit a high pop up shallow left that looked like it could be trouble for LIB. However, Andersen ran in and made a running catch to end the inning and preserve the 4-2 lead. Arlia had done his job on the mound and was ready to do more at the plate.
With Jariel Diaz in his second inning of work for Long Island Empire in the bottom half of the fifth, he found himself in a jam. After multiple two out walks none other than Arlia stepped to the plate, looking to put this game away. Empire’s coach called a mound visit to talk things over with Diaz, the entire stadium knew the outcome of the game probably rested on the result of this at-bat.
Once again, Arlia would not be denied, with the support of his teammates in the dugout he roped a ball to center field that plated two more runs that solidified the victory for LIB. Arlia said that even though the summer is young, this team is like a family and they play for one another and that was in the back of his head all game.
ARLIA!!. Two more RBIs for four on the day, all with two outs. He gives himself more cushion to work with out on the mound and Select now leads 6-2. pic.twitter.com/TTu84O05vB
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2025
“We’re a family and we say, ‘LIB on three, one, two, three family!’ and we just keep that team comradery together and it really helps us,” Arlia said.
Long Island Empire would get one run across in the top of the sixth courtesy of a throwing error but it would not be enough as the sixth inning would be the last due to the time limit. Amarante got the save as he pitched the last inning and struck out Daly swinging for the last out.
Long Island Empire loses a close one and falls to 0-3-1 in league play so far this summer. They have plenty of time to turn things around and will have another opportunity when they take on Titans Baseball Cooney on the 17th.
LIB Select improves to 1-2 in league play and Arlia is confident that they can keep the momentum going from this victory.
“First win, it’s huge,” Arlia said. “New guys together, we just got to build off this and keep going.”
Their next contest is the 17th as well as they will take on Dodgers Nation Anzano.
