by Trevor Dugan
Axcess spoke to 15u MVP South Shore following their championship victory @MVP_SouthShore @mvpnewyork @LIBoysofSummer pic.twitter.com/DrtzJJuoK1
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 14, 2025
When asked about his team’s performance this summer, MVP South Shore Head Coach Nick Fiore said that “pitching has been our strength all year long.”
That was certainly the case Thursday evening in the second game of the best-of-three championship series with Yeti Baseball Navy to decide the Boys of Summer 15u National Division.
MVP South Shore won the first game of the series 8-1 on Tuesday, giving them the opportunity to sweep the championship series Thursday evening. Yeti Baseball needed a win to keep their season alive and force a decisive game three.
Yeti baseball started RHP Evan Pacella (William Floyd 2028) on the mound, while MVP South Shore went with RHP Chris Morrissey (Lynbrook 2028).
MVP South Shore batted first in this one, and wasted no time jumping out to an early lead. Luke Walker (Clarke 2027) led off the game with a walk, then stole second base, but Pacella was able to get the next two batters to ground out. Brian Lynch (MacArthur 2027) strode to the plate with two outs and a runner in scoring positon and came through with an RBI double into the right-center field gap, scoring Walker for the first run of the game.
Lynch came around to score himself after advancing to third on a wild pitch, then crossing the plate while a rundown ensued between first and second after his teammate got picked off at first base. The runner was tagged out to end the inning, but MVP South Shore held a 2-0 lead after the top of the first.
Chris Morrissey went to work in the bottom of the first, firing a quick 1-2-3 shutdown inning. He coaxed Yeti Baseball’s top three hitters into three consecutive groundouts, allowing his offense to go right back to scoring.
Miles Nonaillada led off the second inning with a single, then his teammate Aidan Hughes hit a single of his own to put runners on the corners with one out. Morrissey came to the plate with a chance to help himself, and delivered a sacrifice fly to score Nonaillada and extend the MVP South Shore lead to 3-0.
Pacella avoided any further damage by getting the next hitter to line out to CF, where Yeti center fielder Nate Caruana (Saint Anthony’s 2027) made a nice sliding catch to end the inning.
Morrissey started the bottom of the second by producing two more groundouts from Yeti hitters. Morrissey was able to force five straight ground outs to start his outing on the mound. The next batter however, James Bitts (Connetquot 2028), lined a single to left for Yeti Baseball’s first hit of the game. Bitts would steal second base, but Morrissey promptly forced a popout from the very next batter to end the scoring threat and preserve his squad’s 3-0 lead.
MVP South Shore would add another run to their cushion in the top of the third. After the first two batters were sat down in order, Will Hutchinson was hit by a pitch, then stole second base. He was driven in by Steve D’Ornelias with a single to center field, extending MVP South Shore’s lead to 4-0.
The bottom of the third would be Morrisey’s last inning of work. The MVP South Shore RHP tossed another scoreless frame, striking out two batters in the process. He finished with 3.0 innings pitched, two strikeouts, and just one hit allowed with no earned runs.
Continuing their trend of scoring in every inning, MVP South Shore plated another run in the top of the fourth. A leadoff walk and a subsequent error put runners on the corner with nobody out as Aidan Hughes (Massapequa 2028) stepped into the batters box. Hughes laced an RBI single into center to score the runner from third and push the lead to 5-0.
At this point Yeti Baseball opted to bring in a reliever. They went with RHP Shane Penn (Kings Park 2027). Penn inherited runners on first and second with nobody out, but the tall righty was unfazed. He forced the first batter he faced into a 6-4-3 double play, then got the next hitter to pop up to escape the jam and keep the score at a manageable 5-0.
MVP South Shore secures the @liboysofsummer 15u National Division Championship victory
FINAL: MVP South Shore 5 – Yeti Baseball 2 pic.twitter.com/MGVWmOsUJW
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 14, 2025
MVP South Shore brought in a reliever of their own in the bottom of the fourth. RHP Colby Grzelaczyk (MacArthur 2028) entered in relief of Morrissey. He looked comfortable immediately, pitching a 1-2-3 inning.
Penn settled in nicely himself after entering in the top of the fourth. He would follow Grzelaczyk’s example by pitching a scoreless inning of his own in the top of the fifth, giving his team another chance to cut into the 5-0 deficit.
The Yeti Baseball offense came to life at last in the bottom of the fifth, with one run scoring on an RBI single by Evan Pacella, and a second coming in on a swinging bunt single by Peter Recupero, cutting the lead to 5-2. Following Recupero’s single Grzelaczyk walked his first batter of the game to load the bases, but got the next batter to ground out to first, keeping the damage at just two runs.
The two relievers would trade scoreless frames from that point on. The Yeti infield ended the top of the sixth by turning a good looking 5-4-3 double play. Grzelaczyk followed that up with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, bouncing back nicely after his shaky fifth inning.
Penn pitched his third straight scoreless inning in the top of the seventh, giving Yeti Baseball one more chance to come back from the 5-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh and push the series to a winner-take-all game three.
Grzelaczyk had other plans. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Yeti Baseball did get the tying run to the plate after a HBP and a walk. However, Grzelaczyk got the final batter to flyout to left, securing the 15u National Division Championship for MVP South Shore Fiore.
MVP South Shore finishes the Boys of Summer season with a record of 12-4-1, while Yeti Baseball Navy finishes 10-15-1.
