LIB Select Dominates in Boys of Summer 13u Central Division Championship Victory

by Trevor Dugan 

We spoke to Head Joe Cottone of LIB Select and SP Matthew Karp after their dominant 12-0 win in the @liboysofsummer 13u Central Division Championship pic.twitter.com/NsiUtFd6fD

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 16, 2025

It was a dominant performance from start to finish for LIB Select on Saturday afternoon, as SP Matthew Klang tossed a complete game shutout and the offense scored 12 runs to earn a run-rule victory in the Boys of Summer 13u Central Division Championship over Dodgers Nation Zaccaro. 

Dodgers Nation started Theo Lui on the mound for Saturday’s championship bout, while the aforementioned Matthew Klang got the start for LIB Select. 

Lui retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the first, but Joe Albano laced a two out single to center field, then stole second base to put himself in scoring position. LIB was aggressive on the base paths throughout this game, as they would finish the game with nine stolen bases. LIB cleanup hitter Valentino Hong was able to drive Albano home with an RBI single over the first baseman’s leaping glove to give his team an early 1-0 lead. 

Matthew Klang was locked in from the start for LIB. He pitched a speedy shutdown inning in the bottom of the first, allowing just one baserunner on a hit by pitch before handing the ball back to his counterpart Lui. 

Lui bounced back in the top of the second after allowing a run in the first. The first batter of the frame walked, then stole second base, but Lui erased the scoring threat by striking out the next two batters then coercing a popup out of the final batter of the inning to retire the side. 

Klang went back to work in the bottom of the second and supplied another rapid, 1-2-3 inning. He forced two groundouts and recorded his second strikeout of the game to send the LIB offense back to the dish in the top of the third. 

LIB was able to add to their 1-0 lead in the third inning. The leadoff man Kaden Daly reached on an error to start the inning, then advanced to third on a bad throw down to second base as he attempted to steal. The next man up was Ben Salemi, who came through with a sac fly to score Daly and stretch the LIB lead to 2-0. Lui avoided any further damage however, keeping the score close heading to the bottom of the third. 

Klang continued his infallible performance in the bottom of the third, pitching another 1-2-3 frame. Klang didn’t have a single inning Saturday in which he threw over 20 pitches. He held the 2-0 lead in place for LIB as they headed to the fourth. 

The top of the fourth saw another run come across for LIB thanks to some small ball. After a leadoff lineout, Jayden Rodino got himself on base with a single. He was bunted over to second by Gennero Sirota, and then scored on an error in the following at-bat to put LIB up 3-0.

Everything seemed to be going right for LIB Saturday afternoon, especially when Matthew Klang was on the mound. He fired his third straight 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth. After the game Klang told Axcess simply, “I was just throwing strikes and doing my job.” 

The top of the fifth is when LIB blew the game wide open, scoring nine runs in the inning. Two singles and an error loaded the bases to start the inning. Then, Joe Albano came through with an RBI double down the line to plate two runners, making it 5-0. Albano finished the day 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

LIB blows the game wide open with nine runs in the fifth, two scoring on this bases loaded knock by Joe Albano (Holy Trinity 2029)

LIB 12 – Dodger Nation 0
Mid fifth pic.twitter.com/0Vm7p346r4

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) August 16, 2025

After another run scored on a ground ball to second that was beat out, Matthew Klang helped himself in the fifth inning with an RBI single to push the lead up to 7-0. Three more RBI singles in the fifth would push the lead all the way up to 12-0, before the inning mercifully came to an end. 

Facing the run-rule, Dodgers Nation would need to muster at least five runs in the bottom of the fifth to stay alive, a tall order against a pitcher like Matthew Klang They were able to leg out an infield single, breaking up Klang’s no hitter, but were unable to plate any runs as Klang finished off his shutout and secured the Boys of Summer 13u Central Division Championship for LIB Select. 

LIB Select Head Coach Joe Cottone spoke to Axcess postgame about his team’s performance this summer. 

“I think we started off a little slow,” Cottone told Axcess. “But a lot of practice and time spent at the field in Wantagh, and working out with the Prime team really helped us out. Bright futures ahead for these guys.”

LIB Select finishes the summer season 19-2-4, while Dodgers Nation Zaccaro finishes with a very respectable record of 23-4.