by Trevor Dugan
Axcess spoke to Head Coach Chad Guss, Kaiden Dowling and Grant Guss of 12u Mayhem Baseball following their game at Plainedge Park @EcybTournaments pic.twitter.com/OkIc2TmCOp
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 21, 2025
The 12u Salisbury Rebels and Mayhem Baseball Guss met at Plainedge Park Sunday afternoon for an East Coast Youth Baseball Fall matchup.
Hits were hard to come by in this game as both pitching staffs had their best stuff from the very beginning. Mayhem Baseball started Grant Guss on the mound, while the Rebels gave the start to Gavin Alvarado.
Guss got off to a great start in the top of the first, striking out the first batter of the game. He surrendered a walk to the second hitter, but forced a flyout in the next at-bat before ringing up another strikeout to end the inning.
Alvarado looked sharp right away as well. He retired the first two Mayhem batters on a groundout and a strikeout before walking their third batter Caiden Dowling. Dowling stole both second and third, but Alvarado prevented him from scoring by forcing a groundout to end the inning.
Guss went back to work in the top of the second and continued to rack up the strikeouts. After walking the first batter of the inning, he struck out two of the next three hitters to strand the runner and bring his strikeout total to four through just two innings.
The bottom of the second saw more of the same, as Alvarado tossed an efficient 1-2-3 inning. This 12u matchup was shaping up to be a true pitchers duel.
Not to be outdone, Guss came out in the top of the third inning and retired the side in order, ending it with another strikeout. He would move to third base the following inning, but Guss was dominant through three scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out five Rebels.
Alvarado came back out in the bottom of the third and continued the trend of 1-2-3 innings, pitching his second straight. The third inning was his last inning of work as well, but he matched Guss by pitching three scoreless, no-hit frames and recording two strikeouts.
In the top of the fourth, Mayhem Baseball brought in Angelo Puleo to relieve Guss on the mound. He didn’t miss a beat, pitching yet another 1-2-3 inning and keeping the no hitter alive, registering two strikeouts in the process. More than half of the outs recorded by Mayhem pitching had come via strikeout by the end of the fourth inning.
The Rebels brought in Colton Vikara to pitch in the bottom of the fourth. He retired the first two batters in order but then, finally, Grant Guss laced a single into center field for the first hit of the game by either team. Guss was promptly picked off at first base to end the inning and keep the game scoreless.
The Rebels were able to scrape across the first run of the game in the top of the fifth, and they did it without getting any hits. The inning began with a HBP, followed by a popout, stolen base and walk to put runners on the corners. With runners on first and third and one out, Xavier David hit a chopper to shortstop, prompting both runners to take off. The Mayhem SS Lukas Dunn fired the ball to home and caught the runner just in time for the second out. During the bang-bang play, Mayhem pitcher Angelo Puleo went down with a cramp and was relieved by Dunn.
With Dunn on the mound and runners on the corners again, the Rebels initiated a first and third play and got their runner at first caught in a rundown. During what turned out to be a lengthy rundown, the runner from third was able to score before the out was recorded, which gave the Rebels a 1-0 while they were still hitless.
Amazingly, Mayhem Baseball answered right away in the bottom of the fifth as Caiden Dowling led the inning off with an inside-park-home run. His line drive down the left field line rolled about 400 feet across the fenceless field. Dowling barreled through the stop sign from his third base coach to go for home as the third baseman received the ball. The third baseman’s throw sailed over the catcher’s head and allowed Dowling to score and tie the game.
Mayhem Baseball would take the lead later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Lukas Dunn to give them a 2-1 lead. Dunn would return to the mound in the top of the sixth for the save opportunity.
Dunn struck out the first batter of the inning, then an error allowed Mikey Ricobono to reach first. Ricobono stole second base, then a groundout moved him over to third. Down to their final out with a runner on third base, Dunn forced a groundball to shortstop, but it was mishandled, which allowed the tying run to score. Dunn struck out the next batter, but the Rebels had drawn even at 2-2 despite not having a hit through six innings.
The Rebels turn an impressive double play to finish the sixth inning, as this game ends in a tie
FINAL: Mayhem 2 – Rebels 2 pic.twitter.com/0meLk0nO4e
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) September 21, 2025
Mayhem Baseball had one more chance in the bottom of the sixth to earn a walkoff victory. The first batter of the inning struck out, then Tommy McCartney walked to put the winning run on base. Next up was Graham Galligan, who hit into an unconventional double play turned beautifully by the Rebels’ infield to end the game. Galligan rolled a groundball to second base, and was caught by a hair at first. McCartney rounded second and tried to reach third on the slow roller, but the Rebels’ first baseman fired across the diamond to catch him at third base and end the game in a 2-2 tie.
It was the second tie of the Fall season for Mayhem Baseball, as their record moves to 3-0-2. The Rebels record now stands at 2-0-1.
