11u Smithtown Bulls’ Bats Impress in Doubleheader Sweep

by Trevor Dugan

We spoke to the 11u Smithtown Bulls after their impressive doubleheader sweep @EcybTournaments pic.twitter.com/3ONSHTrieb

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 4, 2025

Veterans Memorial Park played host to an East Coast Youth Baseball doubleheader Saturday morning as the 11u Smithtown Bulls swept both games from the LI Elite Fanelli. The Bulls were firing on all cylinders, scoring 22 combined runs in the two games. They also got a complete game from their starting pitchers in each of the two victories. 

The first game of this Saturday morning doubleheader started as a back and forth affair, but by the end it was all Bulls. Their offense looked unstoppable with 15 runs in just four innings. 

Despite the lopsided final score, Elite SP Teddy Dunne looked good out of the gate, working around a leadoff walk for a scoreless top of the first. The Elite bats were able to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning against Bulls SP Julian Ojevwe, thanks to an RBI single by Maxwell Zimbardi that landed directly on the left field line. 

The Bulls answered quickly in the top of the second. Following a leadoff strikeout, the Bulls smacked two singles and drew a walk to load the bases, then Grayson Hild drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at one. Next, Brock Murphy was able to reach on an infield single, driving in two thanks to some heads up baserunning by the Bulls. The Bulls took a 3-1 lead into the bottom half of the second. 

Some clutch hitting by the Elite offense tied things up at three on their second trip to the plate. Matthew Dean led the inning off with a single, and was driven in on an RBI triple down the right field line by catcher Michael Campaner. An RBI groundout by Brady Klein drove Campaner home, and knotted things up at 3-3 heading into the third inning. 

The top of the third saw the Bulls’ bats explode for seven runs, chasing the Elite SP and giving themselves a huge cushion. Amazingly, the Bulls scored all seven runs with two outs after the first two batters of the inning grounded out. Franklin Sessa began the onslaught with an RBI triple to break the 3-3 tie. His big hit was followed by three RBI singles by Patrick Flynn, Jaime Santiago, and Tycen Walther, stretching the Bulls’ lead to 9-3. The final run of the Bulls’ monster inning scored on a passed ball to push their advantage to 10-3. Daniel Brustman entered in relief to record the final out for the Elite, but the Bulls held a seven run lead by the end of the frame. 

The Bulls explode for seven runs in the top of the third to take the lead right back

Franklin Sessa began the onslaught with an RBI triple to left

Bulls 10 – Elite 3
Mid third pic.twitter.com/lgnmEvwdk0

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 4, 2025

Chasing seven runs, the Elite needed to make something happen on offense quickly. They were able to scrape away at the lead by scoring two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Leadoff batter Dean Karotkin got on base with a single and stole both second and third, before coming around to score on an RBI triple by Teddy Dunne. Karotkin ended up with four stolen bases between the two games of this doubleheader.

Karotkin would come in to score on an infield single by Maxwell Zimbardi to trim the Bulls’ lead to 10-5. Ojevwe limited the damage to just two runs in the inning, but the Elite had drawn a bit closer following the Bulls’ huge top of the third. 

The Bulls got those runs back and then some in the top of the fourth, scoring five runs in another long inning. Brendan Karushcat smacked a leadoff single,then stole second to get himself into scoring position. Reid Aiala drove him in with an RBI single to CF to extend the Bulls’ lead to 11-6. Two more runs would come across a few batters later, when Sean Flynn came through with a sacrifice fly. One runner tagged up from third, and a second was able to score as well after an errant throw into the infield, making the score 13-5. 

Julian Ojevwe kept the inning going with an RBI single, driving in two more runs and pushing the lead to 15-5. This wide margin meant the Elite were facing the run rule, and needed to score in the bottom of the fourth to keep the game going. Unfortunately for them, Ojevwe came back out on the mound for the Elite and pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth, handing a game one victory to the Bulls by way of the run rule. 

Game 2

Game two was a much lower scoring contest which featured a dominant pitching performance by Reid Alaia. The young right hander tossed a complete game, going six innings while allowing just one earned run. He pitched a quick and scoreless top of the first for the Bulls to begin game two. 

The Bulls offense picked up where they left off in game one to begin the second leg of this doubleheader, scoring five runs in the first inning on a series of errors and infield singles to give themselves a comfortable 5-0 advantage right away. However, after this big first inning the bats would cool off for the Bulls. They scored just twice more in game two.

Both pitchers traded scoreless frames in the second inning, as Elite SP Matthew Dean settled down after a rough first inning. It wasn’t until the bottom of the third that either team would score again. The Bulls added two runs to their lead in the third thanks to a two out, two run single off the bat of Jaime Santiago. Santiago had a very productive Saturday for the Bulls, driving in four runs in game two after scoring three times in game one. 

Alaia continued to silence the Elite offense in the top of the fourth, pitching a shutdown inning to send his bats back to the plate with a 7-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, the Elite brought in Dean Karotkin in relief of SP Dean, and the young righty impressed right away. After catching a line drive from the first batter of the inning, he forced two more groundouts right back to the mound, recording all three outs himself and holding the Bulls scoreless. 

The Elite finally got to Alaia in the top of the fifth inning, as Karotnik helped his own cause with an RBI single to cut the Bulls’ lead. After scoring their first run of the game on an error, Karotnik ripped his RBI single to make it 7-2 Bulls. Alaia avoided any further damage, but the Elite were finally on the board after being shut down for most of the game. 

Karotnik continued his successful relief appearance with another scoreless inning in the bottom of the fifth, keeping the score at 7-2 and giving his team one more chance to chase five runs in the top of the sixth. Alaia came back out to finish off his complete game in the sixth, and it took him less than ten pitches. He retired the side in order by forcing two popouts and a ground out to finish off his impressive pitching performance and earn his team a second straight victory over the LI Elite. 

Head coach Dain Alaia of the Smithtown Bulls was proud of his boys after their victorious Saturday morning. He told Axcess about the team’s motto and how it contributes to their success. 

“We’re big on being ACEs, attitude, commitment and effort. They came with the right attitude, they were committed, and the effort was there all day,” Alaia said. 

“We just want to keep getting better. We’re going from 10 to 11 years old so the rules are a bit different and it’s a lot for these boys to learn,” Alaia continued. “But we’re making a lot of progress and we’re going to keep working.” 

The Smithtown Bulls improve to 6-2 in the Fall season, while LI Elite Fanelli falls to 2-3.