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Finest Navy Comes Away With 8-3 Win at St. Joseph’s

by Hunter Javeline

Finest Navy 13U used an aggressive offensive approach, timely small ball, and dominant relief pitching to earn a hard-fought 8-3 victory over 15U Elite Natale on Tuesday night under the lights at St. Joseph’s University.

Both teams traded scoreless innings to start the game. Finest Navy leadoff hitter Bryan Mejia immediately set an aggressive tone by drawing a walk and stealing both second and third base, but Elite Natale starter Pat Fox escaped the jam by leaving him stranded. In the bottom half, Finest starter Amir Rodriguez matched him with a clean inning, striking out two to keep the game scoreless.

Finest Navy broke through in the second inning by executing its small-ball game plan. Jaxon McDonough and Dom Beverly worked back-to-back walks before John Papaemmanuel dropped down a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt. Although Papaemmanuel was retired at first, confusion in the infield allowed both McDonough and Beverly to score, giving Finest Navy a 2-0 lead.

Elite Natale answered in the bottom of the inning with solid situational baseball. Eric Mikoleski drew a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball, moved to third, and scored on Bobby Macharski’s sacrifice fly to left field, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Finest Navy created separation in the third. Jimmy Murawski and Bryan Mejia opened the inning with consecutive singles before Luca Malizia delivered the biggest hit of the night, drilling a two-run double to right-center field that scored courtesy runner Garrett Duffalo and Mejia. McDonough followed with an RBI infield single to shortstop, extending the lead to 5-1.

Finest added three more runs in the fourth with another successful display of small ball. Ethan Cuas was hit by a pitch, Papaemmanuel singled to right, and Garrett Duffalo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Finest head coach Kenny Castro again turned to the bunt, and Murawski executed it perfectly. A defensive misplay allowed both Cuas and Papaemmanuel to score, stretching the lead to 7-1. Later in the inning, Malizia hit a ground ball with the bases loaded. Elite Natale recorded the force out at third, but Dom Beverly crossed the plate to increase the advantage to 8-1.

Neither team scored in the remainder of the fourth or the top of the fifth before Elite Natale mounted one final rally. Macharski and Pat Fox drew consecutive walks, and after a strikeout, both runners executed a double steal to move into scoring position. Andrew Cato lined an RBI single to right field, then stole second before Pat Fox scored on a wild pitch to trim the deficit to 8-3.

Rodriguez laid the foundation for the victory, tossing three hitless innings while allowing no earned runs and striking out two. Cuas took over in relief and slammed the door over the final two innings, overpowering Elite Natale with six strikeouts to seal the win.

Elite Natale received strong relief work from Eric Mikoleski, who threw two hitless innings with two strikeouts to halt Finest Navy’s offense. Tristan Crawford followed with a solid outing, showing sharp command while limiting further damage.

Finest Navy 13U closed out the game from there, securing an impressive 8-3 victory over 15U Elite Natale behind aggressive baserunning, disciplined execution, and dominant pitching.