Carteret Nighthawks third baseman Joniel Martinez steps on base for force out.
By Sean Reilly
The Hudson Valley Renegades had a modest goal for their game against the Carteret Nighthawks on Sunday afternoon at the Diamond Nation 17/18U August Showdown.
“We just wanted to enjoy ourselves today, because it was our last game of the tournament,” said Linus Oudom, who hit sixth in the lineup and was also the starting pitcher.
A five-run top of the first inning made that task a much easier one. It was fueled by a two-run single from Oudom, who also allowed one hit over three scoreless frames, as the Renegades gained an 8-4 victory.
The Renegades finished the tournament with a 2-1 record with 18 runs scored and 18 against.
Its win over the Nighthawks was set up by the big opening inning, where all of the damage came with two out.
Third batter Austin Seipp started things with a single to center, and he scored when his brother, Landon, followed with a double to center. Christian Adorno reached on an error that sent the runner to third. Brice Rider walked to load the bases.
Oudom was up next, and he dropped a single in front of a charging right fielder to score two runs for a 3-0 lead. Tyler Nolen walked to re-load the bases and Conner Griffin was hit by a pitch to score the fourth run. Doug Borrello followed with an RBI walk for a 5-0 lead.
The Renegades added another run in the second inning. Evan Kelly led off with a single to shortstop and Braydon VanDeWater followed with a single to left.
Austin Siepp was then safe at first on a grounder that forced out Kelly at third. A double steal moved the runners to second and third, and after a walk to Landon Siepp, Adorno hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
The lead extended to 8-0 in the third.
Linus Oudom hit a two-run single and allowed one hit over three innings for the Renegades.
Nolen hit a one-out single to right, and Griffin was safe on an error. After a wild pitch advanced the runners, a walk to Borrello loaded the bases. Joe Sposato reached on a grounder that forced out Borrello at second, but scored Nolen from third. Kelly followed with an RBI single to right.
The bottom of the third was Oudom’s final inning on the mound. He finished his scoreless stint with four strikeouts and no walks, allowing only a two-out single by Derek Vazquez in the third.
“The first inning helped a lot,” Oudom said. “My pitching, I was pretty content with it. My fastball, my slider and splitter were working.”
The Nighthawks had much better success against the Renegades bullpen, most notably in the fourth inning.
With one out, Zach Hebbe walked, stole second and moved to third on a balk before Angel Cruz walked. A double steal scored Hebbe, and an error on the play also scored Cruz. The next five batters also walked, with Nate Perez and Jordan Rosario drawing passes which scored runs.
Kelly finished 2-for-4 for the Renegades. The third-inning single by Vasquez was the lone hit for the Nighthawks.