Paolo Palleschi of Team Notorious 9 Select is safe at first, spoiling a double play on a grounder.
By Sean Reilly
The fortunes for Team Francisco Notorious 9 Select on Tuesday afternoon at Diamond Nation came down to one thing — patience.
The Long Island team left nine runners on base through the first first four innings against Beast 2026 American in the opener for both at the 16U Blue Chip Prospects showcase.
In addition to that, two runners were thrown out stealing and another was erased on a double play. The result of it all was a two-run deficit entering the bottom of the fifth.
It was at that point that everything changed. Seven runs, several big hits and two outs later, the 1:50 play clock expired, and Team Francisco Notorious Select 9 had an 8-3 victory in Flemington.
“It had been a little frustrating,” said Joe Lanza, the Team Francisco leadoff man who went 2-for-3 with a walk. His three-run double with one out in the fifth capped the rally and helped ensure that the inning went on long enough for the clock to expire with the home team both leading and batting.
“We just changed our approach in the box and got our barrels on the ball,” he added.
The inning began with Beast 2026 American, another Long Island team, holding a 3-1 lead.
Dylan Vikara began the inning for Team Francisco with a single on a grounder hit in the hole behind first and second. Michael Empaynado then beat out a throw to first after hitting a grounder that forced Vikara out at second.
After a walk to Matthew Kurz put runners on first and second, Joseph Leftwich hit a two-run double to left-center field for a 3-3 tie.
Paolo Palleschi walked and James Beckforth singled to load the bases. Gabriel Rodriguez and Gianluca D’Amico followed with run-scoring walks for a 5-3 lead.
Lanza then came through with his bases-clearing hit to center for a five-run lead.
“I saw the pitcher well, I had a 2-0 count and I knew a fastball was coming, and I just jumped on it,” he said
After a fly out, time expired with Vikara up for the second time in the inning.
Beast 2026 American third baseman Christian Moreno tries to make a play on slow hit ground ball.
Beast 2026 American took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Quinn Fiene led off with a single to center, stole second and scored on Matthew Critchley’s one-out single to center.
Team Francisco tied it in the third, with Kurtz hitting a two-out RBI double that rolled to the fence in left-center.
Beast 2026 American went up, 2-1, in the fourth after Yendry Hernandez led off with a single to center, was bunted to second, moved to third on a ground out and then scored when Critchley (2-for-2) dropped a single into center field.
The Beast 2026 American lead expanded to 3-1 in the fifth. Dillon DeRiggi singled to center with one out. He stole second after a strikeout, and scored on Robbie Northrop’s triple to left center.
Every man in Team Francisco’s 10-man lineup had at least one hit, except for Ray Kim, who walked twice, and Rodriguez, who walked three times. In addition to Lanza’s multi-hit game, Vikora was 2-for-2 with a walk and Beckworth went 2-for-3.
Rich Luke pitched the first four innings for Team Francisco, allowing three runs on four hits, struck out two and walked none. Lucas Moseman gained the win by pitching the fifth inning, yielding two hits with two strikeouts and no walks.