SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - On Tuesday, June 30, Lewisboro Lightning 10U faced the Somers Red Storm at Lewisboro Town Park, and the summer blues were on full display. Not because of the heat, but because of the numbers.
“We’ve been short-handed most of the summer,” said coach Paul Oliver.
With a few 9U players filling out the roster, a 4-4 game through four innings was nothing to overlook. But the strong effort didn't hold up in the end.
Somers scored six runs in the fifth inning, handing Lewisboro a 14-5 defeat.
Evan Schneider came out firing, much like the weather. The starter fielded a grounder back to the mound, Aiden Kimparker-Krieger handled another at second base, and Schneider struck out Jake Tenenbaum to retire the side.
The Lightning offense heated up quickly as well. Augie Murphy started things with a one-out single.
“I wanted a fastball, and it was down the middle,” said the first baseman.
James Maharaj and Kimparker-Krieger followed with walks to load the bases. With two outs, Max Oliver didn't let being a year younger than most of the competition deter him.
“I hit a little gap shot that scored two runs,” he said.
Given an early lead, Schneider carried the momentum back to the mound. He struck out the first two batters, and a routine ground ball to second appeared to be the third out.
Unfortunately for Lewisboro, the ball wasn't fielded cleanly, allowing Thompson Waterhouse to reach base. A wild pitch moved him to second, and Jordan Tenenbaum's fly ball to left dropped in for an RBI hit, putting Somers on the board.
A pop-up to second ended the inning, and Aaron Colderbanks took the mound for Somers. He retired the first two batters before Robin Oliver stepped in.
“I saw the pitch release down low, and I was like, 'Alright,'” Oliver said.
He drove the ball into the gap for a double, but Waterhouse made a nice play at second on Murphy's ground ball to end the inning and keep Lewisboro's lead at one.
That advantage didn't last long.
Somers took the lead in the top of the third, aided by a bit of misfortune for the Lightning. Becket O'Donovan ripped a one-out single to right, and after Preston Lewis grounded out to Schneider, Bobby Burke's drive to short center appeared destined to be the third out.
The ball glanced off Max Oliver's glove and rolled all the way to the fence, resulting in an inside-the-park home run.
It was a tough break for the young outfielder, but his father and coach still praised his effort.
“He's the kid who always wants to play,” Paul Oliver said.
Lewisboro answered in the bottom of the inning. James Maharaj crushed a shot down the third-base line for a triple.
“I hit a tank,” he said.
Schneider followed with a line drive up the middle to tie the game at 3-3.
Somers responded immediately. Brendan Mallamud blooped a single into shallow center, stole second, and scored on Colderbanks' RBI single.
Schneider settled back in, fielding another comebacker before ending the inning with two strikeouts.
Trailing again, the Lightning still had plenty of fight. Aiden Izzo drew a walk, and Marco Migliore followed with a single after drawing inspiration from his biggest supporter.
“I think it's really sweet that she cheers for me,” he said of his mom.
Robin Oliver then lined a single to left to load the bases with no outs.
After Murphy struck out, Maharaj grounded out to short, driving in the tying run. Schneider, however, was unable to extend the rally, striking out to end the threat.
Somers seized the momentum in the next inning, erupting for six runs to break the game open.
Lewisboro continued to battle. Three walks in the bottom of the fifth made it 10-5, but a baserunning mistake ended the inning before the Lightning could pull any closer.
One final bright spot came behind the plate when Kimparker-Krieger took over at catcher. On Preston Lewis' pop-up, he calmly settled under the ball, displaying the poise the position demands.
“I like catching because you have a job that holds the team together,” he said.
Coach Oliver saw plenty of positives despite the loss.
“All in all, the kids have done well,” he concluded.
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