The Pint For Kim Blueberry Bombers take on the Dragons in the Naperville Little League Junior Championship. Many of the Blueberry Bombers have grown up playing multiple sports together, as Dylan Kane, Jake Stogis, and Finnigan Ginalski are among the players ready for today’s final. The Bombers enter after erasing a six-run deficit in the semifinals, and hold the best record in the league at 14-2. The Dragons are one of those teams that’ve beaten the Bombers, and enter with a 12-2-1 record and a 15-8 win in the semis. The Dragons are without Jack Fasolo, who’s injured, and Blueberry Bomber, Ayden Collins, is not at today’s game. The Junior Division is sponsored by Eagan & Company CPA’s.
The Dragons open the Naperville Little League Junior Championship with a two run first inning
The first at bat sees Pint for Kim Blueberry Bomber pitcher, Patrick Karnick, field the grounder. He throws to first basemen Luke Orsini for the out.
Adrian Fracz opens up the hitting, connecting on one that just gets past the infield for a single.
Here’s Dragons starting pitcher Jameson Kanak at the plate. Kanak ropes one, and the ball trickles down the left field line. It sends Fracz in to score as the Dragons lead 1-0 right away.
A couple of at-bats later, and still with one out, the Dragons add on another run thanks to a wild pitch. Kanak crosses home to make it 2-0.
Neel Mali is up for the Dragons, and he’s able to reach thanks to a walk.
Next at-bat, Karnick throws a wild pitch and hustles to home. Catcher Elston Caile finds Karnick at the plate, and they combine for the out! Karnick would then strike out the next batter to end the inning.
Good plate discipline from the Dragons helps extend the lead
Moving to the bottom of the first, and Blueberry Bomber Landon Burtnette grounds one to short. Fracz makes the play and throws to Vinny Drager at first for the out.
Kanak now looks to end the inning on the mound for the Dragons, as he picks up his first strikeout of the day!
The start of the second opens with three Dragon players reaching base thanks to drawing a walk. AJ Panozzo, Charlie Ortega, and Geo Cisneros all reach to load the bases with no outs.
This brings in Ryan Blanco to pitch, who threw four innings of perfect baseball when these teams met in May. His first batter would ground into a fielder’s choice, as he picks up a strikeout here to earn the second out of the inning!
Blanco throws, but it’s off the mark and it allows Ortega to come home and give the Dragons a 3-0 lead.
Blanco locks back in and gets another strikeout! He gives up one run after the bases were loaded with no outs.
Now, into the bottom half of the second, where Kanak goes to work on the mound! The starting pitcher records a 1-2-3 inning all by strikeouts. He gets every batter to swing and is feeling confident on the bump.
We head to the third, where runners are on second and third with two outs in the top half of the inning. The ball gets past the catcher, and Adam Lopez glides into home to make it a 4-0 Dragons lead.
The next at-bat comes with another past ball, as this time it’s Panozzo who crosses home, and the Dragons lead 5-0 heading to the bottom of the third.
Kanak continues to pitch well for the Dragons, as he secures two more strikeouts this inning, first on a bunt attempt. Then he gets another batter looking for the K.
More runners cross home from walks and pass balls
Into the fourth, and the Dragons are now up 6-0 after Mali was hit by a pitch. Dylan McGovern is up as the ball gets past the catcher, and this time it’s Kanek who steals home and brings it to a 7-0 lead.
McGovern is still up, and he’s the next Dragon to reach on base from a walk. The Dragons reach on base thanks to a walk or a hit by pitch 16 times in this championship!
Panozzo is up, and he watches the pitch go inside and takes first base. That sends Drager across the plate as the Dragons lead 8-0!
Connor Vest is now pitching for the Blueberry Bombers, and he gets his outing going with a strikeout. He then fields a grounder and throws to Blonco at first for the third out.
Bleuberry Bombers get a rally going and score in the fourth inning
Bottom 4, and Blueberry Bomber, Grayson Quist draws a walk to open the inning!
Nolan Brooks is next up– He sends a grounder past the infield and out to right. Quist runs home, but he gets tagged by the Dragons at the plate!
After another strikeout thrown by Kanak, there are two outs in the bottom of the fourth. The Blueberry Bombers look for a rally, as Calie singles on a dribbler to short, where no throw is made. Runners on the corners for the home team.
Landon Burtnette is up now, and the pitch just gets past the catcher. It sends Brooks home to score, and the Bombers are on the board, trailing 8-1.
Burtnette connects, and it’s a tester for Dragons catcher, Brian Pecina. He pumps one and throws to first for the final out of the fourth inning!
Kanak dials in for three strikeouts to end the game and lift the Dragons past the Pint For Kim Blueberry Bombers
Top 5, and after Pecina walked, here’s Fracz at the plate for the Dragons. He connects on a fly ball to right field, where Kaenon Grier does a great job of tracking it down. The sac-fly is able to score Pecina, and the Dragons extend their advantage to eight runs.
After three more walks and a couple of passed balls, the Dragons are now up 11-1 with still just one out in the fifth. Mali watches the ball go low, and it’s Lopez who gives the Dragons a 12-1 advantage.
It brings in Orsini to pitch, as he records two strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Bottom five, and the Blueberry bombers need to score at least two runs to keep the game going. However, Kanak has other plans– dialing in for three strikeouts to close out the game! The two sides combine for just four hits, as Dragon’s pitcher Jameson Kanak threw 10 K’s to help them win 12-1 in five innings!
You can find all the Naperville Little League highlights and the full show on the NCTV17 Community Sports Page!
