As the Little League regular season heads into the final two weeks, Tickets Unlimited is alone at the top with a record of 10-1. After dropping their second game of the season, Tickets has now won nine games in a row. In addition, Messer has put together a seven-game winning streak of their own to move into second place with a record of 9-2. Sappi is still in the race for the top spot with a record of 8-3.

Tickets Unlimited won their first game of the week 5-1 over Kiwanis. This game featured a fine pitching duel between Aaron Duncanson of Westbrook Kiwanis and Mike Pena of Tickets. Both pitches went the distance with Tickets breaking it open in the fifth inning with four hits in a row, including Andrew McCarthy’s third hit and Derek Bouchards second hit of the game. Jeremiah Steele added two more hits for Tickets while Zach Bean, DJ Breunig and Kevin Grescoviak (2) had the only hits for Kiwanis. Pena pitched a four-hitter, striking out nine batters.

In their second game, Tickets defeated the Eagles 10-4. Jeremiah Steele pitched four strong innings, striking out five, while adding a double and a single. Marty Pena reached base four times for Tickets in the leadoff spot. On the defensive end, Jacob Webster made a nice catch in right field to preserve the lead for Tickets. Chandler Todd provided the offense for the Eagles with his first Little League career home run and later singled to left field.

Harold and Dan, the coaches of Messer, are extremely proud of the way their team is playing after a slow start. During the past week, Messer beat Phoenix Welding 5-2 , posted a 8-5 win over Dairy Queen and beat a very good Sappi team 9-2. Kyle Schumacher led the attack against Phoenix Welding as he scored three of the team’s five runs. Evan Dipietrantonio and Ian King combined for the victory with strong pitching performances. In the second game, King went four-for-four and Cody Champagne chipped in with three hits including a home run to lead a potent attack. In their final victory against Sappi, Champagne continued his offensive attack with four more hits. Andrew St Clair and Schumacher each had three hits as well. Austin Watts picked up the pitching victory. The coaches were happy to report that Zack Hayes was OK after taking a line drive off the knee.

Sappi is only two games back in third place as they continue to show good power. Beyond their loss to Messer, Sappi defeated Dairy Queen 17-7 with Keenan Lowe picking up three hits. Tyler Work and Cameron McLain chipped in with two hits and Andrew Lamson picked up the victory. Sappi then found themselves in a barnburner with Phoenix Welding, winning it in extra innings. Cameron McLain knocked in the winning run with Lowe and Josh Ames adding two hits as well.

In other action, it was the Eagles over the Lions 10-6 in seven innings. This was one of the most exciting games of the week as the Lions scored two runs in the sixth to tie it and the Eagles scored four runs in the seventh to win it. Michael Gowan tied the game in the sixth for the Lions with a hit to center field to drive in the tying runs. With Gowan on third with the winning run, the Eagles defense made two excellent plays to get out of the inning. Eagles catcher Cale Bollig made a great catch on a towering foul ball by Ryan Gilligan and second baseman Chandler Todd snagged a line drive off the bat of Collin Joyce to force extra innings. The Eagles then scored four runs to put the game out of reach. Bollig led the way offensively with four hits, while Brenden Richardson pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the win.

Action continues Monday through Friday at the Little League complex with all games beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Standings

Tickets 10-1

Messer 9-2

Sappi 8-3

Kiwanis 6-4

Eagles 5-5

Lions 3-8

Phoenix Welding 2-9

Dairy Queen 0-11