WESTFIELD – Atlantic Shores (N.J.) beat the heat, and Arlington (Mass.) Saturday at Bullens Field. New Jersey cruised past Massachusetts, 6-1.
Lead-off batter Gabe Donahue manufactured the first run of the game, reaching first base for Atlantic Shores (N.J.), stealing second, advancing to third on a ground out, and scoring on a Greenling single.
As the scorching heat continued to beat down on the players, Atlantic Shores continued to heat up on the base paths.
In the second, Atlantic Shores scored on a throwing error, a Kevin Foreman sac-fly, and an RBI single from Jimmy Pasquale.
Atlantic Shores sizzled.
Arlington’s shortstop Brendan Jones (16) lays out for a ball that’s just out of reach against Atlantic Shores (N.J.) Saturday at Bullens Field. (Photo by Chris Putz)
In the fifth inning, Atlantic Shores put two more runs across the board. Santamaria singled, stole second, advanced to third on a Greenling base hit, and scored on Brown’s base hit. Greenling eventually came around to score on a fielder’s choice to make it 6-0.
Arlington squeezed a run across in the bottom of the sixth to break up the shut out. Caden Fitzpatrick was hit by a pitch with two outs, advanced to second base on a Thomas Kitzmiller single, and came around to score on a Spencer Friedman single.
Alec Sachais (3 inn.) and Alejandro Rosado (4 inn.) scattered nine hits between the two Atlantic Shores pitchers. They each had one strikeout.
Greenling finished the game 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
“I was trying to get the win,” said Greenling, who was named the Most Valuable Player for the winning team. “(The heat) affected us. Once we got in the dugout, we were just getting ice and everything. It was so hot out. It was tough to run. So it affected basically everything.”
