The Incarnation Baseball League saved its best for last, with a wild ending to the league’s signature event – Super Saturday.  Saturday June 15^th dawned clear and dry and fans came out in droves to participate in the biggest baseball block party this side of the College World Series.  Here’s a recap of the big day, starting with the game of the year:

Majors Championship

Cubs 3 Brewers 2 – Justin D’Antona hit a walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Cubs a hard-fought 3-2 victory against the feisty Brewers.  The Cubs were aided by a clutch thrown by catcher Griffin Brady to nab a base runner in the top of the 6^th inning and keep the game tied at two.  D’Antona’s home run ended it in the bottom of the sixth, setting off a wild celebration for the Cubs fans.  The Cubs’ starter, Owen Brown, shined on the mound early on and the nice performances were turned in by Thomas “Pancakes” Colombo, John Arens and Jack Sambataro. 

The Brewers relied upon the dazzling pitching of Matty Schmitt and Drew Hebert, who kept the ferocious Cubs offense at bay all day long.  Hebert did it on the basepaths too, scoring twice to keep the game close.  Additional fine plays were turned in by the Brewers Joe Carriglio behind the plate, Jad DoVale and Owen Erelli. The Brewers fought admirably under the steady leadership of veteran head coach Chris Radzik but in the end it was the Cubs and D’Antona whose three shutout innings on the mound set up his walk-off home run.  D’Antona’s efforts earned him the Danny Williams Most Outstanding Player Award.

Minors Championship

D-Backs 6 Tigers 3 – The young Tigers hung tight with the D-Backs but in the end the pitching of Robert Pino and Jay Dennison was simply too much. The Tigers were paced by the bat and arm of Michael Martin who struck out six in two innings and went 2-3 with a double and a triple.  The Tigers Nate Geer was also 2-3 and James Tillis gutted it out on the mound and provided an important spark for the Tigers.  The D-Backs’ Pino, Dennison and Danny Patch all came up big with RBI hits and with their pitching six runs was more than enough to secure back-to-back titles for this veteran team.

Coach Pitch Championship

Blue Jays 6 Marlins 5 – The Coach Pitch championship may have been the wildest game of the day.  Trailing by 4-1 entering the bottom of the 5^th inning, the Blue Jays rallied to tie the game only to see the Marlins push ahead and lead 5-4 going into the bottom of the 6^th inning.  That was when Charlie Recinito came to the plate and laced a two run double to give the Blue Jays a dramatic 6-5 walk off win.  The Marlins were paced by the massive bat of Caiyu Fidalgo, the glove and bat of Emry Vanderhoof and the steady presence of Raelin Sullivan, Evelyn Dupnik and Lucas Flynn.  The Blue Jays comeback really started on defense, particularly from Joseph Martin, Brendan Burke and Rocco Motroni.  Their strong play set the stage for Recinito’s heroics at the end.

The championships are the main course but Super Saturday’s appetizers are almost always as exciting. 

The Coach Pitch Skills competition was won by the Twins’ Max Stratford while the Reds’ Calvin Hoag was runner up. 

The Minors Skills Competition was captured by Colin Cote of the Padres with Jack McDermott of the Dodgers runner up. 

The Cubs’ D’Antona won the Home Run Derby, defeating Eli Pezzini of the Athletics in the finals.

Finally, the Fr. James Field Award for sportsmanship went to Erin Walsh of the Athletics.

This year the Incarnation League also recognizes six volunteers who put in countless hours as board members and coaches.  Board members Jimmy Haggerty, Jim Walsh and Chris Radzik have put in countless hours mentoring and coaching Melrose-area youth over the last decade.  Haggerty, Walsh and Radzik were honored by the league for their years of service to the league and the city.  In addition, the league honored retiring coaches Bill Oldham, John Preziosa and Mike Burns.