The Animals, the South Riverdale Little League 12-years-old and under travel team, played their inaugural game in the Westchester Baseball Association (WBA) Fall 2012 season on Saturday, defeating the Throgs Neck Thunder, 11-1.
In the first inning, the Thunder jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a walk and two hits. But the Animals quickly grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first when Jordan Tallerman knocked in Jared Gonzalez and Zack Farber with a big two-out double. The next batter, Brian Alberts, drove the third pitch he saw over the centerfield fence for a two-run home run and a 4-1 Animals lead.
Steven Stavrianopoulos led off the Animals second inning with a long home run to right field on a full count. Danny Moynihan and Griffin O’Keefe also scored as the Animals ended up with another four runs.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Animals tacked on 3 more runs, led by William Rybka and Ike Fields.
Animals pitchers Tallerman and O’Keefe did not allow another run to the Thunder and ended up striking out 8 batters over four innings.
Good defense by Jonathan Katzman and Kenneth Rodriguez also kept the Thunder off the board. With the score 11-1, the WBA mercy rule went into effect and the Animals were declared victorious.
The Animals will play Saturday home games at Kappock Field this fall. Fans can see the team’s entire schedule at www.eteamz.com/WBA.
