2009 Sparks Centennial Yankees Majors

Sparks, NV (AP)---The Yankees great season came to an abrupt end on Wednesday night with the thud of a foul pop-up in the glove of the third baseman, as the Red Sox quieted a spirited Yankees rally in the sixth inning.

Staring pitcher Austin Beard pitched four very solid innings, before giving way to Grayson Young for the final two innings.  The game came down to the defense not being able to make the plays, yielding three unearned runs to the Red Sox.  The Yankees spotted the Red Sox five runs, before breaking up Joey Dice’s no-hitter in the third with a single by Austin Beard.  The Yankees then broke up the shut-out in the fourth inning, on a 2 RBI double by Austin Beard.  Dice was chased in the fifth inning, as the Yankees made it 5-3 on an RBI single by Nugget (following a nice hit by Cameron Espinosa).

The Yankees trailed 5-3 in the sixth inning, when another late-inning rally started by Brendan Cancino reaching on an infield single and Jon Pinto drawing a walk.  Red Sox pitcher Zach Adams was able to strike out Jason Johnson on a tough 3-2 pitch.  He then got Grayson Young on strikes.  The Yankees were down to their final out, with the hot-hitting Austin Beard on deck.  However, after fighting off several pitches in a tough at-bat, Brendan Parisotto popped out to third to end the ballgame.

“I am proud of our team,” said coach Blaine Beard.  “We got behind by five runs to one of the best pitchers in the league.  Most teams would have quit and given up hope…but, not the Yankees.  Each of these kids fought back and hard as they could and were one big hit away from tying or maybe even winning this ballgame.”

Yankees…be proud of this season.  We represented the league and the trophy well and will pass it along to a very deserving team:  the Red Sox or the Rangers (who play on Friday).

Sparks, NV (AP)---The Yankees completed a first round Centennial sweep over Nationals teams (for the second year in a row) by defeating the Mets 5-3 in front of a capacity crowd Tuesday night.

The Mets went ahead early, 3-0 before the Yankees’ bats came alive in the third inning, with five runs, capped off by a bases-loaded 3 RBI double by Web Charles (starting pitcher).  Brendan Parisotto pitched 2/3 on an inning in relief, before closer Austin Beard came in and closed the door on the Mets sixth inning rally attempt.

The Yankees will face the Red Sox on Wednesday…a game that Red Sox nation has been looking forward to since last year’s championship game.  We will be without Web Charles…so, we MUST come ready to play defense and pick up our offense.

Sparks, NV (AP)---The Yankees completed a successful regular season by defeating the Indians 6-0 on a complete game shut-out by Austin Beard and then dropping the final game, 7-0 to the Rangers…perhaps the leagues’ hottest team going into the post-season.

“This has been a very good season…to have this kind of success with only five players returning from our championship team last year,” said coach Blaine Beard.  “The players we added completed a very complimentary roster…each player knew his role this season and played very, very well in those roles.”

To our 12 year-olds: Web Charles, Cameron Espinosa, Grayson Young, Owen Bartlett, Zach Hix, Brendan Cancino, and Riley Coyne…make these play-offs special…this will complete what has hopefully been a great career in Little League!  Make each play and each at-bat like it is your last…and have fun with it!

Sparks, NV (AP)---The Yankees got back on the winning track, by defeating the Indians 6-0, securing a playoff seed in this year’s city championship tournament.

Starting pitcher Austin Beard, coming off of a tough 1-0 loss to Joey Dice and the Red Sox last week, continued his hot pitching; needing only 69 pitches to dispatch of a tough Indians team in a complete game effort.

The Yankees got the scoring started in the bottom of the second, with Owen Bartlett laying down a beautiful bunt that was air-mailed down the right field line, landing Bartlett at third base.  Bartlett later scored on a wild pitch to make the score 1-0.  Later, Austin Beard cracked a double to the left-center field wall to plate Cameron Beard and Brendan Parisotto to make the score 3-0.  Not to be out done, Web Charles then lined a triple to the wall, scoring Beard and making the score 4-0.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, in need of insurance runs, the Yankees sent Jon Pinto to the plate, who lined a clutch two-out, two run double down the right field line to end the scoring.

The Yankees play the White Sox in a make-up game tonight at Shadow Mountain (be there at 7:00 p.m.) and finish the regular season against the Rangers at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. 

The play-offs start next Monday…start getting prepared…this is what we play the game for!!!

Sparks, NV (AP)---After winning six games in a row, the Yankees have now dropped four in a row, including 4-2 to the Mariners; 1-0 to the Red Sox; and 4-3 to the Indians.

All of the games were winnable, as each game featured the Yankees leaving several runners on base (including 12 in the Indians loss).

The Yankees have dealt with injuries and absences all year, as Web Charles has missed three games (due to vacations), Owen Bartlett missed 3-4 games with an elbow injury, Riley Coyne has missed two games due to a hand injury, Cameron Espinosa has missed one game, Grayson Young has missed 3-4 games due to a foot injury, and Jason Johnson has missed 2 games due to a facial injury.  The last three games, the Yankees have had only nine players suited up in uniform to play.  The lack of depth and a consistent starting line-up has hurt the once 11-2-1 team, which now stands at 11-6-1 and in need of one win (or an Indian or Mariner loss) to secure a play-off spot.  The Yankees have three games left to get healthy and hopefully right the ship.  The Yankees play the Indians on Tuesday at 7:45, the White Sox on Wednesday at 7:45 (Shadow Mountain), and the Rangers on Friday at 7:45.

“We have one of the best, if not THE best pitching staffs in our league…as evidenced by our runs allowed,” said coach Blaine Beard.  “But, it doesn’t mean anything without a healthy team that can score some runs backing them up.  Right now, we are getting base runners, but just not the big hit that scores them…that will change.  Every team goes through rough spots and times of adversity…we need to hit 1-9 for our pitchers…our position players owe it to them.”

The play-off race is heating up…as the Red Sox and Rangers have secured play-off spots, leaving three teams (the 11-6-1 Yankees / the 10-8-2 Mariners / and the 9-9 Indians) fighting for two spots.

It should be an exciting week of baseball!!!