Pirates 20U team gets inspirational lift from walk-off hit from RJ Thalheimer
July 26, 2023 at 9:50 p.m.
It was a walk-off base hit off the bat of RJ Thalheimer that gave Port Chester's 20U Pirates a 10-9 home win over the Connecticut Devils last Tuesday (7/18) at Rec Park—but it was actually a lot more than that.
"It was a win over the adversity that has been dogging us all season, and it was by far our best game of the season," said A.J. Marini, player/manager and guiding spirit of the age group Pirates, a team comprised mostly of ex-Rams who are either playing college ball or working and playing for the love of the game.
Helluva game
And what a helluva game that win over the Devils turned out to be.
Matt Marini (SUNY Cortland), AJ's kid bro, led the Pirates’ hit parade by going two for three with five RBIs. Leon Marrano (Manhattanville) was right behind with 4 RBIs while also going two for three.
Key hits came from Tyler Heckel (Villanova), Michael (Mikey D) DeCrescenzo (SUNY Plattsburgh), Jack Mutino (Utica), Gavin LaDore and ex-Ram All-League catcher Sebastian Alvarez while ex-Ram pitcher Byron Fuse picked up the win with four solid innings.
That gave the Pirates PCYBL team an improving 6-8 record going into their final two games leading into the Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League (GHVBL) playoffs that start Aug. 1 (Tuesday).
Split a deuce
But even though they split their last two games last week, a narrow 3-2 loss to the Rockland Pirates and a 4-2 win over the East Coast Cardinals, the local Pirates looked good playing that deuce.
In that close loss to Rockland last Thursday (7/20), for example, Mutino pitched six solid innings of three-run ball, striking out eight batters, with a couple of local brother acts supplying most of the offensive drama. AJ Marini (Mitchell) went two for three with an RBI while kid bro Matt went one for three and had the other RBI. Corey Heckel (New Jersey Institute of Technology) went one for three, had two stolen bases and scored twice while kid bro Tyler walked twice. All four were former All-League Ram infielders.
"It was a good hard-fought game that didn't go our way this time," AJ Marini said afterwards. "But maybe next time will be different if we meet in the playoffs."
Shuffle the cards
The local Pirates had better luck against the East Coast Cardinals last Saturday (7/22).
Ex-Rams ace Ishmael (Ish) Jimenez (CCNY) went the distance for the third time this season, throwing a complete game and giving up no earned runs.
AJ Marini and Mike Gianfransico came up with clutch base hits, Matt Marini, Alvarez and Tyler Heckel drew multiple walks and Corey Heckel provided the late game heroics with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the local Pirates the lead.
That win gave the Pirates an improved 7-9 record on the season and positioned them as one of the top seeds in the upcoming playoffs.
The Sawpit past
That gave the Pirates a good feeling because it represents a rebound from previous losing seasons playing under other another name, the Sawpit Cardinals, a tribute to Port Chester's seafaring past, before they changed their name to the Pirates, paying homage to the Port Chester Youth Baseball League (PCYBL) where they learned the ABCs of the game before they aged out of the League on their way to becoming Rams. They now play under the auspices of the PCYBL which covers their insurance and allows them to keep playing the game they love, win or lose. And they would like nothing better than to go deep into the GHVBL playoffs as their latest feat as aging ex-Rams who refuse to hang up their spikes.
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