Frederick Hustlers (12U)

The 13U Hustlers traveled to Lebanon PA to play in the Monster Mash tournament. Weather took control Saturday morning, as morning weather wiped out everyone’s first game, and seeding for Sunday was based on one Saturday game. The Hustlers opened up with the West York Bulldogs. The Hustlers were flat, but got great pitching from Oliver Ellison and Aiden Dubetsky, in taking the first game by a score of 8-0. Ellison and Dubetsky combined to no-hit the Bulldogs. Carlos Caraballo had 2 hits for the Hustlers, while Landon Castor, Oqtevious Drummond, and Ellison each doubled. The Hustlers started Sunday as the number 2 seed, with the CRAB league’s Lake Shore Gray Sox taking the 1 seed. The Hustlers bats woke up in this Sunday’s first game, as the Hustlers pounded out 18 hits over 3 innings, and won this game by a score of 25-2. Landon Castor led the Hustlers with 3 hits, while Ryan Jones, Oliver Ellison, Jaxson Wood, Ryan Maxey, and Carlos Caraballo each had 2 hits. Jones, Wood, and Maxey each doubled. Andrew Raymond and Andrew Purcell combined on a 1 hit performance on the mound. The semi-finals had the good guys facing the Mid State Mavericks. The Hustlers came out very flat and the usual great defense was bad, as the Hustlers committed 7 errors in this game and found themselves down 3-0 going into the bottom of the 5th. However, as this team has done over and over again, they fought back and the bats woke up in the 5th to allow the Hustlers to take control of the game. Aiden Dubetsky started things off with a single, and advanced to 2nd and 3rd on passed balls. Carlos Caraballo then walked. Dubetsky then scored on another passed ball, as Caroballo stole 2nd. Andrew Purcell then hit a bomb to center field for a double driving in Caraballo, and the comeback was on. Andrew Raymond then singled to right advancing Purcell to 3rd, but an error on the right fielder allowed Purcell to score and Raymond to advance to 2nd. With the score knotted at 3 with no outs, Oqtevious Drummond put down a nice sacrifice bunt to move Raymond to 3rd. Leadoff hitter Fredy Diaz then gave the Hustlers their first lead, with a single to left, driving in Raymond. Ryan Jones then walked putting runners on 1st and 2nd, before the Hustlers successfully pulled off a double steal to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Oliver Ellison then hit a sac fly to center to put up the Hustlers 5th run of the inning. Cleanup hitter Landon Castor then singled to center, scoring another run, to give the Hustlers a 6-3 lead. The rest was up to the Hustler pitchers. Carlos Caraballo threw the first 3 innings, and wasn’t his normal dominating self, but got thru the first 3 innings on the hill. Dubetsky was awesome, throwing 4 innings of 1 hit baseball to close it out. The crafty Dubetsky struggled a little on the mound during the 12U season, but boy how things have changed on the big field. He has pitched in 23 innings during the fall over 7 appearances, and has yet to allow a run, just awesome pitching. The championship game had the Hustlers facing the Prime Time Aces, who just knocked off the CRAB leagues Lake Shore Gray Sox in the semi-finals. The Hustlers left little doubt in this game from the start. Landon Castor closed the door on the mound in the top of the first, before the Hustler bats put up a 12 spot in the bottom of the 1st, and the route was on. Castor threw the 2nd inning and labored a little with control, allowing 2 runs before the Hustlers proceeded to put up a 7 spot in the bottom half. Ryan Jones pitched the top of the 3rd allowing an unearned run, and the Hustlers took the championship game by a score of 18-3, as the Hustlers took advantage of 12 walks by the opposing team, and pounded out 11 hits over 2 innings. Oliver Ellison had 3 hits, while Aiden Dubetsky and Andrew Raymond each had 2 hits. The Hustlers will be back in Action this Friday heading to North Carolina, participating in the Top Gun World Series.