40°
WEST HARRISON, N.Y. The Kensico Little League Junior team needed just one more run to complete its comeback.
Alec Uy took a lead off of third base and Steven Franzese was at the plate with one out and two strikes in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kensico, which had trailed 4-2 in the fifth inning to White Plains, had a chance to break a 4-4 tie and advance to the next round of the New York District 20 Little League Junior baseball tournament.
The pitch came in and Franzese smacked a ground ball toward the shortstop. Uy took off for home, but the shortstop mishandled the ball and Uy crossed the plate to give Kensico the 5-4 win. Teammates met Uy and Franzese at home plate and jumped wildly in celebration.
Neither Uy nor Franzese had much confidence during the final play, but it all worked out well for Kensico.
I hesitated, so I thought I was going to be out, Uy said. But in the end, we won. Thats all that matters.
Franzese had a similar attitude when the ball hit the bat and he took off toward first base.
I didnt think he was going to score until I saw (the shortstop) bobble it a little bit, Franzese said. And then I knew we won.
Uy said solid coaching and execution fueled the comeback.
We did the three things that coach told us to do, Uy said. We made our plays. Our pitchers pitched strikes and we made contact 80 percent of the time.
Kensico will face Sherman Park, which defeated Elmsford on Friday night, at Silver Lake Park at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. White Plains will face Elmsford at 10 a.m., also at Silver Lake Park.
White Plains coach Kenneth Raff said he saw Elmsford play briefly Friday night and was not convinced that their 12-1 loss was indicative of their capabilities as a team.
I dont think they played their best today but I think well see their A game tomorrow, Raff said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mount Pleasant and receive free news updates.
