Summer season ends with strong showing
By Daria Cavallo
State Line Show, the select baseball travel team, recently sent their 14U Black team to the Mid-Atlantic Championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Show went 2-2 and finished 3rd in their bracket.
State Line’s first game was a loss against the Keystone Nationals, 12-9. Keystone started off with a 4-0 lead, but in the bottom of the first Dom Myers stole home to get the Show on the board. The Nationals gained a 7-1 lead in the third inning, however, State Line tied things up with Dominic Cavallo’s single sending Wyatt Neall home. Drew Cowburn stole home and Karter Grover’s RBI popout brought Myers and Soren Swanson across the plate. Finally, Will Chapman’s single sent Cavallo and Lucas Genareo in to tie things up. Keystone ended up scoring five more runs, and although Grover’s double and Neall’s single let Cowburn and Genareo cross the plate, it wasn’t enough for a comeback. Pitching was split between Cavallo, Grover and Chapman.
Later in the afternoon, State Line played their second game which brought a 3-2 win against the Ascent Athletes. Avery Potter hit a double to score in Grover, and Neall’s RBI groundout sent Genareo home, giving the Show a 2-0 lead. They kept the lead until the seventh inning, when Ascent tied things up. In the bottom of the seventh with two outs, Grover went home on a wild pitch to win the game for State Line, 3-2. Genareo and Myers both pitched.
Pictured is Wellsville’s Karter Grover
Saturday morning, the Show earned a 5-4 win against GoWags Black. GoWags began the game with a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the first however, Swanson and Cavallo’s singles brought in Cowburn and Neall respectively. GoWags scored one more run, but Genareo hit a double to send Grover home. Chapman’s single sent Genareo home to tie the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Finally, Myers’ single sent Chapman across the plate to gain the lead, 5-4. In the top of the 7th inning with one out, center fielder Tayden Margeson caught a fly ball, then threw it to Swanson, who tagged the tying run at home, causing a double play. In this way State Line held onto their comeback and were victorious. Avery Potter and Myers pitched in this thriller.
Their final game was a 9-8 loss against Grit Black. After a scoreless first inning, Neall’s single brought Genareo and Cavallo home. Myers’ double allowed Potter and Neall to come home, giving the Show a 4-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, Cowburn both hit a single sending Neall across the plate, and stole home to extend the lead to 6. Swanson and Grover also went home on wild pitches. Unfortunately, Grit came back with nine unanswered runs and stole the win. Myers, Cowburn and Cavallo pitched.
Swanson was the team’s catcher for the tournament, and majority of State Line’s inaugural season. His impact on the team was visible especially through harder games, keeping everyone positive both on and off the field.
State Line’s season has come to a close. They will host tryouts on Saturday, August 9th and Saturday, August 16th in Olean for players interested in joining.
