Buddies Advance to Championship Series
After bursting out of the gates with three runs in the first three at bats, including home runs by Nick Popielarczyk and Joey Balgo, the Noodles were shut down by Buddies ace Steven Keelon, who settled in retiring eight of the next 10 batters with three straight scoreless innings as the Buddies offense battled for the lead.
Jordan Castelli got the Buddies on the board with a one-out home run in the second, then Rob Licht came through with a no-doubt bomb to right field driving in three runs to put the Buddies up 4-3 in the third. Castelli added much needed insurance with a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth, as the Noodles did not back down blasting homers off the bat of Popielarczyk and Balgo back-to-back for the second time in the game to lead off the fifth, but a line drive knocked down by Keelon and a fly out to deep left center ended the game, 6-5 Buddies to advance to the Championship Series for the second straight season.
| BOX SCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
R |
H |
E |
| Roman Noodles |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
| Buddies |
0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
Date: July 9, 2023
Time: 9:45pm
Venue: Cecil Park
| Roman Noodles |
| Hitters |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
K |
| Joey Balgo |
4 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Matt Cottrill |
5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Nick Popielarczyk |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Zach Roman |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
17 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
HR: Balgo (2), Popielarczyk (2)
|
|
|
| Buddies |
| Hitters |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
K |
| Jordan Castelli |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Gino Joseph |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Steven Keelon |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Rob Licht |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
15 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
HR: Castelli (2), Licht
|
|
| Roman Noodles |
| Pitchers |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
PT |
| Nick Popielarczyk (L) |
5.0 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
|
| Buddies |
| Pitchers |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
PT |
| Steven Keelon (W) |
5.0 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
