MAINE-ENDWELL – The Junior Hellcat baseball team has proved their worth, stomping Maine-Endwell into the loss with a five-run seventh inning for the win.
“Simply Incredible. These guys (Junior Hellcats) are amazing. I knew they (Maine-Endwell) would throw their best pitcher and they threw last years little league World Series hero Mike Mancini,” said Junior Hellcats head coach Nick McCullough. “We got to him (Mancini) early putting up three, but a team like that, you’re not going to win with only three.
Mancini looked the part, striking out nine Junior Hellcat batters, walking none and only allowing three hits for three runs in the first six innings.
A 3-3 first inning, saw a deadlocked game emerge as neither team would score over the next three innings of play.
Pitching for the Junior Hellcats and taking the win was Eli Rodriguez. Rodriguez proved effective against the high-powered M-E batters – striking out four, walking six and allowing just five hits in five innings.
“We’re (Junior Hellcats) tight on pitching. I literally had no starters left to throw, so I had my closer, Eli Rodriguez start the game. I had a few bullpen options, so I asked him to give me three innings. He (Rodriguez) gave me five outstanding innings. I had the bullpen ready from the 3rd inning on, but he just kept getting outs. He trusted his defense behind him, and he pitched amazing,” said coach McCullough. “We had to go the bullpen, Eli was at his limit and we couldn’t ask anymore of him. Tom Flanagan came in and with some help from our catcher Tanner Costa, with an unbelievable defensive play to catch the runners sleeping, we got out of the inning.”
Prior to Flanagan coming in for relief, Rodriguez was caught for two runs late in the fifth inning – moving the locked score to 5-3 in favor of M-E. Already giving up two runs in the fifth inning, the Junior Hellcats used the solid play from Costa to Rodriguez to snag the third out and survive what could have been a costly inning – with a runner on third who decided to steal home.
Flanagan would take over for 1.2 innings of play, tossing one walk, and allowing two hits on 23 pitches.
Following a scoreless sixth inning M-E’s Mancini would be pulled in favor of Smith.
“Top of the seventh, we knew what we had to do. We’ve done it in the past. When they pulled Mancini, we liked our chances. Clutch hitting has been our Achilles heel the past five games. But you have Marcus Cashman, Brad Beckwith, Tanner Costa, and JT Vinal batting in the same inning, it’s incredibly hard not to score runs. And they didn’t disappoint,” said coach McCullough of his batters in the final inning. “I sent Tom Flanagan back out to finish the game. He got a quick two outs, but he lost his command. I had to go back out there to calm him down, but he’s a competitor and he knew what he had to do. Plus his teammates were talking to him, having his back.”
Five runs later for the Junior Hellcats – off a big double from Marcus Cashman to take the lead and score Rodriguez and JT Vinal – the Hellcats settled in and secured the 8-5 win on the road.
Best at the plate in the game for the Hellcats was Cashman who finished 2-4 with two Rbi and one run. Following Cashman was Rodriguez, Vinal, Costa, and Kai Scheer – each having a hit a piece, and with Costa having two RBI.
“This group is something very special. To beat M-E again, the same way. Without two starters, shows what we have on this roster. Plus, it shows the fight they have,” said coach McCullough. “But like I told the team, we have to move on. We’re on to Vestal, who smacked us last time. I’m giving my guys some rest, but then we’re back at it. We’ll have some work to go over, but I’m confident as always.”
Next up for the Junior Hellcats (5-5 overall, 2-1 division), they will see if they can keep their current two-game winning streak going when they travel to Vestal for a doubleheader on Sunday, June 25. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m.

H: 3 0 0 0 0 0 5– 8 6 1
ME: 3 0 0 0 2 0 0– 5 7 3