Scoreboards don't always tell the story of the game. The Port Washington 9-year-old Legends (Blue Squad) fell to Carle Place by a score of 4-1 on Wednesday, July 16, but by no means was the final score indicative of how close the game was from start to finish.

The ball bounced the right way for the Carle Place team in the first inning as it scored a run on two hits. However, Port came roaring back with some firepower in the next half inning when Zach Halperin walked to start a rally and eventually scored on Kevin Roberts' monstrous double to left center.

Starter Tim Costello, in his debut on the hill, shut down the Carle Place offense in the top of the second inning and ended up with three strikeouts over the two innings he pitched. Reliable Drew Friedman then came in and pitched a perfect third inning with two strikeouts to preserve the 1-1 tie. Hunter Sentner played tenacious "D" at short. Catcher Tommy Weil showed off his toughness and defensive skills, grabbing a pop-up in front of home plate to stifle a Carle Place rally.

In the fourth inning, Carle Place strung together four hits and two walks to go ahead by a score of 4-1. Wayne Baker, also making his first pitching appearance for the Legends, got the team out of a tough, bases-loaded jam by striking out the first batter he faced and getting the next one to ground out to Friedman at third. Colin Davies and Jake Schubert exhibited their usual aggressive style of play both in the field and up at bat to aid the team in keeping the score close. Baker continued to pitch well as he shut down Carle Place and finished with four strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds of work.

Conor Gately walked in the fourth to keep a rally going, and Liam Adair walked as well, but to no avail as Port stranded men on first and second. All in all, Port stranded eight base runners, to the credit of the Carle Place pitching staff.

In the sixth and final inning, with Nate Omeltchenko on the mound, catcher Roberts gunned down a potential base stealer when he threw to third baseman Halperin, who slapped down the tag and caught the Carle Place runner dead in his tracks. Omeltchenko then went on to nail down a scoreless sixth and give his team a chance to come back.

In the bottom half of the sixth inning, Charlie Wick had the best shot of the day for Port Washington, a towering fly ball to right that the Carle Place right fielder made a nice play on to record the out and stop another rally that was building for Port with men on first and second.

The team missed the presence of Johnny Weber and Adam Pollack, two of its more dependable players. However, the Port Squad showed its flexibility by playing well without them.

Coaches Mike Friedman, Chet Halperin, and Mike Roberts all agreed that this was a hard fought battle by both teams. Coach Halperin said after the game, "What this season is about is learning and understanding the intricacies of the game such as sliding, base stealing, and hitting the cut off from the outfield. It's not about winning or losing the game, it's about getting something out of every play."

The whole Legends squad put together a stubborn effort against a very competitive Carle Place team. In the end, aside from a tough fourth inning, Port played much more capable baseball all around and really deserved to win. Although Port picked up the loss, the team's heart and never-say-die attitude showed what baseball is all about.