- November 27, 2024
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The Pinto (Machine pitch) League tournament began with 14 teams two weeks ago, but down to the last two, the Angels held off the Rays 20-14 for the win on Wednesday, May 27, at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
“I’m just proud of these boys; they’ve come so far,” said Lee Katsikos, the first-year head coach. “We were in double elimination games, but we came back and fought, and that just shows the character of all the kids. They pulled it off.”
When it seemed like the Angels would pull away early, the Rays continued to create offense to keep the game competitive in the first three innings. The Angels, however, extended its lead to 18-6, which proved to be too big of a hole.
“I thought it was a tough game for us,” Rays coach Heath Owen said. “It was an uphill battle the entire time, but we gave it all we had.”
Down by 12, the Rays did not go away silently. They were able to trim the lead down to four, but after the Angels scored another two runs, there was little they could do to keep up.
“We really wanted it,” Owen added. “We had a couple bad bounces on defense, but number two is nothing to be ashamed of. You take the good times when you have them, and you learn from the bad times.”
The 14-team league was the biggest the Pinto League has been in its history.