Padres take World Series Opener in Extra Inning Thriller

Angels vs. Padres 6-15-21 at Washington Park

READING — The RBRL World Series rarely disappoints and the eight inning thriller on Tuesday evening will be in high company when it comes to level of drama and energy in World Series folklore.

And one of the names that may be remembered years from now by RBRL enthusiasts is 14 year-old Liam Hansen.

Hansen’s walk-off flair single over the first baseman’s head on a 1-1 pitch brought home Nicky Bartalini, who had doubled, with the game winning run in the first extra-inning of Game 1 giving the “Pads” a 3-2 victory over the Angels.

The Angels may have deserved better after not allowing a hit for 4 2/3 innings and leaving several runners stranded with a chance to take or expand the lead. But it was the Padres who collected the biggest hits of the night.

The Padres finally got a hit albeit an infield hit by Bartalini with two outs in the fifth after Leo Gosdanian had walked.

A walk to Tyler Alberto set up Jack Aborn with the bases loaded and he delivered in the clutch with a solid single to the right centerfield gap scoring the tying runs erasing a 2-0 Angels lead.

A heads up throw to the plate from shortstop Jack Chapin to TJ Michel cut down Alberto’s late dash to the plate and the game remained tied after five innings.

The Angels threatened in the first inning after a Johnny Tighe single and stolen base but the heart of the Angel lineup left him stranded at third base.

The Angels left two more on-base in the second inning, as they left ten runners on-base for the game.

In the fourth they broke through with two runs as Chapin walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch and Tighe (two hits) scored on a solid single by Jake Palm.

Meanwhile Angel hurlers Joe Ciccariello and Jake Palm had pitched to the minimum # of Padre batters through four innings.

After the Padres tied the game in the fifth there were still plenty of big plays leading up to the extra inning walk-off.

In the sixth inning the Angels had two runners on-base with two outs but a hard Michel grounder was fielded nicely by Elias Speros to end the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh Ryan Marino’s fly eluded an Angel outfielder with the winning run at second base but a late break by the runner prevented him from scoring. Next up was the strong hitting Gosdanian but he popped up Cam Morrow’s first pitch to shortstop Chapin to extend the game.

In the Angels at-bat in the eighth, Shane Stuart reached on an infield error with one out. Then with two outs Chapin drove a ball to right field that Liam Roberts made a running sliding catch on to rob Chapin and give the Padres a boost heading into what turned out to be the deciding turn at-bat.

James Marcotte got credit for the pitching victory allowing just one-hit over the final three innings.

Game Two is scheduled for Friday evening the location still to be determined. The past seven World Series have gone the full three games and in three of those (‘16,‘18,‘19) the eventual champion lost the first game.

ANGELS (2) – Chapin 2-0, Tighe 2-2, Ciccariello 3-0, Palm 3-1, Michel 2-0, Cam Morrow 2-0, Pucci 2-0, Wondolowski 3-1, Koster 3-0, McGlinchey 3-1, Stuart 2-0, Cole Morrow 3-0. Totals 30-5

PADRES (3) – Marcotte 3-0, Marino 3-0, Gosdanian 2-0, Bartalini 3-2, Alberto 2-0, Aborn 3-1, Hansen 3-1, Anderson 2-0, Roberts 1-0, Daggett 2-0, Coulter 2-0, Speros 1-0. Totals 27-4

Angels 000 200 00 – 2 Padres 000 020 01 – 3

Two outs when winning run scored

Doubles: Bartalini

WP – Marcotte LP – Cam Morrow