Game Notes:

Las Vegas, NV – The Arbor View Aggies traveled to Liberty High School to take on the Patriots.  A noticeable cold front brought brisk temperatures and heavy winds on Wednesday for the inter divisional play. Right-hander Ethan O’Neil toed the rubber for the home Patriots and Niles Scafati for the Aggies. Both starters would battle through defensive miscues, reaching pitch counts in the 80s in just three innings of work. Each team scored early and often with Arbor View pushing runs across each of the first four innings.  Liberty would match them for three innings but at the end of four, the Aggies led 6-5.  On in relief of O’Neil, '19 Garrett Maloney would pitch a scoreless 5^th and the Patriots would cut into the lead with a run in the bottom half.  Each team would score twice in the sixth, leaving the Aggie lead at one.  Isaac Haina entered the game in the seventh for the Patriots and delivered a scoreless half, keeping the deficit at one.  In the seventh, a leadoff fly ball to right field by '19 James Katona could not be handled due to the setting sun, resulting in a double. Katona advanced to third on a single by Chase Gallegos. Jack Hale hit a sac fly to centerfield, scoring Katona from third, tying the score at nine. In attempt to prevent the tying run an errant throw got away, allowing Gallegos to advance to second. With two outs, Mason Bowden hit a slow roller to Garrett Cutting at second base, Cutting charged the ground ball and whipped it to first, wide of the bag and Gallegos crossed the plate with the winning run, leaving the Aggies on the field.

Aggie second baseman, ’21 Garrett Cutting, a Stanford commit, was a perfect 4-4 with four singles while ’19 Jesse Pierce and ’19 Steven Giatti had multiple hits as well. Mason Bowden and Logan Coons had two hits each for the Patriots.

Scouting Notes:

’20 Ethan O’Neal, RHP (Liberty)

Dixie State commit. Long levered, 6-foot-4, 175, O’Neil is a high-waisted, projectable right hander that pitches from an overhand slot with consistent tilt. He clears out at the top of his leg lift to create a path for his arm which lends to him landing and spinning off his front side and falling to the first base side.. He separates with a lite stab but arm works quick through the slot. He threw his fastball 85-89, touching 91. He throws a hard, down action curveball 74-75 and a changeup 75-79. He catches the change at times, providing heavy sinking action.  He showed area control of three pitches and consistent arm speed.  His plane provides good deception and consistently competing in the strike zone will provide huge rewards. 

’19 Niles Scafati, RHP (Arbor View)

Athletic, 5-foot-11, 180, Scafati has present strength and a developed core.  He mixes 3 pitches from a ¾ arm slot with an upright delivery.  Relying heavily on his athleticism, Scafati has a loose easy arm, throwing a fastball comfortably 83-85 with arm side life. He changes speeds on a slurvy breaking ball, 70-75. He displayed feel for sweeping the breaking ball as well as driving it down. His changeup ranged 77-78 with sink down in the zone. This is a good athlete with a feel for throwing strikes and a competitive spirit. Work and delivery development could provide big dividends toward command and pitchability as well as give him a high ceiling.