KUWAIT CITY, Feb 7: Kefan Optics Indians continued their undefeated run in the Minors Division as Shawqi Abu Hamdeh made a run in the bottom of the third inning to secure a 6-0 finish for his side against Selem Marlins as the Kuwait Little League (KLL) 2011-2012 Baseball League games over the week-end entered week two at the Hunting and Equestrian Club.
The weekend’s Minors early game hosted the undefeated Kefan Optics Indians against Selem Marlins. The Indians struck first in the bottom of the 1st inning with 5 runs featured with hits by Samuel White, Omar Alnazer, Abdalla Baroudi and a double by Ghaliah Al Maghra with runners on bases. The Indians also added a run in the bottom of the third inning with two outs featured by an inside the park homerun by Shawqi Abu Hamdeh.

The Marlins led off with a Triple by Joey Semaan in the top of the fourth inning but great defensive plays by the pitcher and first baseman stranded the runner on third and held the Marlins to no score. Great defensive plays in the last inning helped the Indians to end the game with a Final score Indians 6 - Marlins 0. The next Minors game resulted in a close game with the Mets winning over the Rangers with a score of 7-5.
As the temperature dropped the teams heated up in Majors 2 action between the first place Hunting & Equestrian Club Rangers and the second place D’Backs. Fernando Reyes took the mound for the D’Backs as the Rangers started the game with a big 4 run inning.
In the bottom half of the 1st the D’Backs came to the plate with AJ Brown on the mound who shut down the D’Backs ending the inning 4-0. As the 2nd inning began Rian Jagtiani got the call to pitch. The Rangers batters put up another 2 runs going into the D’Backs half of the 2nd inning.
Down by 6 runs the D’Backs came roaring back scoring 5 runs of their own closing the gap to 1 run. Top of the 3rd the Rangers bats again came to life in a 2 out rally with key hits from Brij, Brown, Ebaud, Precious and Basil putting up 5 more runs taking a 11-5 lead. Just as it looked as if the game was going to end, the D’Backs once again showed their determination and desire to win by scoring 6 runs in the 3rd tying the game and sending it into extra innings with a huge hit from Sam Maini.

The D’Backs defensive stood firm against the hard hitting Rangers and did not allow a run. Tied in the bottom of the 4th Mihir Sawhey hit a single but advanced to 3rd on an errant throw by the Rangers. Rian Jagtiani comes to the plate with no outs and a runner in scoring position he delivers a big hit driving in the winning run defeating the Rangers 13-12.
The D’Backs had extended their winning streak to 3 games giving the Rangers their first loss of the season. Not to be out done in their game, the Gloria Jean’s Coffees Rays and the Warba Insurance Reds went head to head with a high scoring close game with the Reds coming on top with a 15-14 win.
Elsewhere in the Majors Division, the Mets managed to clinch their fourth consecutive win by beating the Bioconservacion Navagantes 9 to 6. Mets starting pitcher, Arlis Troutman, held the Navagantes to only 2 runs through five innings by keeping the Navagantes hitters off balance with a combination of fast balls and off speed pitches. Relief pitchers Abdal-Rahman Makki and Grant Kerry completed the victory for the Mets. Mets right fielder Afif Bizri made the defensive play of the day with a catch of a line drive preventing the Navagantes from having a big inning.

In the first inning, aggressive base running by Yousef Kowden and Grant Kerry gave the Mets a 2 to 0 lead. Grant added 2 more runs with a double in the third inning and Abdul-Rahman Makki added another with a hard hit to right field. Ali Al Maghravi played a good first base for the Mets.
The Navagantes got some great hitting by hard hitting Jose Madrid. Jose drove in 3 runs with a double to deep center field and drove in 3 more runs in the sixth. Navagantes pitcher Tarek Jaafar struck out six consecutive batters in the two innings he pitched. The Navagantes managed to get several runners into scoring positions but failed to bring them home. Fahad Alayoub also got a big hit for the Navagantes. The Navagantes fought hard to get back in the game in the sixth, but the Mets pitching held for the victory.

The afternoon Majors game had the Gloria Jean’s Coffees A’s pitted against the ASAR Red Sox which soon proved to be a very competitive and exciting game for the fans. The Red Sox scored their first run with a steal to home by Elijah Mundy. In the second inning a single by Kais Haddadin and a double by Marquis Richardson advanced runners to third base. A single by Haney Haddadin for a 2 run RBI put the Red sox up 3-0.
In the top of the 3rd the Red Sox gained another run with an RBI by Yousif Al-Hunayan, but the A’s came back with 3 runs at their bat with an RBI by Hassan Sakkez and steals to home by Manav Kabra and Hassan. The fourth, fifth and six innings became a pitching duel between Red Sox Elijah Mundy and Ian Brown who both had over 50% strike-out and A’s Hamza Holland with Holland striking out 9 of his first 9 batters.

The A’s tied up the game at their last bat with a double line drive to left field and a steal to home by Hassan Sakkez to force the game in to 7th inning overtime. Zak Little of the Red Sox had a double RBI to put them up by one run.
However the A’s continued to battle back with single hits by Yousef Abuhamdeh and Umar Holland with Yousef then stealing home to tie the game once again. With the A’s winning run on third base, the Red Sox managed to get the final out before they could score ending the game in a 5-5 tie.
In the softball division the Mirmar Dodgers had some hard hits and solid plays, but they couldn’t keep up with the Giants. The Giants were on fire with multiple RBIs brought in by Annisa and Nadia Aghtarafi, Balqees Ali, Alyvia Connor, and Tanya Westendorf. Tanya Westendorf was also reeling in outs at third base during the 1st, 4th, and 5th innings. Alyvia Connor and Sabeeka Aljasem both caught beautiful fly balls in the 3rd and 6th inning, respectively. Excellent batting and equal fielding kept the Giants well ahead throughout the game. The late afternoon game saw the KEO Twins continue their winning streak against the NBK Red Sox in a 10-2 victory.

The Seniors Division games saw the Al Atraf Yankees winning both their double header games on Friday and Saturday, but not without a very close match on Friday against the Bader Sultan & Bros Padres.
The Padres took an early 4-0 lead in the first two innings with 2 run RBI’s from Faisal Alayoub and Rashid Borisly. The Yankees held the Padres in the top of the third inning and came back to score two runs with a triple by Tareq Qodmani and RBI by Ali Ali.
In the fourth and fifth inning both teams went scoreless with pitching by Yankees Karim Dabliz and Padres Ahmed Ameen and Rashid Borisly. In the sixth inning the Yankees squeezed in another run with a steal to home.
In the seventh and final inning the Yankees left the Padres with two runners on base not allowing any runs. With their last turn at bat and behind by one run, a line drive to right field by Prithvi Pathak sent two runners home ending the game with Yankees defeating Padres at the last possible moment 5-4.
The Yankees held onto their winning streak against the CuzCreations Red Sox early Saturday morning after several close innings to pull away with the lead and winning their second game of the weekend.