The Shoreline Cougars’ baseball team moved into first place in the 18-U Rusty Zoarski Wood Bat AAU League this past week. The Cougars swept a doubleheader against the previously undefeated Connecticut Dodgers to improve to 5-1-1 on the season and claim the top spot in the standings.

On July 2, Shoreline traveled to the Connecticut Sportsplex to take on the Dodgers for a twin bill. The Cougars took the first game by a score of 2-0 behind a shutout performance by Owen Marica, who pitched all seven innings for the win, allowing only two hits, while striking out 13 batters.

“Owen was lights out. He had all his pitches working and was virtually untouchable,” Head Coach Dennis Annicelli said. “He competed the whole game and led us to the win.”

Marica also scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning. After singling and stealing second base, Marica came home when Sam Luther drove him in with a single. Then in the fifth inning, Darren Hiller walked, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored when Mike O’Toole got a base knock.

In the nightcap, the Cougars outscored the Dodgers for a 6-1 victory. Christopher Garrelts picked up the win on the mound behind five solid innings of work in which he fanned eight and allowed just the one run. Carmelo Rosa came on for relief and had a pair of K’s in one inning of work.

Shoreline got out to a quick start by plating four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Cougars got singles from Hiller and Marica, then Garrelts walked, after which O’Toole earned another free pass to bring home Hiller for a run. After that, Sam Erskine doubled to clear the bases for a 4-0 lead.

The Dodgers scored their lone run in the fourth to make it 4-1. Then in the fifth inning, Noah Snyder and Hiller both worked a walk and Marica doubled them home to make it 6-1.

Coach Annicelli felt proud of his club for putting together a pair of top-notch performances to take down an tough Dodgers squad.

“The Dodgers were undefeated this season, so these were two huge wins to put us into first place,” said Annicelli. “Our kids kept their composure the entire night and just kept battling. Our pitching performances put us in a great position as a team.”