The Sheft Kahn Yankees defeated the Gilbert Display Mets in the fourth grade semi-finals by the score of 8-2 on Sunday, June 13, to advance to the championship game.

Josh Besserman started for the Yanks and retired the Mets without a run in the top of the first with the help of second baseman Evan Kirchblum's outstanding diving catch which led to a double play. In the bottom of the first, Mets starter Ben Davis got two quick outs before Brian Kahn tripled down the leftfield line. Brian Harris singled him home for the lone run of the inning.

The Mets tied the score in the top of the second when Shane Birnbaum's infield hit landed him on third. Anthony Stabile knocked him in with an RBI groundout. The Yanks struck back in the home half of the inning when Besserman doubled and Chris Kraly drew a free pass. With two outs and a 1-2 count, Brett Novick came through with the first of his two big hits and drove in both runners for a 3-1 lead.

There was no scoring in the third inning as Yanks first baseman Scott Weinberger caught Kyle Vieira's sharp liner and stepped on first for the second double play of the contest. Ben Davis retired the side in order in the bottom of the third by recording consecutive strikeouts and inducing a grounder back to the mound.

Things got interesting in the top of the fourth as Birnbaum was hit by a pitch with one out. Nick Barilla and Anthony Stabile then drew consecutive walks. Weinberger was summoned to get out of the bases-loaded jam and he came in throwing some serious heat. He promptly struck out the next batter, and then, after walking Miles Tacher on a 3-2 count to force in a run, got a comebacker to the mound to avoid further damage.

In the bottom of the fourth, Weinberger led off with a single and Kahn hit his second triple of the game to knock in a run. As in the first inning, Harris drove Kahn in with a single to make the score 5-2. Davis then got three consecutive outs including his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the game.

Weinberger cruised through the top of the fifth, notching three strikeouts sandwiched around two walks. The Yanks broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth when Adam Kronengold and Kraly opened the frame with singles.

Novick then hit the big blow of the game with a monster triple to deep centerfield for his third and fourth RBIs. Daniel Schneider singled in Novick for the final run as Davis once again recorded another two strikeouts and a high pop to first which Vieira played deftly. Weinberger struck out his fifth and sixth batters to open the top of the sixth. After a single by Tacher, Eric Singer hit a smash to first which John Goldsmith smothered for the final out.

The game featured terrific pitching and defense from both teams. Ben Davis pitched wonderfully for the Mets, recording 10 strikeouts while only walking one batter. Josh Besserman gained the win for the Yanks while yielding only two runs in his 3 1/3 innings of work. Scott Weinberger was outstanding in completely shutting down the Mets and struck out six batters in 2 2/3 innings to earn the save. Harris Khan and Harris Moore made solid contributions for the Yanks while Joey Stabile (hard first-inning single) and Eric Rochman played well for the crosstown rivals.