Savannah Bananas Beat Firefighters in Showdowns in Yankee Stadium

It was a nail biter, but the Savannah Bananas pulled out a win in dramatic fashion!

Savannah Bananas pitcher Kyle Luigs works form the mound on Friday, May 31, 2024 at Historic Grayson Stadium. / Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Savannah Bananas played against the Firefighters in a sold out Yankee Stadium. New York sports fans were given a show that they will never forget! And to top it all off, the game went into showdowns which is the best overtime in sports! Let's get into the action!

The game started with a very touching tribute to first responders by the Firefighters team. With this weekend honoring the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, it was a perfect time for the Firefighters to pay tribute to those brave men and women that responded on that day. It was not an accident that the Firefighters played in New York City this weekend! And I think it is really touching that they were able to have that moment.

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The Firefighters weren't only there for that though. They came to play! This game was a really tight contest. The Firefighters put themselves in position to pull off the upset agains the Bananas! Ben Dumm came up to the mound to pitch relief and he pitched two scoreless innings. He has quickly risen to stardom in Banana Ball. He has really become an excellent pitcher. Pitching those scoreless innings sent the game into showdowns tied at 2.

Ben Dum is an excellent pitcher, but the pitcher that stole the show in Showdowns was Danny Hosley for the Bananas. In round one he was able to strike out Joe Lytle. Eric Jones Jr. then batted for the Bananas and hit a beautiful ball to left field. Noah Bridges was fast enough to get to the ball, throw it to Ben Dum who was able to throw it home in time for the out.

Danny Hosely than pitched another strikeout in round two of showdowns. Remember, in round two of showdowns it is only a pitcher vs a batter. If a batter gets a hit into the outfield in this round it is almost guaranteed for them to score. But Hosley did not allow that to be a possibility. It was a really impressive showing by him.

There was some controversy in the bottom of round two. Reese Alexiades was up to bat for the Bananas. If he scores then the game is over and the Bananas win. It was a really long at-bat and in it Dum forced a foul ball by Alexiades. Remember, in Banana Ball if a fan catches a foul ball it is caught as an out. From what Bananas broadcaster Biko Skalla said, it sounded like a fan caught the foul ball! However, the umpires didn't see if it was a clean catch or not. Even after reviewing the play they couldn't see it and so it was not an out! The Firefighters could have gone to a third round of showdowns but it didn't happen because of that call. Dum then through a fourth ball and Alexiades was able to score the walk-off run on a ball four sprint.

It was a little disappointing that such an exciting game ended with some controversy. But don't let that distract you from how great the game really was. The competition in Banana Ball keeps getting better and I can't wait to see where it goes from here! Click here if you want to watch the full game! It was a great one. If you would like to hear more from Reese Alexiades (who scored the game winning run) then check out our interview with him on the Banana Breakdown Podcast!

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