White Hot!

Comets Singe Narrowsburg

By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — April 28, 2000 -- Every baseball coach hopes the “big” inning when his team is at bat.
Specifically, a frame where his batters spray hits all over the diamond and take advantage of errors committed by the other team. The result is usually a slew of runs and a happy coach.
Such was the case in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game between Fallsburg and Narrowsburg. The Comets batted around in the frame, scoring eight runs and expanding a 5-3 lead into a 13-3 advantage.
The Comets added three more runs over the next three innings for a 16-3 pounding of the Indians in the semifinals of the Sullivan West Spring Break Baseball Tournament in Callicoon. Fallsburg (5–1) was slated to face Monticello yesterday afternoon in Callicoon for the tournament championship. Results were unavailable.
Fallsburg’s big inning began when leadoff batter Darren Kenney was hit by a Rob Taylor pitch. Following a walk to Rafi Fine, Tim Gilmore laced a single to left field, plating both Kinney and Fine.
Several batters later, after solid Comets hits mixed with a few Indian defensive miscues for three more runs, Corey Buckner ripped a double just inside the bag at third. That hit scored Eddie Inzauto and Corey Huber and gave the Comets a 12-3 lead.
Buckner, who bats ninth in the Fallsburg order, added a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
“The batters at the bottom of the lineup are picking up the slack now,” noted Fallsburg co-coach Brett Cancredi. “Both Coreys have been doing a great job. Our one through six hitters are solid, but we need the guys at the back of the lineup to do it with the bats to be successful. And they’re doing it now.”
Huber finished the day with a pair of hits and three RBI. Buckner had a team-high five RBI and Gilmore was 3-for-5 with four RBI.
While the Comet bats were a key to victory, their pitching and defense were also solid.
Fine, who pitched the first five innings, allowed only one earned run and three hits. He walked four batters and struck out three.
Huber struck out one while setting the Indians down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings.
“They both threw the ball really well,” said Fallsburg co-coach Jamie Lent. “I was happy to see that. That’s been the key for us so far this season – playing good defense and pitching well while waiting for our bats to get going.”
Until that fourth inning, however, the game was shaping up as a close affair. After the Comets took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a Gilmore double, the Indians came right back. In the bottom of the first, Bruce Nober scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt Nordenhold.
The Indians rallied again in the bottom of the third when faced with a 5-1 deficit. A ground rule-double by Mike Popolillo brought home Evan Kraack. Nober then followed with a solid single to plate Popolillo, narrowing the gap to 5-3.
After the first out of the frame was recorded, Nordenhold ripped a liner to short. But Gilmore gloved the ball and stepped on second to double up Nober and end the scoring threat.
And the Indian bats were silent in the final four innings.
Roy Jay added a double for Narrowsburg (2–8), which was scheduled to play Liberty in the third-place game yesterday in Jeffersonville. Results were unavailable.