Early Burst Carries J-Y

Trojans Jump Over Livingston Manor

By Rob Potter
LIVINGSTON MANOR —May 5, 2000 -- The host Livingston Manor Wildcat baseball team battled Jeffersonville-Youngsville evenly for the last six innings Tuesday afternoon.
But the Wildcats couldn’t claw their way out of a 7-0 deficit in the first inning and fell to the Trojans 14-7 in a Western Sullivan League (WSL) game.
The Trojans, who had 21 hits in the contest, began swinging the lumber early. In the top of the first, leadoff batter Jim Kautz beat out an infield grounder and Jon Fanning and Ryan O’Mara followed with back-to-back doubles for a quick 2-0 lead.
Another key hit in the outburst was a two-run double by James Christiansen, which gave the Trojans a 6-0 advantage. A single by Kautz brought home Christiansen with the seventh run.
“That first inning benefitted us a lot,” noted J-Y coach Dan Hart. “[Manor’s] Ryan Carlson’s a good pitcher and he settled down a bit later. But we were able to get to him early.”
Though Carlson allowed nine runs and his record fell to 0-3 on the season, he struck out three Trojans and did not walk a single batter.
“Ryan threw a lot of strikes for us,” noted Manor coach Chuck McKenna. “But we made five errors behind him and the Jeff batters got a hit whenever they needed it.”
However, McKenna was pleased with how his team battled back after the first inning.
“From the second inning on, Ryan got stronger and we played defensively,” he noted. “And offensively we started making contact, scored some runs and chipped away at their lead.”
While Manor lost this game, it also suffered a loss to its lineup that may be felt in several upcoming games. While at bat in the latter innings, Tim Mills — who played third base in the field and is the Wildcats’ other primary pitcher — suffered a knee injury. He swung and sent the ball flying to the base in right field but twisted his left knee while in the batters box. Mills then hobbled to first base for what turned out to be a single but might have been a sure double or triple if he could have ran at full speed.
“He just made it to first base,” Hart said. “It was a real gutsy performance. Hopefully it is nothing too serious because that would be a terrible way for him to end his senior season.”
Like Hart, McKenna is hopeful there was no serious damage done to Mills, who is scheduled to have the knee examined by a doctor today.
Christiansen led the Trojan offense by going 2-for-3, including a solo home run and four RBI. Kautz and O’Mara each went 3-for-5, with Kautz knocking in one run and O’Mara plating three teammates. Adam Hauser added two RBI and finished 3-for-4 on the day.
O’Mara struck out nine batters and improved to 3-0 on the season.
For Manor, Scott Denman had a double, triple and a pair of RBI. Ryan Edwards went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Clarence Hinkley added an RBI.
Trojans Ranked No. 1
Hart and the Trojans enjoyed a nice surprise Monday when the first New York State Sportswriters Association poll of the season put J-Y at the top of the state Class D rankings.
“It’s a nice recognition,” Hart said. “The guys are handling it pretty well.”
He added that the number one ranking is nice for Section IX as well, but that he and his assistant coaches won’t allow the players to think too much about the accolade.
“It’s great to be acknowledged like that, but you still have to play the games on the field,” Hart added. “You don’t win the games on paper.”