By Frank Rizzo
JEFFERSONVILLE — April 20, 2001 – Jeff-Youngsville was on the baseball diamond twice the week before.
Narrowsburg hadn’t played a baseball game in two weeks.
Maybe that accounted for J-Y’s 12-3 win on Tuesday at the Jeffersonville Lions Field. Maybe not.
But Narrowsburg baseball coach Scott Haberli was glad to at least be playing.
The host Trojans, who had routed Monticello 12-0 seven days before and had further exercised their game legs with a scrimmage against Liberty, scored early and often on Tuesday.
Winning pitcher Kyle Bright, who went all the way, bounced a two-run single past Chad Powell at second to score Billy Reichmann and Jon Fanning in the bottom of the first.
Bright then scored when Ryan Schumacher smashed a screamer that took a wicked hop and bounced off of shortstop Mike Popolillo and into short center.
Indian starter Mike Cookingham had control problems, walking three batters and hitting another in this frame.
Jon Tanous, the ninth Trojan up in the inning, hit one back up the middle that Cookingham couldn’t handle, and Jacob Sauer-Jones scrambled home. Schumacher also tried to score, but was cut down by a Mike Popolillo throw to his brother Brian at the plate.
After walking Justin Pinkel to lead off the second Cookingham was pulled by Haberli in favor of Mike Popolillo. A two RBI single by Fanning and a sac fly by E.T. Toledo upped the lead to 7-0.
The Indians got all their runs in the third. With two outs Powell singled to score Mike Popolillo, then went to third on J.C. Henry’s single.
Cookingham then returned Bright the favor, lining a two-run single to center.
In the bottom of the frame the Trojans got four more runs without the benefit of a hit.
Toledo closed out the scoring when he tattooed a Popolillo offering over the left field fence.
“It was our first game in two weeks and we played like it,” Haberli commented. “We made physical and mental mistakes in the field. At the plate we made mental mistakes, watching third strikes a few times, otherwise we did okay when we swung. On the bases, we made two mental mistakes.
“[J-Y] played every well,” Haberli added. “They put the ball in play more than we did. They’re a ‘C’ school so the game meant nothing to us except for pride. Now we play schools our size.”
“Win or lose,” Haberli reflected, “it was nice to get a game in.”
J-Y coach Kurt Scheibe noted how Bright worked himself out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning.
“Kyle had some trouble settling down but then he started throwing strikes and the defense made some nice plays,” Scheibe said.
Bright and Reichmann had combined to shut down Monticello the week before, but Scheibe said that with the backed up schedule — and the possibility of three or more games per week — he’ll need even more arms.
Fanning, Pinkel, and Matt Parks are also expected to see action on the mound.
Bright pitched six innings on Tuesday, yielding five hits and fanning eight. Reichmann relieved in the seventh.
Reichmann and Bright also had three hits apiece, and Bright drove in four runs.
Chad Powell had two hits for Narrowsburg (1–2).
“We still have room for improvement,” Scheibe said. “From our first two games we’ve taken steps in the right direction.”