By Ted Waddell
FALLSBURG — May 18, 2004 – The Tornadoes of Tuxedo blew into town Thursday afternoon and swept away the host Fallsburg Comets 14-0 in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V baseball game.
In the wake of a scoreless first inning, Tuxedo (12-3, 7-1 OCIAA) figured it was time to take the bats out of hibernation.
In the top of the second, the Tornadoes scored three runs, including a two-run single by Jamie Stevens with two runners on base and one out.
The Tornadoes added a couple more in the third, as with two outs and an equal number on runners poised on base, Dan Andrews poked a clutch two-run single.
After a brief respite in the fourth, the visitors went back to sending runners around the corners to the plate.
In the fifth inning, Tuxedo scored two runs. In the sixth, one Tornado runner made it all the way home and in the final frame, the Tornadoes scored six runs. The big blow in the seventh was a three-run homer by Rich Capraro off Fallsburg relief pitcher David Anthony.
“Their pitcher [Mike Monroe] did a great job on the hill today,” Fallsburg Coach Brett Cancredi said.
“He threw strikes and shut us down,” he added. “My hat’s off to him and his team.”
Cancredi said his young team is “learning as we go.”
“I think we did well today, but we still have a lot of things to work on.”
While many teams would be running for cover after getting drubbed by the opposition, the lads from Fallsburg took it in stride and lined up for some quick media takes after the game.
“I was tired when I came to the game, but that was alright,” said Comet pitcher Chris Gates, who took the loss on the mound. “They just started tagging me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
On the positive side of the scorebook, Gates has smacked five home runs this season.
Mike Juarez, the big guy behind the catcher’s mask, chimed in that he has a total of three home runs in 2004.
Not to be outdone, Harris Seletsky said he leads the Comets in RBIs and has the team’s highest on-base percentage.
“I’m last on the team in steals,” he added, just to keep the record straight.
Gates started for Fallsburg (4-9, 0-8 OCIAA) and was relieved late in the game by Anthony. The Comet hurlers yielded a total of 11 hits.
Monroe tossed a two-hit shutout for Tuxedo. As his team’s number three pitcher, the win was his first of the year.
“He did a lot of middle relief during the season, and came out and pitched well for us today,” Tuxedo Coach Marco Margotta said.
Margotta added that Monroe is a basketball player by nature, but “comes ready to play” every day.
“I wish I had his heart and guts in every player I had,” Margotta said.